There’s a popular phrase philosophers enjoy using called, Ockham’s Razor. Although originally developed by a monk in the middle ages, the phrase, Ockham’s Razor is actually embraced today by skeptics as a method for rational thinking. The rule says, “We must not multiply entities beyond necessity.” Now that I’ve impressed you with arrogant sounding (but less than helpful) intellectual rhetoric, I’ll explain what this means in English. “Do not attribute to God, something that can be explained by ordinary means.”
For example, let’s say you know a Christian brother or sister with a cold. They ask for prayer and then a few days later, you find them beaming with joy! “Praise God! He healed me of the cold!”
Using Ockham’s Razor, one might answer back, “Wait a minute. You were going to get over that cold anyway. We all get over colds after a few days. What you attribute to God, I attribute to antibodies.”
A few years ago, I had a Christian book table set up at The University of Washington in Seattle. A philosophy student stopped by and asked me if I had ever heard of Ockham’s Razor. I told him I had, and quickly paraphrased its principle. The student seemed taken back. He may have been under the impression that Christians do not know how to study anything but the Bible and I believe he was genuinely surprised to see I knew something about philosophy.
That same example of recovering from a cold was brought up. “This is why I do not believe in miracles or answers to prayer,” he told me. “They can all be explained away by other means.”
I nodded, “When we’re talking about a cold, I agree with you. But let me share a story about something I attributed to God and you tell me if there was a better, more logical explanation.”
“OK,” the student said. And then, with patience and considerable interest, he listened to my story.
Here is the story: When I was a college student back in the 1970’s, I knew everything. At least I thought I did. I’m in my fifties now, and I don’t know nearly as much as I knew thirty-five years ago. At the very top of my arsenal of knowledge, I knew that the church I attended had major problems. For one thing, it was filled with hypocrites who did not walk with God nearly as closely, as, well, me for instance. This large, Baptist Church, had a beautiful building with a rotating stage, a fountain in the narthex, and the best sound system in the city. People used to nickname it, “Disneyland Baptist.” Only one problem: The congregation decided to build this structure before they had enough money. Loans were given out in the form of trust funds. As people got older and needed to withdraw their trust funds, the church sank into financial quicksand. As a result, the pastor’s messages began to change. When your pastor starts to preach from Haggai or any other prophet associated with the rebuilding of Israel’s ancient temple, watch out! Almost every week, he spoke about money and the importance of tithing or giving. People got sick of it. I got sick of it. The straw that broke the camel’s back came under the title, “Faith Pledge.” Do you know what a Faith Pledge is? It’s a guilt trip invented by certain Christians to incur action from other Christians.
“We need every member of our church to donate one-hundred dollars,” my pastor said one morning. Then a sneaky looking smile formed on his face. “You say you don’t have one-hundred dollars? Not a problem. All we request is that you pray to God and ask Him to give you one-hundred dollars. If He does this, if He answers your prayer and gives you one-hundred dollars completely out of the blue, as extra money, not part of your regular income, then can you promise to give this money to the church?” Who could turn down such a passionate plea? It’s like nicer version of the Godfather, giving us an offer we can’t refuse.
Needless to say, one-hundred dollars was a lot more money in the 1970’s. I still agreed to at least pray about this matter. I generally find it difficult to sit still when I pray. I’m too restless. I go into my backyard, look up at the sky, pace, and talk to God. That’s what I did that after noon. And while praying, I was reminded of my pastor’s request for one-hundred dollars.
“Well, God,” I said. “Those hypocrites were talking about money again.”
And then, something very unusual happened. I felt like I was instantly hearing from God. No, I did not witness an audible voice. God can communicate that way if He wishes, but more often, God places thoughts in our minds, made possible by His indwelling Holy Spirit (John 16). The reason I thought His Spirit was shooting thoughts through my mind was because the nature of my thoughts had changed. Since these new impressions were far more mature, less arrogant, and less whiney than my usual reflections, I had to consider the possibility that they were coming from God and not from me. After accepting such an interpretation of mental gymnastics laced with spiritual intervention, it seemed as though our conversation went something like this:
“True, Bob, they do talk about money too much in that church but it really wouldn’t hurt you to stretch your faith a little, would it?”
“Yeah, but God, I don’t have one-hundred dollars.”
“That isn’t the point. The point is that if I provide one-hundred dollars for you in an unexpected way, unrelated to your regular paycheck, you will give it to the church.”
I’ll be honest. I made the deal with God but it was only out of guilt. There was nothing loving, unselfish, or altruistic about my attitude. I just wanted to appease my conscience and get God off my back, on the chance that these newer, better thoughts really were coming from Him.
“OK, God. If you actually provide one hundred dollars, out of the blue, completely unexpected, not part of my regular paycheck, well then, fine, I’ll give the money to the church. But it has to be exactly one-hundred dollars or I won’t believe the money came from you. I’m not convinced you want anything to do with those hypocrites so you need to change my mind by making it exactly one-hundred dollars, no more, no less. If you give me ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, I will spend it.”
Two days later, I got a letter from my friend John. I had not seen John in six months. He did not attend my church and he knew nothing of their one-hundred dollars drive. Neither did he know anything about the prayer I had made. I am quoting his brief note word for word.
“Dear Bob.
God recently blessed me with a large sum of money and He laid it on my heart to give you this amount.
John”
Inside was a check for exactly one hundred dollars.
So I spent it…No…. I gave it to the church lest lightening strike me from the sky.
Now, let us flash forward in time, to my conversation with the philosophy student at the University of Washington.
“OK,” I said to him. “Ockahm’s Razor: Don’t attribute to God what can be explained another way. The most logical explanation is the explanation we must accept.”
“Explanation One: There is no God. When I was in the back yard, I thought I was talking to God but I was really talking to myself. Nobody heard me besides the neighbor’s dog and he wouldn’t have understood. And then, two days later, by an amazing coincidence, according to complete randomness and chance, the very one-hundred dollars I asked for, I received.”
“Or, Explanation Two: There is a God. The reason a one-hundred dollar check was mailed to me is because I asked God for one-hundred dollars and He heard me and He answered my prayer. Now you tell me…Which of those two explanations makes more sense?”
The student’s mouth was wide open. “That’s the most incredible story I’ve ever heard!. If something like that happened to me, I’d become a Christian!”
Let us not view logic as an enemy of Christianity. Explaining things according to the handiwork of God, is far more logical than the alternate explanation; fluke coincidence. Sometimes, it is simply a matter of making the obvious, obvious. If you have been a born again Christian for awhile, similar stories can be shared from your own life. Don’t be shy. People are thirsting for God, far more than you realize. This includes skeptics who think they already have it all figured out.
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