False Arguments About the Origin of Existence: Why God Created Natural Laws and Causes

In the next world, the realm of Power, God will execute His Will directly. As there will be no “causes” everything will happen instantaneously. But here, in the realm of Wisdom, the Divine Name the All-Wise requires the Divine Power to operate behind the veil of causes and laws for several reasons, among them the following.

• Opposites are mingled in this world: truth with falsehood, light with darkness, good with evil, and so on. Since our human nature inclines toward both good and evil, we are tested to see whether or not we will use our free will and other faculties in the way of truth and good. Divine Wisdom requires that causes and laws should conceal the operations of Divine Power. If God had willed, He could train the planets with His “hands” in a way that we could see, or He could have them administered by visible angels. If this were the case, we would not need to speak of the laws or causes involved. To communicate His Commandments, He could speak to each individual directly, without sending Prophets. To make us believe in His existence and Oneness, He could write His Name with stars in the sky. But then our earthly existence would not be an arena of trial. As a result of this trial, since the time of Adam and Eve good and evil flow through this world into the next to fill its two mighty pools of Paradise and Hell.

• Like a mirror’s two sides, existence has two aspects or dimensions: one visible and material, the realm of opposites and (in most cases) imperfections; and a spiritual realm that is transparent, pure, and perfect. There can be-and actually are-events and phenomena in the material dimension that we do not like. Those who cannot perceive the Divine Wisdom behind all things may criticize the Almighty for such events and phenomena. To prevent that, God made natural laws and causes veil His acts. For example, so that we should not criticize either God or His Angel of Death for our own or others’ deaths, God placed disease and natural disasters (among other agents or causes) between Himself and death.

Due to this world’s essential imperfection, we experience many deficiencies and shortcomings. In absolute terms, every event and phenomenon is good and beautiful in itself and in its consequences. Whatever God does or decrees is good, beautiful, and just. Injustice, ugliness, and evil are only apparent or superficial, and arise from human error and abuse. For example, a court may rule against us unjustly, but we should know that Destiny permitted it because of a concealed crime belonging to us. Whatever befalls us usually is due to self-wronging or an evil we have done. However, those who cannot understand the Divine Wisdom behind events and phenomena may impute the resulting apparent ugliness or evil, imperfection and shortcoming, directly to God, although He has no defect or imperfection.

To prevent such a mistake, His Glory and Grandeur require that natural causes and laws conceal His acts, while belief in His Unity demands that those causes and laws not be ascribed to any creative power.

• If God Almighty acted here directly, we could not have developed science, known happiness, or be free of fear and anxiety. Thanks to God’s acting behind natural causes and laws, we can observe and study patterns in phenomena. Otherwise, each event would be a miracle. The regular flux and mutability of events and phenomena makes them comprehensible to us, and so awakens our desire to wonder and reflect, which is a principal factor in science. For the same reason, to some degree we can plan and arrange our affairs. What would our lives be like if we were not sure that the sun would rise tomorrow?

• Whoever has such attributes as beauty and perfection desires to know them and make them known. God owns absolute beauty and perfection and, being independent of all things, needs nothing. He also owns a holy and transcendent love, and has a sacred desire to manifest His Beauty and Perfection. If He manifested His Names and Attributes directly, we could not endure them. He therefore manifests them behind causes and laws, and by degrees within the confines of time and space, so that we can build a connection with them, and reflect on and perceive them. The gradual manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes is also a reason for our curiosity and wonder about them.

These four points constitute only some of the reasons why God acts through natural laws and causes.