God and Nature
Rudolf B. Brun
"DEUS CARITAS EST" "GOD IS LOVE." That is why creation is God's gift. ????
OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS, THEOLOGIANS, AND PASTORS
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
One positive aspect of the virus disaster may be an invitation to think. We all have grown up with the notion that God is in charge of what happens in Nature. The Old Testament tells us time and time again that floods, droughts, fires from heaven destroying cities because of sinful, unrepenting people are all Acts of God. On this bases, it seems straight forward to conclude hat the Covid-19 pandemic may also be an act of God.
It is not!
Instead, it is an act of Nature. Since the Old Testament's view of the relationship between God and Nature, we have learned from science that Nature is capable of constructing itself. This discovery needs to be taken seriously. Therefore, the relationship between God and Nature must be re-thought.
One significant difference between the Old- and the New Testament is the contrast between God's Old and New covenant. "The Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the New, a foundation for what was to come. From the book of Genesis on, the Old Testament pointed forward to a Messiah or Savior. The New Testament describes the fulfillment of God's promise by Jesus Christ" (Jack Zavada April 27, 2019, <https://www.learnreligions.com/old-vs-new-covenant-700361>).
Who is Jesus Christ? He is the perfect image of the Father. How so? Philip, one of Jesus' disciples, said to Him: "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: ......"Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14: 8-10). And what do we see of the Father in Christ's life, teachings, cross, and resurrection? We can learn to see that God is love: "Deus Caritas Est."
What does this have to do with God and Nature? From within the "logic of love," we must conclude that Creation is Gods'gft. What is this gift precisely? It is God Himself, His Word, that is (Triune!) God. However, God's Word does not bring forth God again, but that which is essentially not God but Creation. "All things came to be through him, and without him, nothing came to be" (John 1:2,3).
Conclusion: God is not a CEO, not a manager, not a helicopter parent. That is why Nature is free to bring forth itself. Only this way can it bring forth a creature free to represent all of Creation. "For Creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God" (Rom 8:19).