GOD IN SEARCH OF MAN

In the seventeenth century, among some English and French philosophers emerged an influential philosophical thought which affirmed, through reason, the existence of God. This movement, later called Deism, found strong support in the works of eminent scientists of the time, such as the Italian Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and the Englishman Isaac Newton (1643-1727). 

Although this philosophical doctrine presented the virtue of recognizing the divine existence, it was, however, only a rational effort to explain existence. In the end, its contents laid the foundations of modern atheism. According to the deists, God had created the world, but then left it to the mercy of its mechanisms and no longer intervened in it. 

Of course that Deism has its importance "in the pursuit of the understanding of man in the world" [1], however, it is undeniable that reason, the foundation on which it stands, has its limits and does not reach all instances of the question. In this way, it is evident the limitation of this philosophical position when trying to fully explains its intends. In the end, it will take faith to accept your proposals. As a counterpoint to the rational path, there is the Revelation given by God, initially, to a man from Mesopotamia and then to his descendants who recorded it in what is now known as Holy Scripture, the Bible. 

In fact, as we look at mankind steeped in pain and suffering, the impression that remains is that there is no God. But according to the Scriptures this difficult situation, which we see in the world, was established only after the Fall, after man acted for the first time according to his own authority and not to the divine. 

God, however, was not indifferent: He came to Eden to talk to man and decided to expel him from there because he had lost the right to eat from the "tree of life," a symbol of man's communion with God, a communion that provides the nutrients for man's life as it was originally created (Genesis 3.9,22-24). It was the first divine intervention in mankind after the Fall.  

Out of Eden, away from the presence of God, man entered a new reality of existence: this world in which we live. But, according to scholars, around the year 2000 B.C., YAHWEH appeared Himself to Abraham and, about five hundred years later, He also appeared to Moses. Then, over time, He revealed Himself to Jewish men, the prophets, laying the groundwork for a greater event: his incarnation in history. 

Yes, in the days of Cesar Augustus, Roman emperor, and Quirino, governor of Syria (Luke 2:1,2), God became man and walked among us and, at the end of his life, opened the way that leads man back to Eden, that is, to "a new heaven and a new earth," a world without sin and without suffering as in the beginning (Revelation 21:1-5).  That way is his death and resurrection. These events, death and resurrection, mark the climax of divine intervention in the world. 

So when we see the world we live in, plunged in suffering, we notice that there is nothing wrong with it, but with man. The world is beautiful, but man, far from God, has turned it into a place of suffering. However, because of this situation, the Apostle Peter wrote in his second letter: "...by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (3.7).

So, according to Scripture, the great human problem is not material, but spiritual. God is not indifferent to the world. His movement toward man has already solved the serious problem in which man has placed himself, which is to spend his eternity separated from God in Hades. But man needs to make this solution his own by approaching God, through faith, in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Antônio Maia - M. Div.

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[1] MAIA, Antônio. O Homem Em Busca de Si amazon.com.br