The term “God of the gaps” was first used in the 19th century referring to a theological argument in which God is the reason for any phenomenon that couldn’t be explained by the current scientific understanding. But a form of “god of the gaps” has been around for a long time. It is found in pagan religions throughout history when men believed there must be a god or gods who controlled what they could not – which was almost everything. Therefore, people needed a god of the harvest, fertility, war, disease, love, etc. Pagan worship was built around placating or bribing the gods to intervene for the benefit of the worshipper. If things went well, the gods were pleased. If they went poorly, the gods were angry.
With the Enlightenment period of European history, man gradually gained increased knowledge and control over his life and environment. The result was the inevitable decreasing need for a belief in a god of the gaps. Postmodern man considers medieval religious beliefs mythical, unnecessary…even silly. Compared to our early ancestors, a self-sufficient modern man admits to few things being outside his control. Why pray to a god of war when we you can just build a bigger bomb?
Today the pagan “god of the gaps” is just below the surface. For example, consider what happened right after “911”. For several months churches experienced a huge surge in attendance. Public conversation, which normally avoided any mention of God or prayer, was temporarily filled with it. The vulnerability of the moment led to a revival of the “god of the gaps”. The normal politically correct view of avoiding any mention of God was then and is still today temporarily suspended in national or natural tragedies.
But closer to home in our evangelical world, I wonder if we haven’t just exchanged a “god of the gaps” with a “gospel of the gaps”. Early in my training for sharing the gospel, I learned “open nerve” evangelism. The rationale is that since not everyone has a felt gap of sin and alienation from God, but they do have overwhelming issues, we need only identify an issue and show them how Christ can help. Afterwards, we expose them to the real gap: the sin gap and how Christ came to deal with it.
The unintended consequence is we present God as The Gap Filler. Here is a quick summary. Come to Jesus and he will bridge the:
- Guilt gap: Forgive us from the guilt of past sin
- Fear gap: Give us immunity from penalty of future sin
- Eternity gap: Give us a contract on a heavenly condo
- Fulfillment gap: Give us a personal gift package to make our lives abundant
Our intention is to later add, “Oh, by the way, now that you have come to Jesus, he wants you to follow him, take up your cross, die daily, serve others, and do everything for his glory.” Naively we expected people to replace the “It’s all about me” view of the gospel to “It’s all about him”. Some do. Most do not.
The problem with the gap message is not that it is untrue, but that it is inadequate. Wanting God to fill our gaps is not wanting too much but too little. It is certainly true that Christ is interested in meeting our needs: healing our diseases, breaking chains of bondage, giving us peace, even restoring our fractured and fragile self-image. But the gospel Jesus taught and Paul preached was not a gospel of self-actualization or self-fulfillment. It was a gospel of the truth about God expressed through his Son and of his offer of life in his kingdom. The good news that comes from the gospel is not about making our self-centered lives more self-oriented but about the freedom to join in his kingdom life –the reality for which we were designed and without which we are incomplete.
Nothing has changed in human nature in two thousand years. The people Jesus ministered to were more than willing to have him fill their gaps. They wanted his free meals, healing, and deliverance from oppression. What they rejected was the King and his kingdom, but that is what he offered. Not much has changed.
A cursory study of the book of Acts and the gospel message being taken from Jerusalem to the edges of the Roman world, reveals a message of Christ and life in his kingdom. No promise of self-actualization or a more comfortable lifestyle is presented … only a promise of freedom to know Christ and live with him in his eternal kingdom kind of life.
When Paul introduces the gospel of Christ to the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, he starts with God as the Creator and Lord of all creation. He then moves to a call for repentance in light of the One who was resurrected from the dead and will judge the world… seems a little different than “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” I wonder, if Paul had the chance today to speak on our university campuses or on Capitol Hill, would he say the same thing?
For reflection: What impact does a gospel of the gaps have on discipleship?
