Me Died Blue
Puritan Board Post-Graduate
In my humanities class today (which is basically a seminar-style discussion class on various readings in philosophy, religion and politics), in a discussion on providence and its implications for so-called "innocent suffering" and other things, at one point the issue was brought up by the professor of people "relying on God too much." Most of the students naturally agreed with him that such a thing is possible and frequently manifested, and they used examples like Christian Scientists refusing to take medication.
I mentioned the sharp difference between fatalism and a view of sovereignty and providence such as the biblical one, and one person essentially replied with, "So then you agree that people can rely on God too much (i.e. fatalists), and you're also saying that the biblical view of providence and sovereignty is not advocating the absolute maximum reliance on God that is possible?"
My response and the discussion that followed brought to my mind a reminding distinction that is very beneficial and that I thus thought I'd share here: It's that fatalism is not the ultimate case of relying on God to the maximum extent, but rather a twisting of the entire concept of reliance on God; in fact, the ultimate, truly maximum reliance on God will trust and follow all of His instructions (in His Word), which in turn include active living and the doing of actions that reflect denial of fatalism. Thus, no, it is not possible to rely "too fully" on God, and in fact those who practice fatalism are not relying on God to the maximum extent possible, but are ultimately and truly relying on God less than those with a biblical view of sovereignty and providence are.
I mentioned the sharp difference between fatalism and a view of sovereignty and providence such as the biblical one, and one person essentially replied with, "So then you agree that people can rely on God too much (i.e. fatalists), and you're also saying that the biblical view of providence and sovereignty is not advocating the absolute maximum reliance on God that is possible?"
My response and the discussion that followed brought to my mind a reminding distinction that is very beneficial and that I thus thought I'd share here: It's that fatalism is not the ultimate case of relying on God to the maximum extent, but rather a twisting of the entire concept of reliance on God; in fact, the ultimate, truly maximum reliance on God will trust and follow all of His instructions (in His Word), which in turn include active living and the doing of actions that reflect denial of fatalism. Thus, no, it is not possible to rely "too fully" on God, and in fact those who practice fatalism are not relying on God to the maximum extent possible, but are ultimately and truly relying on God less than those with a biblical view of sovereignty and providence are.