Larry Jordan

Jan 06, 2023 by Larry Jordan, in The Way

Recently, I was on a call with Jim Palmer, an interfaith spiritual director who promotes non-religious spirituality."When he was asked, "Do you believe in God," Jim gave a nuanced response, suggesting that simplistic questions can present false choices and that simplistic questions can prejudice their own answers.

I think that Jim Palmer and I are on the same page, but I'll speak for myself and not for him. Ask me, "Do you believe in God?"  No, I don't believe in a being who creates other beings, judges them, and punishes or rewards them, but I do believe in God or Universe as the "ground of being" (as Paul Tillich says) which is the force or a presence that interpenetrates everyone and everything, something bigger than ourselves, Ultimate Reality.

Whether we believe that God is a person or that God is the ground of being, we can have meaningful spiritual lives that cultivate compassion and wisdom.

Before we ask a question like, "Do you believe in God?" we should define our terms. Sometimes, if someone does not believe in your God, it does not mean that they do not believe in anything or that they do not believe in any God or even that they do not believe in your God seen from a different perspective.

Those who believe that God is a being might believe that they can have a personal relationship with God, like they can have a relationship with a friend, whereas those who believe that God is the ground of being might believe that they can feel connected with God, like they can feel connected with nature. (However, they cannot have a personal relationship with a God that interpenetrates, like they cannot have a personal relationship with the earth or the sun.)

Those who believe that God is a person might pray, whereas those who believe that God is the ground of being might meditate. Those who believe that God is a person might think that God can become separated from us and that we might have to atone for our collective or individual failings, whereas those who believe that God is the ground of being cannot imagine that we could ever be separated from God (or that we would ever have to reconcile with God, either.)

Those who believe that God is a person might feel that people who do not share their beliefs are going to hell. They might be right, or they might have spent a long time praying to an imaginary friend who simply does not exist. Those who believe that God is the ground of being might not believe that hell exists, since we can never be separated from God. They might be right, or they might have to spend an eternity wailing and gnashing their teeth in a very real hell.

The fact is that all theology is speculation, that "orthodox" beliefs are simply well-accepted speculations, and that nobody knows any of this for sure. Therefore, we can all employ a little more humility when talking about our own beliefs and a little more respect when talking about another person's beliefs.



 

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