I was having a conversation with my husband last night about coincidence and chance. Now, before I go on, I should mention that I’m a conservative, evangelical, born-again, Bible believing Christian. This being the case, I’ve heard church people on numerous occassions say that there is no such thing as coincidence, and some even say there’s no such thing as chance. I don’t think I agree.
Let’s address the chance issue first since it’s a little easier. The reason that many Christians say that chance does not exist is because they think that God being in control of everything means He has to dictate each and every thing that happens in our lives. I believe God can dictate anything that He wants to. My question is, why would he want to dictate certain things? It seems to me that, just as we might delegate jobs to other people, God has delegated certain jobs to the rules of the universe that He’s created. For example, each time an apple comes loose from a tree, the law of gravity which God has put into place causes that apple to fall; God doesn’t have to look at the apple and tell it to get going. In the same way, why would God dictate every raindrop that falls or every roll of the dice in a board game? My sister and I played quite a few board games growing up. So, did God always determine which of us would win each game? Probably not. I’m willing to say that sometimes God may dictate the winner of a game in order to use that as a tool in a larger plan (teaching someone about losing, causing something else to happen through a win or loss), but in general I don’t know why He would have to dictate the winner and loser of every game.
As far as coincidence is concerned, I agree that much of what people call coincidence is more likely God’s hand in our lives. For example, when it stopped raining just long enough for my husband and I to move our things into our new house and then started raining again, I don’t believe that was coincidence. (Note: I had been praying very hard for a break in the weather) However, if a friend and I go to the mall and decide to get ice cream at a place that boasts over 100 flavors, and each of us as we’re standing in line decides on the exact same kind of ice cream, I think that’s probably a coincidence. A happy one since it involves ice cream, but a coincidence none the less. 🙂
What it seems to come down to is that God being in control of everything doesn’t mean that he has to determine every outcome. That would take away free will, something else I tend to believe in… but that would be a much longer post. 🙂 Anyway, being in control isn’t necessarily dictating; it’s having the power and ability to step in when you want to.