God of the Gaps

I was watching a video yesterday in our spiritual formation class, regarding the intersection of faith and science, when an unfamiliar phrase was used. The speaker talked of "God of the gaps," a saying evidently used to indicate that, whenever science cannot explain a particular natural phenomenon, the explanation must be God or a higher power. As scientific theories continue to abound in 2008, the effect is simply to reduce the presence of God more and more in our lives. As a Christian I could not disagree more with this theory and prefer instead to see God, or Christ, as "standing in the gap."

The latter phrase has been used in the Christian community within the past few years to indicate that God is our intercessor for us as we undergo the various trials of our lives. In this context, He becomes our refuge, our strength, our hope. He is not being reduced to nothingness; on the contrary, He is being magnified.

Our Scripture reading in church yesterday, for example, centered on the stoning of Stephen, an early Christian disciple, in the New Testament. As he looks up, he see Christ standing at the right hand of the Father. This verse to me has always been confirmation of Christ as intercessor in our lives. Yes, He was not going miraculously to save Stephen from this horrible death, but He was there to comfort Stephen and to remind him that his own resurrection was very near.

Many believe, and even hope, that God will disappear as a force in modern society since religion is often viewed as a superstition or set of beliefs that only the uninformed and uneducated could believe. As long as there are still mysteries to explain, however, God will remain a powerful force and belief of the faithful.