The Less We Know /// Emily Thullesen

 One of the main sections in Paradise Lost Book VII contains the conversation between Adam and Eve and Raphael about how God created the world. Adam and Eve are very intrigued about the subject and are hungry to know more and more information. Raphael warns them that knowing everything would not necessarily be beneficial, which stirred some thought in me about the ways God reveals himself today. 

It is a common theological and apologetic question how if God really wanted us to believe in him, then why would he not reveal himself to us completely? There is so much left that we as human beings do not know and understand thoroughly. Why does God leave much of himself a mystery? The answer is, he truly reveals more to us than we will ever know. This passage had me thinking of the different ways God actually shows himself to us and the purpose of having faith in general. After all, look at the universe around us and the intricate design and beauty of it all. There are millions of ways in which God works through individuals and placing them in our lives for specific purposes, ultimately working everything out for His own glory. If God completely revealed himself, there would be no purpose in faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is belief without sight. Therefore, a lack of complete knowledge is necessary for our faith, and like us, it was left to Adam and Eve to decide if they wanted to pursue faith in God. 

I commented on Isabelle Ferguson and Haylee Lynd’s posts. 

Comments

  1. Bug OlsenSeptember 21, 2021 at 12:08 AM

    I think the concept of general revelation as you discuss in your post is extremely prominent in these two books. The best example of this is in line 102 of Book Eight, which says that the earth was so beautifully created so "That man may know he dwells not in his own", thereby pointing to the existence of a creator. This is a very important concept to understand not only for the remainder of the book but for our own lives as Christians as well, and I'm glad you mentioned this in your post.

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  2. Braylan StringfellowSeptember 21, 2021 at 8:43 AM

    God truly works in mysterious ways. I’ve always found it interesting that God does not always give us the answers we want but instead has us only trust Him. Like you said, it is a matter of our faith in Him. Honestly its like a test God has for us to see if we truly trust him or not. If God were to tell us everything, it would be so much information that we could never comprehend it all.

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