Santa Fe Coffee

I’ve been thinking about this second similarity of religions for a few days and it just so happens that I’m away this week in Santa Fe, NM. The local coffee is superb and I’ve already had more than I need. So, grab whatever it is you have and let’s talk more about religious similarities. Given that the God we speak of transcends existence and being, then such ideas transcend language as well. That means our language is limited to the point we cannot speak directly about God. The best we can do is use words that are bound to our existence, our being (not God’s), and our ability to comprehend. Therefore, we must accept that all speech about God is going to be severely limited. No matter what or how we say it our words will always fall short of the totality of what can be meant when we say God.

That leaves us with the alternative: to use metaphor and symbol to convey our limited knowledge of God. And because metaphors and symbols are open to wide interpretation so that no single one is going to be complete, unquestionable, or unbiased, we cannot take these limited means of speaking of God literally. They are stories, pictures, parables, parallels, and descriptions that we use, knowing their limitations, because that’s all we have. To take any of these as being literal does two things we already know can’t be done. One, it puts a boundary around God and two, it supposes there is nothing else to be learned or said of God.

For Christians this extends further into our interpretation of Jesus as the embodiment or symbol of God. When John says at the opening of his gospel that Jesus is the “Word” we know he is using metaphor. The Greek word “Logos” that John uses has a deeper meaning but it too is symbolic of an idea about the nature of that which is transcendent and to which all is grounded. When John the Baptist says, “Behold the Lamb of God,” we know he is using metaphor. We call Jesus the “Good Shepherd” though he never herded sheep. The list of metaphors for Jesus and God is long but none is exhausting.

Symbols and metaphors, whether they are a single word or a long story, point us toward that which we name ‘God’. To take any symbol, metaphor, or story literally is to put our faith in the symbol rather than in what it points toward. It requires great faith to keep moving toward that to which our symbols point knowing we can never grasp the entirety of that which we seek. The overwhelming human temptation is to mistakenly make the symbol an idol.

In religions studies the transcendent nature of God can become problematic. Ancient tribes tended to give up on gods that were so far removed from them that they had no impact on their lives. In Greek mythology the developing generations of gods progressed from gods that were beyond to those that live in the world on Mt Olympus. The Creator God of Genesis 1 becomes the imminent God who gives life with breathe in chapter 2. The God of Abraham for Judaism becomes the God who Christians believe comes to live among us; and it is widely believed still does.

A key metaphor in most religions is a creation story that gives an account of a god that transcends creation but participates in the formation of the existence we know. The stories are not intended to be literal or factual but rather a means of ritual that allows participants to affirm their belief that their god has power over chaos and provides an order to life that is dependable and trustworthy. It is in this power that creates and this force that perpetually maintains order that we can experience the mysterious essence of that which is beyond being; more coffee?

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