God of the Gaps

I had the privilege to lunch with Professor John Lennox. He shared a view of God called "God of the gaps" that helps identify a problem in our current conversation about God. And this blog post will help me sort out the ideas in my head about this. 

Greek mythology had different gods to explain different unexplainable events like thunder, storms, and good weather. Gaps in knowledge were attributed to God. Why does such and such happen? God is mysterious is able to do that particular such and such. Basically, God could be credited with everything unknowable about the universe. As experimentation and science has made much of these unknowable things knowable, the gaps have closed. 

Stephen Hawkins said you have to either choose God or science. If your concept of God is the God behind the gaps, then you do, in fact, have to choose between God and science. However, the view of God behind the gaps is nothing close to the Christian view of God.

Jeremiah says not to boast in wisdom, strength, or riches but to boast in the God who can be known. There are things that can be known about God. He created everything out of nothing. He is behind the times and flow of history. He is in the process of redeeming the bad choices made by mankind and is doing this through Jesus. 

Newton, who discovered Calculus, and Copernicus, who made famous the sun being at the center of our solar system, both had vibrant relationships with God and were fascinated by the God behind it all. 

The God of the gaps God is a very small picture of God. The God of the Bible champions the Almighty God of all creation, both seen and unseen. Science then becomes a discovery of His handiwork. Here are some pics of God's handiwork:

Our universe:

Our galaxy:

Our world:

Our body: