This particular response focuses on the first part of the book, “Finding God Without Really Looking.” Philip Yancey, the author, shows how God is present in everyday events, circumstances, and even sins. He begins by talking about the almost universal belief in the sanctity of human life and the almost universal fear of death. His question of “What makes human life so precious to us?” is a good one, though I don’t necessarily think that it points to God. I think it could quite easily point to humanism, pantheism, or almost any variety of belief system. The triumph of life over death, though, is a very powerful message of Christianity, and one that I find particularly meaningful in my own life.
Next, Yancey talks about sex. He sees spirituality and sexuality as related because sexuality also shows a desire for transendence, which is the key motivation behind spirituality. However, he does state that the modern fascination with sexuality is a form of idolatry. People are looking for intimacy in the wrong places, far from God. Yancey then discusses a book by J.D. Unwin, in which the author discusses the fact that all dominant societies have been monogamous and have only dissolved after great sexual promiscuity. While I find this dubious (infidelity exists even in cultures where it is strongly discouraged), sexual promiscuity does take a huge toll on society in general. Think of all the “unwanted” children, the AIDS victims, and the torn families. Yancey views sex as a gift from God, but a gift that should not be abused.
Next Yancey discusses his fascination with the night sky and how insignificant we are compared to the rest of the universe. He uses the immensity of the cosmos as an argument for not focusing on ourselves and the trials of the moment and instead focusing on The Big Picture. While I need to be reminded of The Big Picture often, I think it’s also important that we not lose sight of the misery in the world around us and the plight of our fellow men. Imagine telling a starving mother in Africa watching her child die in her arms, “This doesn’t really matter. In the great course of history, your deaths won’t even make a dent.” Because, to God, all of the little deals are important in His Big Picture.
Yancey then proceeds to list some of the wonders of nature and some of its horrors, saying that it hadn’t taught him any theology because of its mixed messages. However, he said it has taught him the definition of some words by giving him the appropriate feelings – glory, majesty, etc. This is something I agree with. I don’t learn that much about God from nature, but I do sometimes feel things so profound while in nature that it’s hard to attribute them to nature alone. The next chapter, however, almost directly refutes this as he talks about seeing the Creation and the Fall in nature. He mentions how he thought about how difficult it must be for God to watch the fallen creation and not do anything. For some reason, this argument is very difficult for me to understand. I have difficulty, of course, with the question of human suffering and God’s unlimited love. Why do innocent people have to suffer for what bad people do? I, like Yancey, yearn to see the world after justice has been done and Creation has been restored. It’s just hard for me to put God on such a human scale like Yancey does in this chapter.
The last chapter in this section is the one I have the most difficulty agreeing with. Yancey states that Jesus came down to earth to disrupt the universe by realigning the Earth and Heaven. This, I agree with. However, I do not agree that Jesus came down because of a failure on God’s part to understand the fallen Creation and the human experience because He had never lived it. God understands everything. He knew what He was getting into.
I am really enjoying reading this right now. It has really made me think about my beliefs and redefine them. Philip Yancey is a wonderful writer who has many interesting, inspiring, thought-provoking stories and insights to share.
(A response to the book “Finding God in Unexpected Places” by Philip Yancey, published by Moorings and copyrighted in 1995).
