Preface
Too often theology is presented to students, and exists in the
common mind, as a series of dogmatic statements that are perceived
to be ultimate truth. This is hardly a realistic portrayal of
the field. Theology in reality is a dynamic, never stagnant,
and never completed specialization. There is far more that we
don't know about God than that we do, and there are still plenty
of holes in our understanding. Theology used to be called the
queen of the sciences. This characterization has faded with the
artificial split between religion and science, but it is not a
bad description. Like any science, theology is unfinished; there
are many questions that are begging of answers, and the thought
behind this book is to point out just how little is really understood,
and just how much work is still left to do.
The title of the book was carefully selected for the purpose
of startling the reader. Good theology should do that, because
complacency is frankly one of the worst dangers to this field.
Children often ask questions that are funny, but sometimes their
questions are also profound and even a little discomforting, creating
situations where we realize that the nifty clothes we thought
we had on really aren't much to speak of and we're perilously
close to being naked.
The question that is the title of this book was inspired by an
overly literalistic translation of Numbers 14:18, which tells
us that God is "slow to anger". "Anger" is
a secondary meaning of the Hebrew word "nose;" this
secondary meaning "anger", apparently derived from the
fact that a person's nostrils will flare when he or she is angry.
And the word translated "slow" can also mean "long."
Thus, it would be possible, though confusing, to translate Numbers
14:18 (and those other passages which express the same statement)
as "God has a long nose." That is a Hebrew idiom which
means in English, "God is slow to anger"; it is not
a description of God's physical appearance.
Thus, the answer to the question posed by the title of the book
is "yes"; and it is a great comfort that he is.
R.P. Nettelhorst
Lancaster, California