The Object of Divine Delight
“But on closer reflection it seems more reasonable to say that the post-Galilean picture of the universe calls for a revision, indeed an enlargement, of the traditional religious worldview, rather than for its complete renunciation. For anyone who believes in a creator God can affirm that the cosmos is created so that God can enjoy its beauty. After all, theists believe that the cosmos is a product of the divine mind, so its creation can be compared to the work of a supreme artist, enjoyable and worthwhile for its own sake, without any reference to possible finite persons at all. It would not matter if there were never any human beings at all. The universe would could still have a point, and that point would be its expression of the power and wisdom of the creator, and God’s enjoyment both of the process of creating and of the created universe itself. That is part of the traditional view–the Hebrew Bible depicts the divine Wisdom as ‘rejoicing in his [God's] inhabited world, and delighting in the human race’ (Proverbs 8:30). And if Wisdom delights in the human race, it surely also delights in the beauty of the stars. If there is a God, the universe has a point, as the creative expression of the master creator, and the object of divine delight.”
Keith Ward, Pascal’s Fire: Scientific Faith and Religious Understanding (pgs. 15-16)
May 17th 2007 
2 Comments 
May 17th 2007
The writer of this book is not a believer is he? If not, what an interesting observation from someone without true knowledge of God. It reminds me of Romans 1:18-20 and passages from Piper’s “Desiring God”.
May 17th 2007
@Perry: I’m not quite sure whether he’s a Christian or not. He quotes from the “Hebrew prophets,” but he also quotes from the New Testament. He is definitely a theist however.