In the comment thread for "Symbol and Meaning" by Stoned Stephen Society posted over at Banned by HWA, Dennis Diehl wrote that "The whole Bible is full of theories on who and what 'God' is, does, thinks, needs, demands and expects. From Genesis to Revelation this God evolves from an original Canaanite Supreme God and intimate with the first two humans, to the Hebrew chosen one they called YHVH. This YHVH then rather quickly begins to fade, as a Cheshire Cat God, away in any real human contact, replaced by it's chosen kings and priests who theorize what this god wants from everyone and want to enforce it upon the people. There are different enforcers with different perspectives of course."
As one would expect on a forum whose audience includes many Biblical Fundamentalists, some of the reactions to Mr. Diehl's comments were in the nature of a defense of God and the Bible. And, to be fair, Mr. Diehl obviously intended his comments as a criticism of Christian notions about both (God and the Bible).
Nevertheless, as someone who is not a Fundamentalist and has a rather expansive view of the nature of God (as evidenced by many past posts on this blog), I was intrigued by his remarks. While Mr. Diehl and I arrive at different conclusions, I share his conviction that our notions about God have evolved over many hundreds (indeed, thousands) of years. I also agree with his observation that this evolution is apparent in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, and that many different perspectives on God are present there.
For me, this reality does not threaten my faith in God or Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that humans have speculated on the nature of God and have put forth arguments in support of that speculation. Isn't that how this world that we inhabit works? Hasn't ALL human development and understanding evolved over many thousands of years? Why should our understanding of God be the exception to the rule?
What about revelation? What about inspiration? Are we suggesting that speculation can't be instrumental in revealing things? Isn't the formulation and testing of a hypothesis an integral part of the scientific method? Are we suggesting that speculation can't be inspired? What causes us to wonder about God and things spiritual? From whence do our philosophical musings arise? We say that authors, artists and musicians are inspired. Is it that implausible to imagine that inspiration could extend to other areas of human interest?
What if our reality is a mathematical construct or Divine dream? Is it possible that the statement that God doesn't change might be wrong or mean something other than what many of us have attached to it? Is it possible that God itself is still growing/expanding/evolving?
Moreover, if we admit that the concept of God has evolved and been presented from a number of different perspectives within the Hebrew Bible, how does that harm or negate the value of those writings? When we look at the history of humanity's gods and religions, don't you find it just a little bit interesting and peculiar that a majority of humanity has settled on the god of the Hebrews? Why the god of an insignificant tribe of people who originated in a relatively unimportant piece of land that was dominated by its more powerful neighbors throughout most of its history? Why not the gods of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks or Romans? What about Eastern religious notions? Wouldn't the adoption of any of those deities have made more sense than El or Yahweh?
Ah, but the Hebrews borrowed from all of those traditions, the skeptics will reply. And what does that demonstrate but the process of evolution? As I have said before, nature/evolution/God has equipped us (humans) with this self-awareness and notions of the Divine. Should we abandon all of that as the relics of a superstitious past OR is it possible that our ancestors were really on to something? Was it really just a coincidence that Jesus Christ arose from the Jewish tradition? I may be wrong, but something tells me that it would be the height of foolishness to dismiss all of this as foolishness!
I'll freely admit that I don't have all of the answers, but I'm also confident that you don't either. I am tempted to invite anyone who is certain that the Hebrew God does not exist and the Bible is useless to drop me a line, but I know I'd be inundated with replies! For my fellow wanderers and searchers with a smattering of humility, you can drop me a line or two when you have it all figured out - I'll do the same.
As one would expect on a forum whose audience includes many Biblical Fundamentalists, some of the reactions to Mr. Diehl's comments were in the nature of a defense of God and the Bible. And, to be fair, Mr. Diehl obviously intended his comments as a criticism of Christian notions about both (God and the Bible).
Nevertheless, as someone who is not a Fundamentalist and has a rather expansive view of the nature of God (as evidenced by many past posts on this blog), I was intrigued by his remarks. While Mr. Diehl and I arrive at different conclusions, I share his conviction that our notions about God have evolved over many hundreds (indeed, thousands) of years. I also agree with his observation that this evolution is apparent in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, and that many different perspectives on God are present there.
For me, this reality does not threaten my faith in God or Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that humans have speculated on the nature of God and have put forth arguments in support of that speculation. Isn't that how this world that we inhabit works? Hasn't ALL human development and understanding evolved over many thousands of years? Why should our understanding of God be the exception to the rule?
What about revelation? What about inspiration? Are we suggesting that speculation can't be instrumental in revealing things? Isn't the formulation and testing of a hypothesis an integral part of the scientific method? Are we suggesting that speculation can't be inspired? What causes us to wonder about God and things spiritual? From whence do our philosophical musings arise? We say that authors, artists and musicians are inspired. Is it that implausible to imagine that inspiration could extend to other areas of human interest?
What if our reality is a mathematical construct or Divine dream? Is it possible that the statement that God doesn't change might be wrong or mean something other than what many of us have attached to it? Is it possible that God itself is still growing/expanding/evolving?
Moreover, if we admit that the concept of God has evolved and been presented from a number of different perspectives within the Hebrew Bible, how does that harm or negate the value of those writings? When we look at the history of humanity's gods and religions, don't you find it just a little bit interesting and peculiar that a majority of humanity has settled on the god of the Hebrews? Why the god of an insignificant tribe of people who originated in a relatively unimportant piece of land that was dominated by its more powerful neighbors throughout most of its history? Why not the gods of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks or Romans? What about Eastern religious notions? Wouldn't the adoption of any of those deities have made more sense than El or Yahweh?
Ah, but the Hebrews borrowed from all of those traditions, the skeptics will reply. And what does that demonstrate but the process of evolution? As I have said before, nature/evolution/God has equipped us (humans) with this self-awareness and notions of the Divine. Should we abandon all of that as the relics of a superstitious past OR is it possible that our ancestors were really on to something? Was it really just a coincidence that Jesus Christ arose from the Jewish tradition? I may be wrong, but something tells me that it would be the height of foolishness to dismiss all of this as foolishness!
I'll freely admit that I don't have all of the answers, but I'm also confident that you don't either. I am tempted to invite anyone who is certain that the Hebrew God does not exist and the Bible is useless to drop me a line, but I know I'd be inundated with replies! For my fellow wanderers and searchers with a smattering of humility, you can drop me a line or two when you have it all figured out - I'll do the same.
Wow! Thanks for this line of thought. I still ponder as I wander on my journey.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this article. It doesn't answer many of my questions as I wander on my journey. Maybe that's the way it should be.
ReplyDelete