“God”

A couple friends recently questioned my use of the term "God"—I respect where they're coming from, I disagree, and I really appreciate the invitation into inquiry. I hope wherever you stand, looking into it will get you closer to the ineffable.

I like using the term "God" for a variety of reasons, not all of which are clear to me. It feels good to claim my own cultural heritage. I like how it connects us to Western theological history, and the whole developmental spectrum: Pray for a parking spot (magenta), to war god (red), to bearded sky guy (amber), to stoic sense of logos or natural order (orange), to Nietzsche's warning of the (Green) postmodern existential vacuum of God being dead as a guiding cultural force, to Teilhard de Chardin's sense of God as evolution towards greater unity and consciousness, culminating in the "Omega Point" of ultimate unity (teal+). Seems like every religion’s use of the word “God” has examples of the entire developmental spectrum. 

I think the variety of uses and understandings can be a feature, not a bug, because it allows us to speak generally while knowing we're not covering all of our bases. It allows us to draw connections between developmental levels and unite different traditions. I also think a lot of people confuse all of religion and religious terms with the "Amber" developmental level's interpretation (the "level-line fallacy in Wilberian language). I don't think this makes sense. There will always be an Amber interpretation of whatever we do, whatever term we use, including no term. "The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" can become a prohibition against speaking the Tao. The Muslim “prohibition” against representing Allah—a reminder to avoid false idols and stay attuned to the transcendence of God—can easily be (mis)interpreted in ways that lead to a Charlie Hebdo tragedy. 

I also think of the unnamable divinity we're pointing to when we say "God" as a mountain, with multiple 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person "faces" that are all true-but-partial. I like how "God" usually invokes the second person face... it's relational, there's a surrender of our ego to something greater than ourselves, there's a unity with others in service and praise and prayer. "Nonduality" and "enlightenment", usually evoke first person interpretations; study science, nature, and math usually evoke third person interpretations. There are shadows in all approaches.

With love, Jordan