God or Something Like It

"Who or what is God?" It's a question all of us have asked, heard, or attempted to answer. To attempt to understand the Divine is a journey of a lifetime. It's filled with great joy, moments of ecstasy and excitement, perplexing confusion, agonizing angst, emotional pain, and extreme humility. Many cultures and societies have different faith traditions that attempt to explain the Divine through myth, poetry, prose, prophets, gurus, spiritual leaders, religious ritual and practice as well as statements of belief or professions of faith.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share many conceptual ideas about God. All three religions stem from the same Abrahamic faith. Sometimes in our own search and attempt to understand God, we forget that our faith is not the only group of seekers. Many prophets have come to us, some misguided, some outright strange, others blissfully inspiring, and yet although the Divine can be seen to varying degrees in their lives, answers are not what their messages bring. Buddha, Moses, Shiva, Mohammad, White, and the Dalai Lama all share many teachings about the Divine and each has his and her own understanding within context to their historical time and cultural norms within the society they lived.

I have noticed in university that we can too often get hung up on specifics. Topics such as jewelry, women and the church, vegetarianism, homosexuality, the Sabbath, and others can become volatile and key, salvific issues in the eyes of some earnest, albeit zealous, believers. I have found in my studies and walk with the Lord that there is much human influence and presupposition in these matters. One must first tackle the understanding of Holy Scripture and Divine Inspiration before these topics can be addressed.

Holy Scripture comprises some of the more important documents of mankind's existence. It can justly be stated that more than any other book the Bible has inspired and permeated much of our common world culture and life. Yet it must be asked, "how did this document come to be?" "what are the ways in which God inspires and directs people?" The Holy Scriptures are a book that depicts the Divine struggle of a loving God that strives to be understood by His people and a rebellious, stubborn people that struggle to understand their God. This is the beautiful essence of Scripture - the dramatic story of the Dive expressed in the human; of which Christ is the apex and glory in the whole matter, the "Jewel in the Lotus," to borrow a Buddhist, "Om Mani Padme Hum"). Understanding Scripture in this manner one can come to notice the threefold nature of the themes of the Bible. God is love, The Great Redemptive Plan of Salvation, and the Atonement for Sin are, in my understanding, important thematic expressions found from Genesis to Revelation.

Mankind's struggle to understand the three of these and to apply the divinely-inspired concepts to personal life are also explicit within the pages of this "Sacred Text." Sacred not because of this notion of infallibility, but because of the beauty of a God that risks misunderstanding; that takes the Divine - which is awesome, ultimate beauty, without blemish, etc. - and translates it into the Human - which is broken, rebellious, confused, fallen. This is the beautiful act throughout all of Divine Scripture - that God would place the task of communicating His message through feeble minds. In this act God takes the Infinite - the very nature and being of the Divine - and expresses it in the Finite - human language. In this can be seen God's greatest struggle and act of Divine Trust.

Understanding that God doesn't inspire verbal, verbatim texts of Scripture, rather that He inspires thematically is essential to gathering the greater meaning of Holy Scripture. Far from dismissing Scripture as irrelevant, it provides that earnest seekers of Divine Wisdom - or The Way - must commit them to a deep, thorough lifetime of study. The original languages of the Bible must be understood or comprehended on a basic level, the historical context of the time period that each book was written, the author's life and limitations in understanding must be taken into account, the threefold thematic truths of Scripture must be searched for throughout each chapter and book, geography, and various other aspects must be applied before one begins the task of interpretation and application to practical life.

Each author of the Bible and prophet understood God within the context of their time; it is true that some in this present age and past ages have come to radical, even innovational understanding of the Divine, however, these biblical principles came through earnest study and humility of a teachable spirit, not a dogmatic faith. Literalism is not a biblical principal, but a method of control that some within fundamentalist factions within the church employ to consolidate power. The principle within Scripture and taught by the rabbis and early Christians is continual seeking for understanding: a humble approach to Holy Scripture. The biblical principle - and cherished Adventist contribution to Christendom - of "Present Truth;" or better stated, the idea that God meets people where they are, can be seen when the Divine inspires (and in so doing, transforms) a murderer, an adulterer, the uneducated, the prideful, and the broken to be his Vessels of Divine Love and Compassion.

God is not this being that refuses to attempt to understand us - for He knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants to have an intimate, loving relationship that leads us into service in Divine Love for our fellow human. God's goal is to express His love for us and to be understood by His people, this is the work of a lifetime. Literalism is not biblical. The fruits of what comprises the driving-thought of literalism can be seen throughout the suffering of mankind: Genocides, Holocausts, Inquisitions, Wars, Poverty, and Oppression.

God is not a literalist - He understands that there are cultural elements to our religious practices. Such topics as jewelry, women and the church, vegetarianism, homosexuality, and the Sabbath are cultural phenomena. Jewelry is not sinful, the principle is whether this becomes an idol or takes the place of other important aspects of life and wholeness. Does one buy expensive adornments instead of paying bills, feeding their children, or giving to the Body of Christ? That is the key component to the "jewelry question."

The texts used in Scripture for the purpose of excluding women from ministry are contextual to the time period, it is not a principle of Scripture. The principle is a church structure, not a gender exclusive policy that holds men are "holier" in the eyes of God.

Vegetarianism is not a principle, the principle is eating healthy, wholesome foods that promote good heath and wellness.

The issue of homophobia in Scripture is not a Divine principle, but a cultural misunderstanding of sexuality that persists to this day. People fail to see the Spirit of the Living God directing and guiding our scientific research and discoveries regarding sexuality and sexual orientation.

The list of "should and should not" of Sabbath observance is not a principle, giving a day to the Lord and resting is the principle.

In these examples we can see how God meets people in their time and culture; that He is a God who truly risks being misunderstood (and has, historically, been misunderstood by people of faith). "Who or what is God?" This is a question we must always ask. We should never be satisfied at our answers or our collective church statements of faith - this whole thing is a journey of a lifetime, one that we experience corporately and individually. Let us strive to humble ourselves and not make interpretation an idol before the Lord. In many matters we should let God be God and concern ourselves not with lists of a who's who in the Book of Life, but in interpersonal relationships. "By this you will know that they are my people, if they have love for one another." Understanding that religion is a cultural phenomenon and religious customs and practices are differnt is the first step in the right direction to a United Body in Christ.