A Question of God, Part 1: Why Does God Ask Questions?

From The Epoch Times.com (Mar. 27):

St. Augustine observed long ago that “whatever appears in the divine Word that can be referred neither to virtuous conduct nor to the truth of faith must be taken to be figurative.” I think the key word in his sentence that we have to come to terms with is the word “figurative.”

The “divine Word” means, of course, the scriptures. And it is easy to see that the Ten Commandments, for example, are a clear case of exhorting us to virtuous conduct. Equally, we can delve into the Epistles of Paul in the New Testament and find plenty of examples of what constitutes “the truth of faith.”

But then, setting aside this large body of virtue and truth texts, we also have huge swaths of text—myths, stories, parables, and so on—that make up what might be construed as “figurative.” That seems easy and straightforward, doesn’t it? It does, but it isn’t! It’s important in looking at the Bible to realize that figurative truths exist alongside literal truths, and sometimes can be even more powerful.

One of the problems with atheists, and especially those of a scientific cast of mind (sometimes called “scientism”), is that they look for literal meanings where, in fact, figurative things are meant.

And, it’s not just atheists who do this, for if we go back to the New Testament, we find the Pharisees—religious leaders (not atheists!)—doing it. A great example would be in Mark’s gospel (14:58) where Jesus is accused of saying that if “this Temple” is destroyed, he will make another in three days. Here, clearly, the figurative meaning that Jesus is referring to is his own resurrection, but the accusers and priests assume that he actually—literally—means he will rebuild Herod’s temple (that took 46 years to build, John 2:20) in three days!

But still worse than scientism, however, is when we find the aesthetic artist types who also, incredibly, seem not to understand what figurative means. A good example of what I am talking about occurs in the book “Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible,” published in 2005, in which various celebrities and experts give their responses and interpretations to many of the books in the Old and New Testaments.

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Why Does God Ask Questions?

So we are left with asking two questions. The first is, Why does God ask questions when he already knows the answers? And this, I think, helps us delve further into the depths of meaning in this seemingly simple story or myth.

A starting point might be that to see the presence of God “in the cool of the day” (notice, not the heat or passion of the day) is somewhat analogous to the voice of conscience: They have done wrong, and they know it; but they don’t know it and wish to hide from it. But there is no hiding. If we won’t come to God, then God comes, walks, toward us.

Then, in this personal encounter (and isn’t conscience intensely cool but also intensely personal?) we find God—clearly knowing the answers to his own questions—going into what in modern parlance might be described as a “coaching” mode. Yes, God the ultimate coach!

For what do coaches do? By questioning, they draw out from the subjects the answers that are within them, but yet which unaided they seem unable to reach. The point of God’s question is always to enable the subject to self-realize, to rescue their self from their own predicament. [read more]

A Question of God, Part 2: The Subtle Intentions Behind Satan’s Questions