Subject: We are God's agents in this Universe |
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Date Posted: 17:16:55 10/26/04 Tue
The Penny Test: A Challenge to God's Omnipotence?
by Ed T. Prothro
Here is an experiment that shows the limited power of God in this world. You can make it an actual or a gedanken experiment.
Toss a penny onto the floor and in a loud voice say,
"I challenge God to pick up the penny."
In most cases, the penny stays there. This clearly shows that God is not omnipotent is this world.
First let me say I do wholeheartedly believe in God and that He loves me. That does not mean that God is not subject to scientific and philosophical experiment, through which we may learn more of His nature. To say someone will pick up the penny (in human form) leads to one of my points: while God is limited in this world, we are His agents, sent here to do His will. We should not expect miracles to solve our problems without effort on our part. We must first tune in to His will and then implement it in the world. When I toss the penny on the floor, I am not skeptical; I believe in God.
Let's look at some reasons for why the penny was not picked up.
God does not exist.
God exists but was unable to pick up the penny.
God could have picked up the penny but chose not to.
It is too trivial a matter to perform a miracle on.
As stated above, I do not believe that the penny test shows that God does not exist. Perhaps die-hard materialists will see it that way. I think it shows more of the nature of God and our relationship to Him, than disproves He exists.One thing it may show: we are not in Heaven. Heaven is where God lives and is made manifest to human souls. Even in Heaven, the penny test may be too presumptive. Perhaps an angel or dead relative would pick up the penny there, acting on God's behalf.
In general, God does not intervene in our world with constant miracles. Yet we believe there are miracles everyday in the lives of believers - both in their spiritual lives and in their health. It is said that all prayers are heard. But even if we modify the penny test so that we pray "hard" rather than challenge God, we expect our prayers to pick up the penny to be answered by human agency. Again, this shows that we are God's agents in this world. We may be the answer to someone's prayers. It is up to us to pick up the penny.
Once we realize we are God's agents in this Universe, we have the problem of discerning exactly what God's will is. In Islam, it is to convert everyone to "the one true religion". Yet as Christian Meditators, we believe it is possible to hear the "still, small voice" of Yahweh when we pray in meditation. Lacking a life as a prophet, we should be guided by the Law of Love. What is the most loving thing to do in any situation? If we follow that guideline, we will lead more productive and fulfilling lives in God's eyes. When we stand before Him at the end of our earthly lives, it will be evident when we obeyed the Law of Love and when we didn't.
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