{"id":5767,"date":"2012-01-13T22:59:31","date_gmt":"2012-01-14T03:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=5767"},"modified":"2012-01-13T22:59:31","modified_gmt":"2012-01-14T03:59:31","slug":"big-god-little-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/big-god-little-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Big God, Little God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"I previously blogged about Sabio Lantz\u2019s diagram depicting a spectrum from a little to a big God. He meant by this a spectrum from a God with few specific attributes to a God with many, but I approached it in terms of which has the more exalted or majestic view of God and suggested that perhaps the spectrum ought to run in the opposite direction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I had hoped to follow up on this, and then today I saw two posts in my feed reader and was struck by the contrast between them.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, Sabio posted on \u201cArguing for a Tiny God,\u201d clarifying the meaning of his earlier post, and emphasizing that making the case for a first cause does not constitute an argument for a specific tradition\u2019s complete view of God<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"On the other hand, Allan Bevere wrote a post with the title \u201cOur God is Too Small,\u201d contrasting the view of miracles and the supernatural prevalent in more traditional societies with the post-Enlightenment demystified view that has come to dominate the \u201cWest\u201d or better the Northern hemisphere<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My reaction to Allan\u2019s post was similar to my original reaction to Sabio\u2019s earlier one. What makes a God who allegedly works wonders \u2013 whether casting out demons or supernaturally numbering the yards of football passes<\/a> \u2013 a \u201cbigger\u201d God than one who made a world without demons and in which we are expected to learn, discover, and progress to a point where we begin to comprehend a universe far more majestic and more enormous than any Biblical author could have imagined? Is someone who micromanages superior to a leader who delegates? Is a tinkerer greater than an engineer who gets things working smoothly from the start? Is a three-tiered universe and its first cause greater than what we have to envisage in the universe we glimpse through the Hubble Telescope<\/a>?<\/p>\n

The language of \u201cour God\u201d (still) being \u201ctoo small\u201d has featured in several famous books. But what does it really mean?<\/p>\n

What sort of God seems \u201cbigger\u201d or \u201csmaller\u201d to you, and why?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I previously blogged about Sabio Lantz\u2019s diagram depicting a spectrum from a little to a big God. He meant by this a spectrum from a God with few specific attributes to a God with many, but I approached it in terms of which has the more exalted or majestic view of God and suggested that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,131,80,85,101],"tags":[4005,7502,10886,12074,12508],"class_list":["post-5767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-christianity-religion","category-religion","category-science","category-theology","tag-god","tag-miracles","tag-science","tag-supernatural","tag-theology"],"yoast_head":"\nBig God, Little God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I previously blogged about Sabio Lantz's diagram depicting a spectrum from a little to a big God. 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