That is the question that was given to my CnC (Confirm not
Conform) Adult class last night. The
issue isn't what have others told me I SHOULD believe --- the question is what do I believe. The other assignment was to find some type of
spiritual practice and do it every day for the next week. So I have decided to put them together. My practice will be to write (journal) every
day. We will see how well I am able to
do it. My goal is to do it first thing
in the morning --- but time will tell . . .
Have you ever really thought about what you believe? To sit down and write out what one really believes
is a scary task. It forces me to look
with honesty at what is in the depths of my soul --- not just the politically
correct statements that come out of my mouth.
As some of you read this (fortunately not many do) I will probably share
heresies according to the "church."
I am alright with that --- I hope that you are too, but regardless ---
this is about me trying to mine the depths of my soul and put words to the most
perplexing (an ultimately impossible to understand) concepts of all time.
My intention is to take each day this week and lift up one
concept. Today I will look at God;
followed by Jesus, the Spirit, the Bible, the Church and then who knows what. I just hope I don't chicken out. By then I might not be employed any longer,
and looking for new opportunities!
One other comment, this is not about seeking a debate. We all approach these concepts with different
eyes and different world views --- I will respect yours --- please respect
mine.
GOD
Who is God to me? I believe
God is creator. Did it happen with a big
bang, or Adam and Eve? --- I don't know (and don't really care). My hunch is science has a better handle on it
than the biblical texts but regardless, I believe in a God who is behind it
all.
I love how Paul Tillich describes God. Tillich called God being itself --- God is
not a being among other beings. The
phrase that is often associated with Tillich and one that I have latched on to
is "God is the ground of all being."
It goes beyond the scope of this today to dig into what that means --
but in as nutshell for me it means two things 1) God is. Nothing really else needs to be, or can be, said
about that. 2) God is not a theistic being
living up in heaven. That is probably
the more troubling concept to many, because the church has continually taught
that God is "up" there, sitting on a throne or judgment seat. For me God is not "up" there but
God is here.
That leads to another area that needs exploring. I do not believe God is an interventionist
God. I don't believe Tom Brady played
better football last night because his priest publicly prayed to God about it. If God does intervene, God seems awfully
shallow and capricious, and that is not the God I believe in. I have written about this many times over the
years.
So what does God do?
God gives us a moral direction and code that is constantly being revised
and challenged in light of culture. The
challenge is to keep at the center what is at the center of God. And to me, that is LOVE. Scot McKnight and I would disagree on many
things, but one thing we agree on is that the center of the Christian Biblical
message is found it what he dubbed "the Jesus Creed". The Jesus Creed really isn't anything more
than the central conviction of the Hebrew Bible (the Shema) along with a
passage from Leviticus 19:18. In all three
synoptic Gospels, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is.
“Which commandment is the first of
all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the
Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is
this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment
greater than these.” Mark 12
God came to teach us about LOVE! If you don't learn anything else, but learn
to love (truly love) the world would be a better place and more like the
Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed. I will
discuss that when I get to Jesus.
This certainly isn't a systematic approach to what I believe. But it is an attempt on my part to state
where I stand. But at the end of the day
I have to admit --- I really don't know.
God is beyond my capacity to really understand. All I have is my experiences and the
teachings that have been shared with me.
I am in no way a real scholar --- but
I seek to learn each and every day.
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