Doctrines with Power – Part 5 – The Doctrine of the Semi-Blind God
March 29, 2010
Dear Friends,
There is a doctrine that has pockets of popularity that I like to call the Doctrine of the Semi-Blind God. The basic idea is that God is so pure that He can’t look on sin. Thus, God has a blind spot. The proof for this notion is taken from a misreading of Habakkuk 1:13. The prophet, who is arguing with God, says “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” Habakkuk suggests that God can’t use the Chaldeans to punish Judah as the Babylonians are such wicked people. Of course, God DID use the Chaldeans to punish Judah and He does look on evil. Habakkuk was wrong and therein provides us with a very valuable lesson. This is an excellent case study to prove the three most important aspects of Biblical exegesis – context, context, context.
I’ll only provide one proof against this idea since this is not an analysis on the doctrine, but examining the power behind the doctrine. We are told in Proverbs unequivocally that “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3 NIV) The idea of the Semi-Blind God creeps into some of the most peculiar places. It is unfortunately quoted in The Christadelphian Instructor by Robert Roberts as a truism for students studying for baptism. It is also quoted in many texts as a proof against the devil and demons as, the logic goes, God couldn’t entertain evil angels in heaven. The teaching has been used to prove that God does not hear the prayers of the unbaptized. It is very fascinating that this strange little teaching has found a home in the body of believers that otherwise understands and preaches the omnipresence and omniscience of God.
The power in this doctrine is that it impinges on the sovereignty of God. If this teaching is true, God has blind spots, problems and weaknesses. Sin can be hidden from God’s view by His, for lack of a better term, “purity problem.” This is serious departure from truth from an intellectual perspective, but has far reaching implications for our view of God working in our life. Like the doctrine of chance, if we believe in the Semi-Blind God, we might very well be led to the conclusion that God abandons us every time we sin. Like Adam and Eve, when we sin we may be inclined to flee God’s presence rather than running to Him. This is counterproductive to our repentance and therefore potentially harmful to our salvation.
The all-seeing One witnesses our sin. God loves us, desires our repentance and wants us to run to Him rather than away from Him. Any teaching that inclines us away from this behavior rather than toward this behavior is a serious hindrance to our discipleship. God deals with sinners each and every day because He has to deal with all of us.
Praying for His forgiveness for our sins is not a revelation of that sin to God. It is not like He was unaware of it until we brought it to His attention in prayer. That is one of the great comforts of confession in prayer. God already knows. He saw it all. Bringing our sin and metaphorically laying it down on His altar is cathartic in this very fact that we are not shedding anything new on the situation except our heartfelt penitence. God doesn’t need us to say we are sorry for His sake. If we are truly trying to serve Him, He has already forgiven us. It is the healing of our heart that is benefited from laying this on God’s altar of love and mercy. We need to acknowledge in faith God’s promise to forgive. In acknowledgment of this great truth, we are healed. God, as pictured in the parable of the Prodigal Son, has already seen us afar off, runs to us and embraces us. If our sin is in some way news to God, then perhaps we feel we should continue to try and hide it–as if that were possible.
This teaching of the Semi-Blind God, when examined for a nanosecond, is shown to be silly. However, for some they have never stopped to examine it, it remains a negative power to be reckoned with in their lives. Let’s get the word out to those who may be hiding their sins and encourage them to run to the One who knows more about their sins than they themselves.
Have a great week,
