This topic springs from the last, in that it once again deals with God’s relationship with us as individuals. I have a very specific question on my mind right now: Did God design each of us individually? Did He think about each one of us, think about what features we would have, how tall we would be, how crooked our smile would be, etc? Did He design us with delicacy and precision, not just as a race but as an individual? Some Bible passages certainly give us that impression:
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139: 13-14
Your hands shaped me and made me... Did you not clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. Job 10:8-12
However, having spent time doing many internet searches on this topic, I have found relatively little else to support this view. I can’t find any other scripture that suggests this sort of intricate, individual design. Even these two passages do not explicitly state that God designed each of us (bodily) in detail. Take for example Psalm 139: What is it actually saying?
This is basically, (I think), poetic language to describe the idea that God created us and knows us intimately and personally. It is mainly discussing the fact that God knows us, knows everything about us. The psalm does not say, “You decided what colour my eyes would be, whether I would have straight or curly hair”. It is not meant to be a theologically accurate statement that defines the exact nature of how each of us was created, but a poetic description of the presence of God in our individual lives.
“The basic thrust of the psalm is that God knows all about the psalmist, even before he was born, so it will do no good to try to hide "any wicked way" from God. There is even the poetic imagery of God carefully crafting him in the womb, with the implication that if God made him then God would know everything there is to know about him. With that confession that God knows all about him, the psalmist places himself in submission to God, and uses that confession as the basis of the prayer for God's guidance in the "way" of life.” Dennis Bratcher - Psalm 139:16 and Predestination: Text Criticism and Interpretation.
This is not a discussion about whether God created human life – I believe He did, but I think that He designed human life so that genetics could determine that sort of thing. Therefore, if there is something about or bodies that we don’t like, or tend to moan about, we aren’t saying that we don’t like God’s workmanship. Its not humanity in general that we are moaning about, but about the specifics of that which were not necessarily designed by God, but happened through the design process which God set out. Obviously, fixation on the outward appearance is still contrary to the instructions of scripture – (“Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7b), but it is surely not for the reason that we are criticising God’s creation, rather that our focus is wrong.
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4 comments:
Hey again,
When i read those Psalm 139 verses, they just outline the wonder of humans! Learning stuff from dad about the intricasies about genetics and the wonderful and completely different way in which the human body is created, not only for its bodily functions which are in themselves, amazing and completely mind-boggling, but also to unique ability that humans have (that animals dont), to think, to speak, to communicate with one another, and indeed to communicate with Him. I am left in awe when i read that verse of the general wonder of God's creation of humans and although there is not much particular mention of physical appearance in these verse, we can still be in wonder of the privalege of being a human!
hey kirsty, just found your blog and i think its great. for me, the struggle with who God is is what makes God so worth knowing. Anyway, back to the point. I know that i was designed by God, every little part of me. The reason i know this is because my physical self is part of who i am. I cannot believe that if my soul was put in a different body i would stil be the same. my big blue eyes are my favourite feature- they gave me confidence when i was younger, when dad went away when i was little i had his eyes, in so many ways. my tubby tummy and my stubby legs all make me- my insecurities with my physical self add up to my added security with my emotional self. does that make any sense? i believe God wanted you to have exactly the physical features that you have- would you have the same worries and cares and securities and confidences as you have now? i'm just not so sure.
Becks, hi. Glad you found my blog. I love hearing your thoughts.
I have to say though, I am not so sure about the whole body thing. If my soul were in a different body, would I still be the same? It is a very interesting question, and I had never thought of it like that. That needs some thought!
Its not that I believe that our bodies don't matter, or that we shouldn't care about them, I do think we are called to look after them, its just that I don't think that God specifically designed me to have my particular features. I find no basis for it in the Bible. Maybe I got the body I got because of chance (see previous post), or not chance as such, but through the way God designed the world to work. My body was born out of a process designed by God, rather than specifically and intricately designed by God.
I am probably wrong, and I guess it also doesn't really matter, its just one of those things that I am trying to figure out as part of my quest to understand God more.
I totally agree with you that the struggle with who God is, is what makes God worth knowing. There is so much of Him, this type of questioning could go on for all eternity and not stop! It just shows how big our God is!
Ok. Re-thought this through, and Becks I think you are right. Our bodies are part of who we are. I am more than just my soul - my body makes up a part of who I am too. They work together I guess to all become what makes me me.
I am still not convinced that God designed each little feature though. I am not denying it, I am just not convinced! Oh I don't know! Its too complicated.
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