God Can't

A Review of God Can't
by Thomas Jay Oord

I remember singing these lyrics as a youngster at church: “God can do anything… anything… anything… God can do anything, but fail.” I don't know if, at the time, I picked up on the fact that the very song proclaiming "God can do anything" was also admitting that there was something God couldn't do (fail). Of course, that line was more humorous that theologically disturbing. I came away thinking the only thing God couldn't do was fail to be able to do anything.

The title of Thomas Jay Oord’s latest book is purposefully provocative: God Can’t. God can’t? It sounds wrong. But once the book has been read, the reader realizes that “God can” is just as (if not more) theologically disturbing given the reality that God often doesn’t.

What are we talking about here? This book is a bold attempt to solve the problem of pain. Why doesn’t God prevent suffering? Oord’s answer, in a nutshell, is captured in his title. This is clearly a different answer than is usually given in typical Christian theodicy. But Oord claims the usual clichés have failed. It’s time for a new proposal. He believes the proposed inability of God to prevent suffering flows from the most beautiful truth about God. God is love. And for Oord, Love is uncontrolling (see his book The Uncontrolling Love of God). It is simply not in God’s nature to control the world. This central truth provokes five aspects (and five chapters) of Oord’s theodicy.

Rather than summarize the work (just read it yourself, it’s not a long or difficult book to read even though it is challenging in its content), let me offer a few of my own thoughts/reactions.

First, I want to say that I thoroughly appreciated the bold approach. The book offers a theodicy that truly does feel fresh. Oord writes with short/direct statements that don’t leave the reader guessing as to Oords well-reasoned opinions.

Second, I’d like to say that I’m in complete agreement with Oord’s clearly communicated decision to make ‘God is love’ central to his overall theological project. Having become familiar with his work over the years, this is not at all surprising… but it is refreshing to see an author attempting to take his views to their logical conclusions.

Finally, while I confess that I’m not (yet?) in total agreement with Oord’s conclusions (I’m still struggling with how his view fits with some of the biblical miracle accounts and I’m still enamored by a more self-limiting view of God), I will also confess that I hope his view becomes somewhat mainstream. I’d much prefer that the ‘debate’ in theology be between variations of kenotic theology rather than the classic debates between Calvinism and Arminianism.

The ultimate position of the book is that we don’t need to choose between an all controlling God and a weak God. We can, instead, believe in an all-loving God and believe that love is powerful. This love is uncontrolling, but beautifully active to bring about good in and through the world.