Bruce R. Reichenbach > Quotes

“We might put our point this way: to say that God has purposes and plans for his creation says nothing about their scope. Does God’s plan or purpose cover every detail of human history and personal experience, or are his plans often more general and only at times specific? The”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“Although in one sense a belief in meticulous providence—that nothing happens apart from what God has planned, intended, and willed for the good of us, others, and indeed, all creation—is comforting, this view encounters serious difficulties when we think about the significant number of dysteleological events that we find difficult to consistently reconcile with a meticulous divine plan for our good. Some”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“When we purchase a puzzle, we consider not only the beauty or artistry of the puzzle picture, but also the challenge the puzzle presents.”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“In the end, my readers will have to decide how successfully I have crafted the puzzle of God’s loving providence. Some might conclude that I have forced pieces together that do not properly belong or link together, or that they fit together in very different ways than I suggest. I hope that many others will conclude that I have made notable progress in resolving the providence puzzle. Each puzzler will decide, but whatever the decision, our attempt to work out the puzzle is itself worthwhile, not merely for the contemplative intellectual challenge, but to bring to our awareness and enjoyment the magnitude, wonder, and extent of God’s providence.”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“divine providence—presents an intellectual and spiritual puzzle that is both magnetic and enigmatic. Because of its magnetism, theologians, philosophers, and Christians over the centuries have been drawn to address the critical questions that providence raises.”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“In short, not only is it difficult to believe in meticulous providence in the face of this evil, it demeans the sufferers themselves to say that this seemingly gratuitous suffering is part of God’s best plan of blessing for them.”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“Scripture repeatedly recounts the intentional actions of the providential God. The”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“One has to be careful, however, to discern how much one can generalize from these particular cases of individual callings to the claim that all individuals are specifically called to particular tasks. In”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“God acts in the world for our good, disciplines us to develop and grow in our moral and spiritual character, and ultimately patiently bids us to choose to enter into a personal, covenantal relationship with him. To make this possible God created us with significant freedom.”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom

“Although “providence” literally means “to foresee,” as applied theologically to God it refers more broadly to God’s active loving care for, beneficial actions on behalf of, and guidance of his creation than to any passive observation or witnessing. Divine”
― Bruce R. Reichenbach, Divine Providence: God's Love and Human Freedom