Michael Moore, Biblical Theologian

Michael Moore, famed documentary film maker, remarked recently concerning Hurricane Gustav's coming ashore, just as the Republican National Convention was to begin: "Proof there is a God in heaven." He's right, at least partially.

The sovereignty of God is a mysterious thing. Orthodox Christian faith assumes, with Paul, that God is the giver of "life and breath and everything, ( Acts 17:25). Moreover, Jesus Christ "is before all things and in him all things hold together, (Col. 1:17). There are many other similar verses in the Bible that help outline the sovereignty of God (see esp. Rom. 9). However, as C.J. Mahaney has remarked, the moment you bring up the subject of the sovereignty of God (and all ensuing questions), you "bump into mystery." This is especially the case with human responsibility, free will and the control of God. However, some things are brilliantly clear. For example, God causes hurricanes.

Many in the Christian church avoid such statements. In fact, some go so far as to say God has nothing to do with events like Gustav. Unfortunately, they ignore the obvious teaching of scripture: God is in control of nature. Look, for example at these verses:

Job 37:6, 10-13: "For to the snow he says, 'Fall on the earth,' likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour...By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen."

Mark 4:39: "And (Jesus) awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

Psalm 135:5-7: "For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses."

But this does not answer for us the question, Why? Moore's answer is far too limited--God does not bring about huge disasters to only affect tiny events like the RNC. God, rather, does all things to bring about his will. Much more could be said, but the end of the Job passage above gives us a glimpse into the mind of God. "Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen." So God orchestrates every event, intertwining one with the other, in a supremely complex fashion using each gust of wind, every drop of rain, and every outcropping tornado "for correction, or for his land or for love," (see also Rom. 8:28). Like ripples in water, each occurrence will extend far beyond what we can see, what we can know.

So Moore got it right. I wish more in the church would follow his lead.