Jul/084
A God with Context is a God Indeed
It always interests me to talk with people who believe that Truth in Christianity is absolute and provable; this is probably because I used to be the same way, but after much consideration — and even more living — I’ve come to strongly doubt that dogma. I believe that truth does indeed exist, but I don’t believe that it is so stringently objective nor always provable as many people wish it to be. And, to take it even further: I don’t believe God is provable: not logically, and especially not scientifically.
My reasons for this are long, complex and a good subject for another article, but the biggest reason (to paraphrase Bonhoeffer) is: God is not truly God but an idol if He is proven. If one is compelled by force of logic to believe in God, one doesn’t really come to a true life changing knowledge or experience of God. Logical proofs and the like are akin to trying conversion at the point of a gun, and often I from what I see done out of the same anger, fear, and hatred. Not really the best way to introduce someone to a relationship to a loving God.
So what then is God if he is not provable? God is experiential, or as a lot of Evangelicals say, God is relational. Its sad to me that so many repeat the aphorism of a relational God but don’t understand its implications. To truly know God you must experience Him. This relationship is just like any other relationship. If you want to introduce an acquaintance to one of your friends, you don’t first go about trying to prove the existence of your friend, you bring this acquaintance to a place where they will meet with this friend of yours. On the other hand, if you want someone to relate to an object as an object you prove its existence to them. If you want someone to relate to a person as a person you allow them to meet them. Objectifying God destroys the most basic and important characteristic of Him, turning him into an idol. It thus follows that if God is Truth and God is not an idol, then Truth does not have to be objective.
That’s all well and good, but rather irrelevant without biblical examples. So Here are a few more obvious indications of the relational nature of God and how He has chosen to reveal Truth: In the beginning God walks with Adam and Eve in the garden, metaphorically indicating a relationship between God, Adam and Eve, and Creation. Later on God meets with Moses in the desert, then on Mount Sinai, and personally leads the entire nation out of Egypt. Again, He appears in human form to Moses, covering Moses with His hand as he walks by and allowing Moses to see his back. Then throughout the Prophetic books we have very powerful images of God being like a jealous husband to Israel the adulterous wife.
Fast forward a bit to what Christians believe to be the ultimate revelation of God, the advent of Jesus. Jesus isn’t a set of postulates or a book of rules but rather living, breathing Truth in Human form. Surely if God wanted our mental assent to rigid dogma and objective truths He could have sent a book of postulates or maybe an elegant Equation of Life the Universe and Everything. Instead, we have as our ultimate ideal of revelation a living, breathing God as man.
Ah, but you say Jesus did teach as well as live? He absolutely did. A great portion of the Gospels is Jesus preaching and teaching. The perplexing thing about Jesus, though, is that a great portion of his teaching uses parables. These are Stories that must be understood in context, not acontextual formulae! The morality Jesus teaches is also extremely contextual. When Jesus asked what the most important commandment was, he boils down the entirety of the law into 2 commands rather than picking out one particular command. Jesus says that the entirety of the law is encompassed in loving God and loving your neighbor. That is probably the most subjective moral commandment ever given. Each and every instance of living that command will be different depending on context and audience, mood and relationship.
We then are lead inexorably to the conclusion that if the Biblical God who revealed himself as Jesus is Truth, then Truth is subjective, contextual, and above all relational. The impersonal objective view of God has made God appear inaccessible and distant for far too long, its time that Christians of all sorts embrace the implications of a relational God.
8:35 am on July 22nd, 2008
This is an interesting piece; I especially appreciate your linking truth to the Incarnation. Moreover, I believe that truth is subjective, contextual, and relational. What’s more however is that truth can be all these things and still be able to cast judgment on definite right and wrong actions. I believe this post misquoted Christ in viewing the two greatest commandments as being separate from the law of the prophets. Yet, we are reminded that upon these two laws hang all the laws of the prophets, and they consequently must work in some type of cohesion and ultimate scenario.
Here’s my beef with many Christians: they think that “biblical” truth isn’t nuanced. They believe its an object that is transparent through all time. Perhaps they are right on the last count, but they must realize that their arguments do not come directly from God, but rather from a careful and intentional philosophy including anthropology, metaphysics, and politics.
Realization that Christian arguments, especially moral ones, is a contextual idea doesn’t make what many people say totally wrong if it has this many layers of context. Certainly, people should be striving to include a supreme context in their morals and metaphysics before they begin to even guess on such grave matters. Context is good. After all, we are in a context: our locations, positions, ideas, motives, actions, etc. This is exactly what theology and philosophy does. It provides the context for our existence, which is more complicated than any of us could venture to question. This includes the laws and morality of our Christian tradition. These are always held in tension and reverent consideration. Moreover, another element easily overlooked is reason and rationality, two things Christ must have had if he truly was human. Thus I say, contextualize away! Because it is examining the whole contexts of our situation(s) that we discover truth, which is very complicated and not easily discovered nor easily dismissed.
9:13 pm on July 22nd, 2008
Hmmm…extreme physics reaches to the bottom of the “matter abyss” and discovers at subatomic levels…NOTHING! Nothingness, if you will.
It is at that point that I reflect upon the Word of God that “all things are created IN HIM and BY Him (continue or) have their being in Him.” (paraphrase).
It is at that point of quantum physics–the discovy of nothingness–that faith must and does kick in. At this point one must consider that we are “no more” (nor less) existing because the Creator wishes us (or thinks us) to exist. We are his thoughts–or thoughts within His thoughts (if we have free wills). And some decide they think they can eternally or momentarily exist outside His thoughts, without His thoughts, or despite His thoughts. But even the q-physicists can tell you, outside what is there is only “nothing;” death.
And so, as theoretic as all this might be, it shoots the crap out of Darwinianism, because it is non-organic–sans matter. It is all about faith and some other essence of “being.” And the Supreme Being takes us (His wandering thoughts?) on and loves us and beckons for us to be reclaimed and become “friends”–that is, have relationship.
Mind blowing really.
Or is that too far out? LOL
10:21 am on August 17th, 2008
God is subjective, God is relational, God is experiential. I absolutely agree. But I think there are two things that are very dangerous if these three things are held without further thoughts.
The first is to pacify God and tame Him through that subjectivity. There is a difference in recognizing the other individual (God who has a character) as someone outside of you and to be given respect as another individual being, versus compelling God to function within the realm of our subjectivity. This leads to the idea of a safe God, that God becomes God in so far as He is within my realm of experience and understanding of who God is. For example, if our view on Truth is, for example, love, then we cease to recognize the irrational love and zeal of God for all of mankind, and somehow try to justify His wrath or His justice (which we don’t understand either.) Whether making God into the god of America with justice for all or a god for all people to live in peace and harmony, we cease to seek God outside of what we understand within our own subjective mindset.
The second is to make this subjective relational experience something only to be understood by an individual. It is true that we all see God through our own lenses and through our own subjectivity, yet there is a powerful and mystical thing called communication and communal experience that allows us to enter into that relationship with God together. Though I have never encountered God when I had lost all hope in my life, I can, of course not fully, but to the extent that communication is covered by mercy, enter into that sense of despair and the amazing grace that touched that person when he or she encountered God.
Love your neighbor as yourself, that is subjective, yes. But when we live in an accountable community, though full of faults, people that seek to walk with Jesus, there is a certain responsibility and expectation for what loving looks like. It’s not alright to say, well, I am following the commandment that Jesus spoke of because I am loving my neighbour like I am loving myself, when that love is a binding or a hurting way to love. The neighbour can say, the way you are loving yourself or loving me is not a freeing love, and I want you to be healed and changed so that we can be more like the one that gave us love to start with.
I believe that Jesus, who is the Truth, is subjective, contextual, and relational. However, this relationship ought not be something that fragments us, but bring us together as the body of Christ. Christ also is the way and the life. The way to the Father, but also the way between us through the reconciliation brought about through the cross, and life given abundantly through that.
12:35 am on August 20th, 2008
Amen to that Chami!