One of my favorite books is Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis. I have read it at least four times and it is very rare that I read a book twice. One reason I like this book is that I can relate to Orual, the main character. Orual, who has seen the highs and lows of life as the ruler of a small kingdom, issues a complaint against her gods that includes the following.
The gods do not answer us or if they do it is with terrors and plagues.
If the gods really intended to provide guidance for us, why is their guidance not plain?
The gods hide themselves and torment us with glimpses.
The gods ask us to believe what contradicts our senses.
The gods give us no clear sign even if we beg. We must guess. If we guess wrong, they punish us.
The gods will neither go away and leave us alone nor show themselves openly and tell us what they want.
The gods tantalize us with hints but are silent when we question them; it is as if they have no answers. [1]
Orual’s complaint is very similar to the questions we have asked in this blog. God has made us finite which limits our ability to know what is true but God still expects us to believe that he exists. God has limited our ability to know what is true outside of our space and time but he still expects us to believe that 2,000 years ago Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead for our sins. And if we do not believe these things, he will condemn us to hell for eternity. If this is true, then all of Orual’s criticisms of her gods apply to God as well. Can we respect such a God?
Or maybe our concept of what God requires of us and of how God relates to us needs to be revised.
[1] C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1956, pp. 3, 134, 244, 249, 250.
