An Analogy for God's Providence

[dga471 (Daniel)]

@Faizal_Ali

Why accomplish these things thru the actions of much less powerful beings who might not do what is required?

1. You’re imputing a requirement of efficiency to God, namely, it seems inefficient and foolish to use something imperfect to accomplish something when you can use other, better means. But efficiency only makes sense for humans who have limited resources. God has unlimited time and capabilities and is thus not bound by these things.

2. As I have argued, it’s not clear to me that “perfect efficiency” is possible.

@Faizal_Ali

But he is not omnipotent. He did not create me or my nature. If he had, he could have done it so that any of the things he requires me to do I will do of my own free will, just as I will of my own free will avoid smashing my head against a wall.

The point under contention here is whether it is even possible for an “omnipotent” being to do things in the way that you describe. As I said, God’s omnipotence is not without bounds.

@Faizal_Ali

If we as finite material creatures are doing things that aid in the realization of God’s infinite plan, then God is achieving the supernatural by means of the natural, something you consider logically incoherent.

That doesn’t follow. The natural is indeed a component, or part of the means by which the supernatural is attained, but without direct supernatural intervention, it will never reach it.

To take some (imperfect) analogies: I can buy a pile of bricks, but without a plan and construction workers to execute the plan they will not magically become a house.

I can chop a lot of firewood and put them into a pile, but without a match they will not become a burning campfire.

Q: An omnipotent being doesn’t need construction workers to create the house. He can do it instantly!

Yes, but the point still holds: without the omnipotent being intervening (whether by conjuring up construction workers or instantly turning the bricks into a house), the pile of bricks remains a pile of bricks. Once you’ve decided to create a pile of bricks which are not capable of assembling themselves, you have to do something to get them to become a house.

Q: So why create a pile of bricks in the first place, instead of conjuring up a house instantly?

Indeed, it doesn’t seem efficient. But what I wasn’t looking for efficiency? What if I just liked the idea of building houses from bricks instead of instantly conjuring them, and I had unlimited time and resources? Or maybe I’ve already built a thousand houses using my instant conjuring abilities and want to try something else? The possibilities are endless here. More importantly, note that if I want to obtain a brick house, I need bricks.