I read something today that really struck a chord. It is often said that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
What I read was
Sometimes, … when the thing you’re looking for is big enough, absence of evidence is evidence of absence.
I removed a person’s name from the comment to protect the idiots.
The discussion centered around God, specifically, the Judeo-Christian God of the Old Testament. In the OT, this god destroyed towns directly, caused his armies to win against incredible odds, destroyed every living thing on the entire planet, caused a flaming bush to talk, created a pillar of fire to lead millions of people across the desert, parted an ocean, talked directly to his people.
What does this god do now? Cause a pipe to drip on a statue of Jesus? Cause a hurricane?
The god of the OT was epic. Powerful in his righteous fury. When his people displeased them, he cursed them. He destroyed them, he razed their towns with fire, he caused them to be invaded and enslaved. Not once, but many times.
How many people did god kill in Hurricane Sandy? It hit the most populous area of the entire US and killed about 100 people. Most were elderly (over the age of 65). Really?
This was god’s vegnence because of many different issues he has with us.
I’ve talked before about healing miracles and how they are never big things… like amputations. In the Bible, Jesus brought people back from the dead. But now, we get the occasional cancer cured.
In the Bible, Jesus fed hundreds of people with just a few fish and some bread. Now, we can’t feed people with hundreds of church based missions. In the Bible Jesus turned water into wine for a wedding. Now… no, I don’t even want to go there.
That’s what the quote is about. In the past, God was epic. He was present, directly, in-your-face. Now, he’s not.
Why?
Sometimes absence of evidence is evidence of absence.
