I see that Aberdeen University is having a conference on Divine Providence. The aim seems to be to revive it.

At least that shows an acknowledgement that belief in it is, (thank God), dying at the moment.

Divine Providence is a doctrine that most Christians think they are supposed to agree with. The idea is that God is in control of human experience in some way. Wikipedia defines it thus: “Divine Providence is the sovereignty, superintendence, or agency of God over events in people’s lives and throughout history.”

It makes no sense to me in most of the ways in which people try to explain it. It seems to me very much as though God is not in control of the nations, natural events and individuals in the world. The only explanation of Divine Providence that I’ve been unable to dismiss in recent years is that in Jung and the Christian Way by Christopher Bryant. His argument is that if God is within us, then so is Providence.

Fr Gadgetvicar’s sign blew over the other day – see his post and picture. Classical belief in Divine Providence suggests that this is either an act of Divine Disapproval (surely not) or that it is God telling St Silas that they need a new sign in order to convert more people.

I think it was a gust of wind myself.