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A pastor was often approached by different members of her church, seeking to trap her regarding issues that they had not thought through themselves but reflected their own cultural prejudices. If she agreed, all was well. If she did not agree, then, that would be used against her. So, over time she learned not to get trapped…. A member went to her office to discuss a moral issue. After she gave the pastor thoughts on the issue, she asked the pastor, “What do you think God would say about this matter?” The pastor replied, “I guess that depends on what you mean by God?”
One of the most frequent mistakes in religion is to equate God with an idea of God, an image of God. For example, Christians equate the God of the Bible with God; therefore, God becomes a Jewish-Christian God. Muslims equate God with the God of the Koran; therefore, God becomes a Muslim God. Jews equate God with the Torah; therefore, God becomes a Jewish God. Buddhists use impersonal images referring to an ultimate reality or process and, thereby, deny the existence of God by those socialized images. God, then, ceases to be for God does not fit the Buddhist system of religious and philosophical culture.
Do I believe in the God of the Bible? I believe in the God before the Bible, before the Koran, and before the Torah. I believe in the God before Buddhism. The Bible is the story of a people who imaged God based on their culture, language, and customs. To the extent that reflection is helpful and truthful, then, good. To the extent that purported reflection is distorted and unhelpful, then, so it is.
This is not to say that I do not believe God was involved in the story of Scripture and fails to communicate through it. However, I am saying the Bible is not inerrant nor does it fully reveal God. To believe human words could fully reveal God is implausable.
Every person reading this has an internalized image of God. That image derives largely from many social influences over centuries. That does not mean the image is all wrong; neither does it mean the image is all right. Indeed, God communicates through socialization, for God being Spirit has to communicate to us through the cultures in which we live. However, this mediated communication loses something and is distorted through the process of mediation. Therefore, divine inspiration of either the Bible or direct leadership from the Spirit cannot rightly be used without admittance of human fallibility.
Let us be humble: holding our images of God to thoughtful and prayerful scrutiny. Let us use them as they encourage us to love and be persons of peace. Let us repent of aspects of the God-image that are no longer helpful or are harmful. Let us love God, who is before and beyond and around all images of God.
Possibly, the most difficult thing for most persons to do religiously is repent of attachment to his or her image of God in order to enjoy a more intimate immediacy with God.
Question: How has your image of God changed over time? What has influenced your God-image to change? What does it mean that you have an internalized image of God but that is not God?
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spiritual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net.
Brian's book of mystical love poetry, An Ache for Union, can be ordered through major bookdealers.
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
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