For the Time Being

"I thought, I too could...inquire, hollering at God the compassionate, the all-merciful, WHAT'S with the bird-headed dwarfs?" (53) This question seems to be a key argument in Annie Dillard's perception of the world and God's part in it.


I just finished reading For the Time Being by Annie Dillard. While not a thick book, it took me quite awhile to read simply becase I kept abandoning it for other reading or activity. It's a depressing book, so the beautiful summer weather has enticed me away from reading.


It consists of 7 chapters that are divided into sections about birth, sand, China, clouds, numbers, Israel, encounters, thinker, evil, and now. In each of these sections Dillard offers observations ranging from the smallest details of nature to mind-boggling numbers, all the while infusing various quotations from a multitude of famous and common people. Sometimes she highlights awesome of nature and humanity, but many times she highlights the awful (bird-headed dwarfs). Most of the time these observations seem arbitrary and unrelated, but Dillard connects most everything back to the big questions: Why am I here? Who is God? If God is good, why are there bird-headed dwarfs?

While I enjoy Dillard's ability to observe the world, wonder over the minute details in the world, and ask difficult questions, I draw very different conclusions than she does. Dillard sees the broken world and decides that God is either not powerful enough to fix it or doesn't care enough to fix it. In contrast, I believe that God's just waiting patiently. But as Dillard says, "I don't know beans about God" (169). She also quotes Augustine as saying, "We are talking about God. What wonder is it that you do not understand? If you do understand, then it is not God" (47). I agree with the idea that we can never fully understand God, but I also believe that we can absolutely know that God is who he says he is. While this doesn't answer all the difficult questions, it does help me know what questions to ask. Instead of beating my head against a brick wall of things I'll never understand, I'll try to understand what God has revealed about himself. For this reason, this book is an interesting read, but one I'll pass up in the future.