NOT ALL THERE

I turned to speak to God

About the world’s despair;

But to make bad matters worse

I found God wasn’t there.

God turned to speak to me

(Don’t anybody laugh);

God found I wasn’t there—

At least not over half.

The poet, in the first four lines above, expresses the overwhelming despair of the Ultimate Despair: What if God isn’t there?

Then, in a perfect 180-degree change of perspective and feeling in the last four lines he expresses his feeling of foolishness for doubting, as well as immense relief that God IS there!

I thought of this Robert Frost poem last Saturday as I read a newspaper article about British physicist Stephen Hawking and a Wall Street Journal article he co-wrote titled, “Why God Did Not Create the Universe.”

This article (based on his new book, The Grand Design) is a symbol of Hawking proudly, perhaps defiantly, turning his back on God, and bowing down to the god of science.

There was a time when Hawking gave God at least a respectful nod, such as when he said that if a complete theory of physics were discovered, then “we would know the mind of God.”

It is not uncommon for individuals with severe physical afflictions, such as Hawking has, to “charge God foolishly” (unlike Job in the Old Testament).  Or in other words to ask, “If there is a God, why would He do this to me or let this happen to me?”

Such individuals may emotionally reject God because they feel forgotten or rejected by God. Of course, living a lifetime feeling rejected by God Himself is untenable. It is easier to pretend God isn’t there; to mentally and emotionally erase Him from existence.

Atheists claim that they feel free and powerful once they embrace atheism. Indeed, psychologically they feel that they are even more powerful than God and smarter than God, because they have “killed” God.

This phenomenon can be seen in the story of Korihor who taught “There is no God” because it was “pleasing to the carnal mind.” (Alma 30:53). Hawking is, I believe, an example of this psychological coping mechanism.

With this insight, I felt tender compassion for Stephen Hawking.

I also felt humbly grateful that I regularly experience the “peace that passeth understanding” simply knowing God IS there.  

Not all scientists are atheists. My physics professor, Kent Harrison, is an example of a man with a brilliant mind that can grasp the intricacies of unproven “string theory” and “M-theory” (ideas that Hawking finds attractive), yet he does not reject God. Indeed, he is a humble, gentle man full of faith. Harrison, in a letter to the editor about the Hawking article, said:

“Claims that science explains everything are simply incorrect. Many scientists believe in God. Many observations about the universe they see support that belief. We are not in a position to claim final knowledge. Thus, ultimately, it is a matter of faith.”

The poet was accurate on another level. When we go about our lives neglecting or ignoring the spiritual aspect, we ARE only “half there.” We see only half of what is really going on. And we are only half as successful as we might be. …If that.