A God-shaped hole

In my previous blog I highlighted a biography of the late philosopher Bertrand Russell, written by his daughter Katherine Tait.  Russell was a declared atheist.  Katherine Tait was brought up, therefore, in a household which rejected any notion of a personal God.  It is fascinating to read her reflection on her father’s life, and in particular the result of his atheistic belief system.  She writes,

“Somewhere at the back of my father’s mind, at the bottom of his heart, in the depths of his soul, there was an empty space that had once been filled by God, and he never found anything else to put in it.”

Blaise Pascal is quoted as having stated, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”  Bertrand Russell, having rejected the choice to invite God to fill that space in his life, discovered that Pascal was right in saying that nothing and no-one else could fill the void.

There is a passage in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel where some of those who had been following Jesus found the going too hard and turned away. Jesus looked to the 12 and asked them whether they, too, would leave him.  Peter responded, ‘Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life’ (John 6.68).  In other words, they knew that they had in Jesus what they could find nowhere else.

It is significant that Katherine Tait rejected her father’s atheism and turned to God, writing, “I found it easier to believe in a universe created by an eternal God than in one that had ‘just happened.’”  She goes on to write movingly about her own experience of God’s love and grace:

“For me, the belief in forgiveness and grace was like sunshine after long days or rain.  No matter what I did, no matter how low I fell, God would be there to forgive, to pick me up and set me on my feet again.  Though I could not earn his love, neither could I lose it.  It was absolute, not conditional.  My earthy father loved me only when I was good (or so I believed).  I was not good; therefore he did not love me.  But God did and always will.”

Katherine Tait embraced the love of God and found that the empty space in her life had been filled.  So much so that she and her husband spent some time on the mission field sharing their experience of God’s love with others.  Ultimately, we all have the choice – do we embrace the love of God in Christ, or do we engage ourselves in a fruitless search for fulfilment elsewhere?

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I have recently read “My Father Bertrand Russell”, a fascinating book written by Russell’s daughter Katharine Tait.  It gives an inside account of life in the Russell household and an engrossing insight into the life and character of the well-known philosopher.  He certainly seems to have been someone who was eager to kick against many of society’s traditions.  He and his second wife, Dora, established a school which was operated along lines significantly different from most schools of the time.  For example, the Russells set up a school council, consisting of both the staff and the pupils; each member was entitled to one vote when decisions were to be taken.  This is an extract from the book (Katharine Tait was writing from her experience of being a pupil):

“We debated with heat and abandon, but usually we accepted the recommendations of their superior wisdom.  Except once, when we voted to abolish all rules for a trial period, to discover which ones were really important.  I doubt if the teachers were comfortable with the experiment, but it proved a good one, because we were not comfortable either.  The teachers took the line that rules were abolished for them too, and the consequence was such dreadful anarchy that we were thankful to return to the rule of law.”

It is common to hear people today complaining about rules, not least because from one perspective they can seem very restrictive.  And yet, as the example above illustrates, when we do away with rules, chaos ensues.  What would happen if drivers abandoned the highway code, or if footballers stopped playing by the rules?  What would happen if a train decided that staying on the tracks was too restrictive?  There are a thousand other examples we could think of where abandoning the rules would lead only to disaster.

We need laws to live by.  I remember a poster I used to have, on which was written, “For best results, follow the Maker’s instructions.”  If we want to know how best to live to encourage human flourishing, then we need to pay attention to what God has said, to the ‘rules’ he has laid down for us.  Imagine, for example, if human beings decided to live according to the 10 commandments?  Or, if human beings lived by the two great commandments of Jesus, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.”  Society would be transformed overnight!

No caring parent brings up their child without rules.  These rules are given not to unnecessarily restrict, but to guide and protect.  God has given us rules for living; if we ignore them, then we will have to face the consequences sooner or later.