What is the God of the gaps argument?

Answer

The “God-of-the-gaps” argument pertains to a perspective on the universe where anything currently explicable by our understanding of natural phenomena is deemed beyond divine interaction. Consequently, the notion of “God” is invoked to elucidate what science has not yet clarified. Essentially, only the “gaps” in scientific knowledge are attributed to God’s work, hence the term “God of the gaps.”

The concept suggests that as scientific exploration advances and more phenomena are elucidated through natural means, the significance of God diminishes proportionately. A common critique argues that reliance on supernatural reasoning should wane over time, as the scope of knowledge previously ascribed to God decreases.

Nevertheless, contemporary progress in science and technology has altered this dynamic. The development of electron scanning microscopes has enabled the observation of the intricate operations within cells for the first time. What was once perceived as a mere “blob” of protoplasm is now recognized as significantly more intricate and information-rich than previously imagined.

Many issues previously deemed resolved in the early twentieth century are now revealed to be inadequately explained by naturalistic theories. Twenty-first-century technology is uncovering substantial gaps in traditional evolutionary explanations. The information-dense nature of the supposedly “simple” has only recently been comprehended at a profound level, challenging its presumed simplicity. Information is now recognized as inherently non-material, disqualifying materialistic processes as sources of information.

In essence, belief in God can be founded on objective evaluation rather than the subjective speculation that may have prevailed millennia ago. However, many pPeople often choose to ignore what is evident to them. The Bible speaks directly to those individuals: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it clear to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20). The God-of-the-gaps argument is an instance of “suppressing the truth” as it assigns God as a secondary explanation for phenomena that are not yet explained by natural means. This misconception leads some to the erroneous belief that God is not the all-powerful, ever-present, absolute Being described in Scripture.

There are many things for which natural sciences cannot offer an explanation, such as the origin of the time/space/matter continuum and its fine-tuning; the emergence and evolution of life itself; and the development of the intricate and specific information systems present in all living organisms, which cannot (and will never be able to) be explained through natural processes. Therefore, one cannot logically separate the supernatural from the observable universe, reaffirming that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” «In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. », (Genesis 1:1).