Which Is More Likely: an Impersonal Creator or a Personal One?

As we discussed in the previous essay, if the most likely scenario is that some sort of supernatural, intelligent Mind designed and created complex biological life on earth, then what is this powerful Being like? Specifically, which is more likely: that is this Being is impersonal or personal?

Because of the popular “Star Wars” movies, the first of which appeared almost a half-century ago, many people became enamoured with the concept of “the Force.” As is declared countless times in each movie, “May the Force be with you.”

In these movies, the Force is a supernatural, spiritual power. It gives those who can tap into it wisdom and understanding and the ability to perform miracles, such as levitating objects and choking someone from across the room by just the wave of a hand. The Force of “Star Wars” is impersonal, similar to electricity. It provides power, but it is not a sentient being, an actual person.

The “Star Wars” movies prompted a lot of folks to explore an ancient religious worldview: Pantheism. This is the belief that the Deity is a part of nature. The supernatural power infuses its spiritual presence into everything that exists on earth: rocks, trees, clouds, animals, and human beings. In the “Star Wars” movies, the Force is portrayed very much in this way: an impersonal, supernatural energy that empowers those who can access it, usually only Jedi Knights. (At least I think it was just the Jedi Knights. It’s been a long time since I watched those films.)

For our purposes, the key question is: is the supernatural Creator of the Universe an impersonal force or a personal Being? What is more likely?

The “Star Wars” version of an impersonal divine force is very attractive to certain people because it places no demands on them. There is no need to enter into a personal relationship with this mysterious power because it is unable to do so. As a result, this force cannot know every deep, dark secret about each person, which is comforting. Instead, people can utilize the impersonal force whenever needed, just as we turn on a light switch to employ the impersonal force of electricity. The emotions of shame and embarrassment, along with the idea of being held to a high moral standard, are not an issue. Only personal beings care about those issues, and an impersonal force cannot and does not care.

However, this view ignores an important reality: a creature cannot be greater than its Creator. The Pantheistic worldview insists that an impersonal power created beings, us, who have personalities. We have self-awareness. We can communicate and enter into loving relationships with other persons. It is illogical to claim the Creator has no personality, and therefore no ability to communicate with, nor enter into loving relationships, with the beings it created. That makes no sense. How can the Creator form out of nothing creatures that have more abilities and skills than it has?

So, the only logical conclusion is that the Creator of Mankind possesses the traits that were imbued into us. These traits include personality, self-awareness, and the ability to communicate and have relationships with other personal beings.

Pantheism and its close cousin, Deism, do not add up. Deism, by the way, is the belief that the Creator is a personal God, unlike how the Deity is defined in Pantheism. However, with Deism, after creating us, the personal God chose to remain silent and not reveal Himself to us, nor engage in any communication with us. Basically, in this view, God created everything and then moved out of state, leaving no forwarding address. We’re on our own to try and make the best of our lives with what little information we have.

The only religious worldview that makes sense is Theism, the worldview of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In this view, the divine Creator gave us some of the attributes He possesses: a mind, self-awareness, the ability to communicate, and the ability to enter into personal relationships.

Claiming that God is not personal doesn’t make sense. Created beings cannot possess more abilities than their Creator. The only thing that adds up is the view that God Almighty, the supernatural, spiritual, all-powerful Creator of the Universe, is personal. He has a personality. He can communicate. He can enter into relationships with other persons.

So, to answer the question posed at the beginning — What is the Creator of the Universe like? — the most likely answer is this: the Creator is a personal being. He created personal beings with the ability to communicate (some would say the compulsion to communicate), the same ability He must possess, too. It is illogical for the Creator not to have traits possessed by His creatures; therefore, He must be able to communicate with us.

It is also illogical to claim the Deity possesses the ability to communicate, but instead chose to remain silent. The obvious conclusion is this: it is most likely that the Creator of the Universe is a personal Being who has the ability to communicate and actively does so with the creatures He made.

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(These “Merry Catholic” essays are featured on WJMJ, 88.9 FM, the radio station for the Archdiocese of Hartford, CT.)

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