We’ve often noted two books dealing with God’s absence from human
life:
The Hidden Face of God by Richard Elliott Friedman
[Originally titled The Disappearance of God, HarperSanFrancisco, 1995] and The
Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth by Gerald L.
Schroeder [The Free Press, NY, 2001].
Friedman takes a philosophical/theological approach while
Schroeder takes a neurological position, both trying to show that God is
‘absent” from our lives but still exists.
Schroeder will appeal to those who like discussions of
consciousness and Quantum Mechanics.
Friedman will appeal to those with a philosophical,
Nietzscheian bent.
But do we really need Friedman or Schroeder to tell us that
God is hidden or absent from human existence? God’s absence seems to be rather
obvious, doesn’t it?
When the Hebrews called out to their God during the many
assaults upon their communities, where was their God?
And when Jews were being slaughtered during WWII and subject
to The Holocaust, did they not call upon their God to save them, but got no
answer, no mercy?
And Christians who called for their God/Jesus to save them
during the Roman onslaughts and decimation of Christian communities, men,
women, and children alike, discovered that God/Jesus was nowhere to be found.
And God’s chosen messengers, Joan of Arc, Saint Lawrence,
and Giordano Bruno, among other saints, also became aware that God/Jesus was
not going to come to their rescue when they were being mutilated or burnt at
the stake.
Today, when a Christian, Muslim, or Jewish person find
themselves in a dire situation facing death, do they not beg God to provide
surcease?
Do the Hindu Gods come to the aid of those, when in trouble,
who worship that motley crew of deities?
God was manifest, it seems, for periods of time in
antiquity, but often elusive and incorrigible even then.
That some (most?) persons think God is merciful and at hand
when needed or at death shows the palpable ignorance of humankind.
One doesn’t need Mr. Friedman or Mr. Schroeder to enlighten
us about the absence of God. It’s obvious from history and the human condition.
RR
