The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, May 23rd, the Feast of Pentecost: Acts 2:1-11; Romans 8:8-17; John 20:19-23)

GOD IS NOT A DEIST

All religions and philosophies can be boiled down to one of five basic views of reality: atheism, polytheism, pantheism, deism, and theism.

Atheists believe there is no God. The natural, material world is all that exists. Supernatural beings and miraculous events are, by definition, impossible.

Polytheists believe in many gods. These supernatural deities are distinct and separate, and they often compete for the attention of human beings.

Pantheists believe that everything is God, and God is everything. Pantheism teaches, as Prof. Peter Kreeft explains, that “God is immanent but not transcendent—here and now but not distinct from the here and now.” Ancient Hindu religions and modern New Age philosophies are pantheistic.

Deists believe God created the universe then left it on its own, similar to winding a watch and then forgetting about it. Kreeft points out that deism is the flip-side of pantheism: God is transcendent but not immanent. God is separate from and superior to the natural world—since He created it—but He is not currently present in the natural world. After creating the world, God apparently went on vacation and left no forwarding address.

Theists believe God is both immanent and transcendent. As the supernatural Creator, God is distinct from and superior to the natural world. But He is also present in the here and now, aware of every thought and action in the universe, and intimately involved in the affairs of mankind. Jesus said: “Not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matt. 10:29-30). Theism is the basic view of reality held by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

This week Christians celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Fifty days after rising from the dead and ten days after ascending back into Heaven, Jesus sent the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to dwell in the hearts of His disciples. (No, this is not polytheism. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches there is one God, who exists in three Persons. Easy to comprehend? No way. But it definitely is not polytheism.) Before His crucifixion, Jesus explained the Spirit’s function: “The Holy Spirit…will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (John 14:26).

The Acts of the Apostles chronicles how the Holy Spirit guided the early church. Beginning with a spectacular display of supernatural power on the day of Pentecost, and continuing for many decades, the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to spread the good news of the Gospel throughout the known world.

The events of Pentecost show that God is not the God described by deists. He is not distant and unconcerned. He is not out of touch. Of course, the Incarnation also shows that deism is wrong. Would a distant, uncaring Creator bother to take on human flesh and sacrifice His life for our sake? I don’t think so.

Nowhere in Scripture does it indicate, nor has the Church ever taught, that the works of the Holy Spirit ceased when the original generation of apostles died. The power of the Holy Spirit—His gifts and fruits and supernatural powers—are available to all believers who sincerely ask, just as they were available at the first Pentecost.

Despite all this evidence, many Christians in our modern age act as if God is the God of deism. Think about common behaviors and attitudes today:

• We make our own moral codes.
   
• We treat the Bible as man-made musings, and ignore it when not convenient.
   
• We act as if no one is watching when we sin in secret.
   
• We’re not quite sure how to get to Heaven (Jesus had no such doubts), but we don’t think the way is all that important anyway, as long as we are “sincere.”
   
• Our church attendance and involvement is lukewarm at best.
   
• We treat prayer as an occasional self-help therapy rather than a genuine two-way communication with the Almighty Creator of the universe.

Now, obviously, I’m not describing EVERY Christian in our modern world. But generally speaking, our fast-paced, self-centered, secular culture has transformed many theists into practicing deists. The hustle and bustle and noise of modern life push God off to the side and out of our view. Since we no longer see Him or think very often about Him, we draw the highly illogical conclusion that He must not be around anymore.

Oh boy, what a mistake. God is just as present in the world now as He was 2,000 years ago. And God is going to be present—I mean REALLY present—at that moment after death when we will stand before Him.

It would be a good idea if we all took a few moments and examined our faith life. First question: Am I a deist or theist? Do I truly believe God is distant and uncaring, or is He present in the world and concerned about me?

Second question: If I am a theist, do I act like it?

Final question: am I going to do something about it now, or am I going to push it off into the future since I’m too busy now and I’ll surely have plenty of time when I’m a senior citizen to think about all that “churchy stuff”?

God is present…now. He desires our love and faith…now. Get to know Him…now. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

©2010