2018-09-06 Cincinnati
Pater Noster – Capitulum Secundum
Continued from 2018-09-01
Father:
OK, this is a tough one. Allow me to address two interrelated salient issues.
- The anthropomorphism of God. What human qualities does He [cf: my essay on “Ze”] have? What is your definition of God?
- The maleness of God and why it matters.
Just as I internally modify the Nicene Creed with an unspoken “try to,” I picture a “whoever/ whatever you are” when I say “Father.” There’s no way God is a friendly, white, possibly bearded, definitely over-sized, grandfather in the sky. Duh. But describing it/her/him/them is hard. And one of the obstacles I have not yet overcome is recognizing that if I don’t believe in a God “with ears,” then how can he/she/it/they hear me?
Sometimes I conceptualize God as a big blob – shaped like the bizarre bubbles that come from super-sized wands on the beach in Santa Monica or the banks of Lake Geneva. This blob has qualities beyond my comprehension. It doesn’t obey Newton’s laws, follow the rules of quantum mechanics, or conform to Einstein’s theories of general or special relativity. Just as an ant cannot comprehend how smart a human being is, I cannot conceive of the intelligence, power, or construct of God.
Could such a being be all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful? Could Ze have awareness of measly me? I don’t rule it out as a possibility, but it’s too preposterous to hang my hat on.
So, if I don’t believe in a sentient Supreme Being, why do I bother with using this appellation? Because:
- Tradition
- I haven’t found a better metaphor.
- I do believe that there are Forces bigger/ stronger/ older/ hardier than I am, and I’m open to the possibility that the mightiest of all actually has a quality similar to consciousness/ awareness, and just maybe this consciousness/ awareness has some perception of me. I’m grateful that physicists have figured out so much about the workings of the universe, and I look forward to their continued breakthroughs. But I expect to die before a mere mortal figures out how the Big Bang began, much less why it happened.
In addition to my “Blob” version of God, I have other formations of God:
- Sophia, as the Source of all.
- Jesus Christ, as Jesus of Nazareth.
- Jesus Christ, as my magical, perfectly-fitting, perfectly-protective flying carpet. He transports me around Planet Earth in full love, palpable comfort, and ineffable oneness with the universe (even though we never fly beyond the stratosphere).
Again, what is your conception of God?
As to the male-female thing. There are probably books written about this, so forgive my exegesis which may be rather simplistic.
Our language is gendered. That is, we differentiate humans on the basis of biological sex.[1] English is actually less gendered than many languages, which give gender to inanimate objects, like hands are feminine, while feet are masculine.
When you think of “father” what images appear? Protector. Power. Doer. Provider.
“Mother?” Loving. Caring. Protector. Nurturer.
***
…to be continued…
[1] In college, my roommate’s boyfriend loved to pose hypothetical questions and taunt us with brain teasers. Once he asked, “A father and a son were driving in the countryside and had a serious automobile accident. The father was killed instantly. The son sustained serious brain injuries. An ambulance arrived and took the son to the nearest hospital. He was rolled immediately into the operating room. The neurosurgeon arrived, looked at the boy, and said, “I can’t operate on him. This is my son!”
How could that be?
My embarrassing confession: it took me more than a second to figure it out.
VicWulsin 