Most of us have said those 8 words (or some variation thereof) at some point in our lives. They come from the lips of the most devoted church attenders as well as the most vocal of skeptics. From the believer those words usually express some sort of frustration at how his life situation has gone. From the skeptic they usually express his rationale for why he doesn't believe God exists (at least not the way believers describe Him).
What I'd like to ask those who make such a statement (including myself when I start thinking those thoughts) is "What do you mean by GOD?" That seems like a rather elementary question. In the Western World, influenced by both the Abrahamic religions and Greek philosophy we would probably answer that God is that being who is both all-knowing and all-powerful. One may or may not believe such a being exist, but that is how we would define Him. I agree with that assessment by the way, but I would add two more descriptions (or attributes to use a theological word). I would add all-just and all-wise as attributes of God. Of course the 'problem of evil' arises when you attribute perfect power and perfect justice to a being. If, the skeptic says and the believer wonders, this being had all power and were perfectly just then why is there evil in the world. Addressing that issue isn't the purpose of this blog entry but I am certain most who are reading this have heard that issue brought up before, maybe even brought it themselves.
Let's go back to the original point, what I'd do different if I were God.
Consider the fact that most of us say that about other people also. How many times have you said to someone, or had someone say to you "If I were you I'd do this." Here's the problem with such statements, I have no idea what I'd do if I were that person. The person knows more about the situation he finds himself in than I do. The same concept is true of teenagers. There's a famous statement attributed to Mark Twain (though its origin is uncertain) that goes "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in 7 years." How often has this happened to many people, we thought we had the answers only to discover we didn't.
I have come to the conclusion that when someone says what he would do if he were God, he means that's what he'd do if he were all-powerful (or at least powerful enough to do what he's saying he'd do). God, however, is more than just an all-powerful being. He also possesses all knowledge and all wisdom. So, what would you do if you had all knowledge and all wisdom to go along with all the power? Obviously none of us know what we would do in such a circumstance, at least not if we have the 21 year old maturity and not the 14 year old maturity. The 14 year old thinks he knows everything and is wiser than his elders, the 21 year old has been hit by reality and knows better.
So, perhaps we should show a little more humility and not presume to know what we have no way of knowing. I read a definition of a religious fanatic that defined it as a person who believes God would do what he is doing if only He knew the facts of the case. Perhaps we should gravitate a bit more toward humility and away from fanaticism.
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