Of course there is only a natural balance because God made it like that. All the things we observe in the universe were made by him: regularity, predictability, order, purpose, beauty, and balance. But I don't consider it possible that God made a static world, because such a world would not reflect his nature and character and therefore would be contrary to his being, therefore a self-contradiction.

But that's not to admit that God is not all-powerful. You misunderstand omnipotence if you think so. Omnipotence doesn't mean there are no limits to what God can do. It means God is able to do all things that are proper objects of his power. The omnipotence of God is all-sufficient power. He is able to overcome apparently insurmountable problems. He has complete power over nature. He has power over the course of history. He has the power to change human personality as individuals allow. He has the power to conquer death and sin, and to save a human soul for eternity. He has power over the spiritual realm.

What all of this means is that God’s will is never frustrated. What he chooses to do, he accomplishes, for he has the ability to do it.

There are, however, certain qualifications of this all-powerful character of God. He cannot arbitrarily do anything whatsoever that we may conceive of.

- He can’t do what is logically absurd or contradictory
- He can’t act contrary to his nature
- He cannot fail to do what he has promised
- The theology of omnipotence rejects the possibility of dualism
- He cannot interfere with the freedom of man
- He cannot change the past
- It is not violated by self-limitation on the part of God
- It does not imply the use of all the power of God

God cannot act contrary to his nature or to do what is logically absurd or contradictory, which is what you are claiming and then concluding that I am admitting God is not all-powerful. It's a non sequitur.

> The Old Testament disagrees with what you are saying.

Well, this needs references as evidences and conversation to follow. I radically disagree.

> Also, you have no proof that God thinks that way, even if he exists.

We only know about any deity as he/she/they reveals himself to us. We cannot (usually) perceive God with our senses or with scientific experiments. The knowledge of God is not that kind of knowledge, just as the determination of true guilt in a court of law is neither a sensory nor a scientific pursuit. As we observe evidences for God in nature, by His revelation in the Bible, and by our experiences it becomes reasonable to conclude that God thinks the way I am asserting.

To your logic, there is only a natural balance because God made it like that. He could have also made a static one and bent physics to suit it. So you're admitting he's not all powerful.

The Old Testament disagrees with what you are saying.

Also, you have no proof that God thinks that way, even if he exists.

Well, don't hold back on showing your biases. You are misunderstanding on every count.

1. God is not powerless by any stretch. According to the Bible, however, God exercises his power by choice. It's not as if God's power is turned on full stream all the time and he has no control over it, cannot temper its use, and its runs rampant over all things. On the one hand, God has given to us the responsibility to feed the hunger and bring justice to the world through moral governmental systems and policies. On another front, however, there are occasions where God raises up a particular governing official or deposes one (Daniel 2.21). That's not to claim that he always uses this power, or that every governing official is in office because God put him or her there, but he can and does use his power in such ways. To jump to the conclusion that God is powerless is an irresponsible jump in reasoning and an abrogation of logical sequence.

As far as hurricanes and droughts, that's a completely different issue and question altogether. I don't know why you bring it up in this conversation. God has created a dynamic world because of its benefits. A dynamic world is better than a static one. Hurricanes or droughts are part of the cycles of natures, the balance of nature, and natural measures that maintain equilibrium in our environment. Earthquakes and volcanoes relieve pressure. Because our minds are dynamic they can actually generate new thought patterns where there is brain injury or where creative problems cause us to rethink things. Our bodies can actually create new blood flow patterns where needed to bypass obstacles. These are only possible because the world is dynamic, not static. Free will is also a dynamic principle. Quantum mechanics shows us infinite possibilities of undetermined paths. This results in a far more sensible and wonderful world than one of static determinism and robotic interactions. But it also produces the possibility of things gone wrong (cancer) and of evil choices (rape and torture). All in all, a dynamic world is a far superior existence, and actually allows things like science, reason, logic, healing, free will, love, and a thousand other things that could not exist in a static world. As long as the existence of good far outweighs evil in the universe, it is possible for God to be all-loving and all-good and still allow the existence of suffering and evil, for many more reasons than I have described here. The only other choices strip us of our humanity and make our brains into meaningless robotic mush.

God is actually, by logic, a caring, reasoning, and intelligent providential sovereign, not a powerless, apathetic slacker.

So by that logic, then, God is powerless? If some corrupt politician can keep people starving, than it seems God just doesn't care enough to act, or doesn't have any power to do so.

Also, what about hurricanes, or draughts... natural forces that can destroy populations. God just lets it happen.

If God really does exist, he must be one f***ed up guy.

I agree with you that I find the general premise insulting and narcissistic, but I'll make several comments to clarify and elaborate.

1. God does answer prayer, he does take care of his people, and he does provide things. I have received things that I fully believe were from the hand of God via other people (a grocery store gift card in the mail, sent anonymously, when I was out of work, for instance; a bag of groceries left secretly on the front porch). God does such things. But Americans (in particular) are too glib about attributing their wealth and comfort to God's blessing. I'll explain why in #2.

2. The book of Job was written to show us that God doesn't run the world by the Retribution Principle: Good people get blessed, and bad people have trouble. The RP is not how the world works. We are wrong to attribute our good life to God's will and intervention. Many "sinners" have wealth, power, health and happiness, and many "believers" suffer and struggle. The opposite is also true. The RP is not how the world works.

3. In most cases, people around the world are starving and dying because of (1) greed and lack of sharing on the part of the "haves", (2) corrupt political systems that oppress and rob from the "have nots", and (3) political corruption, greed, and lack of infrastructure that keeps medicines and food from reaching those who need them. Solving the starvation and ill-health crises of our world is within our capability as a human race, but we never solve it because of too much systemic wrongdoing. It's a problem God has given us to solve, and we don't.

4. It's immoral to think that God gives you a second car or a vacation home or an awesome trip as a gift of love when millions of people around the world are starving. The only interpretation of that can be that God has a blind eye to the poor and just likes to make the rich richer—an abhorrent theology. Though refer back to #1 for additional comment on this point.

So, I've come across quite a few Christians who attribute their good life to God's will and intervention. I find this insulting and narcissistic as there are many innocent people in the world starving and dying, while John Smith thanks God for his second car.

What are your thoughts on people attributing their wealth to God's will?