“Why do you keep writing about God?” a reader asked.

            Good question. The only answer I can think of is that I have to write about God.  I need something that I can call God.

            I use the term “something” loosely. It doesn’t have to be a thing. Or a person. Or a being, supernatural or otherwise. It doesn’t even have to be an idea. It just has to be more than me.

            And it has to have some kind of volition. It has to be something more than blind chance, more than a probability field in quantum physics. Whatever it is, I want it to have an ethical sense – to want, even to desire, a better outcome for all.

            I gave up long ago the cartoonists’ version of God, commonly depicted as an old man with a long beard, wearing long white robes, sitting on a cloud and strumming a toy harp. I don’t actually ever remember believing in such a God. When I encounter people who do believe in that kind of God, I tend to think that they suffer from arrested mental development.

Making lists

            But at one point in my life, I did think of God as something looking over my shoulder – a sort of divine Santa, making lists of naughty and nice. I lived in a constant low-grade fear of getting caught for my misdeeds.

            The notion has some appeal. It implies that justice will be done, somehow. The good will receive their reward, the bad will receive their punishment.

            Except that it doesn’t seem to happen. Not in this life, anyway.

            And if God is not active in this life, what’s the point of believing in God?

            I did believe, for quite a long time, in a Creator God, a supreme being of infinite intelligence who set up the universe. That concept required a God “out there” somewhere. Or, until Yuri Gagarin initiated human travel into space, “up there” somewhere.

            But in an orbital solar system, in a curved-space universe, there is no “up” anymore. (Nor any “down,” which dispenses with hell as a physical location.) Which leaves only “out there”…

Contradictory concept

            The axiom underlying a Creator God was a conviction that something cannot come out of nothing. Therefore there had to be something before the Big Bang. Why couldn’t God have formed the universe out of God’s own self – making it truly an incarnation of God?

            Which would imply that the universe was not only created in God’s own image, but God could be actively involved in its evolution.

            It took a while for the self-contradiction in this concept to register. The progress of evolution, from the Big Bang to the present and presumably into the future, has been from the simple, from the undifferentiated, towards the increasing complex.

            But the “intelligent designer” concept requires, as its first step, to go from infinitely complex to infinitely simple – into a kind of energy soup that didn’t even have particles yet, let alone atoms, molecules, or life.

            But, you may well ask, if I don’t believe in those kinds of God, what do I believe in?

            That question demands a second column, coming next week. Stay tuned, as the radio announcers used to say.

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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.

            To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

Last week’s column wasn’t totally reminiscing about my move to the Okanagan 24 years ago. There were, I thought (somewhat plaintively, perhaps) some valuable insights about how houses are like lives. But I got only two letters about that column, both from regular commentators.

Tom Watson: “Keep on constructin', Jim. You're good at it!”

Isabel Gibson: “A fun and helpful metaphor. Thanks!”

Bonnie Mulligan wrote about the previous week’s column, on how the far-right reinterpret Jesus’ message. She doesn’t think much of Donald Trump’s literary skills: “Very funny Jim! One thing I noticed, however, was the words you used in the ‘Tweets’ were too big. ‘Subversive propaganda and horrible exploitation’ aren't words the POTUS would use. He would say ‘lies and fake and bad’. Easier for him to spell.”

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PSALM PARAPHRASES

As read Psalm 17:1-7, 15, it sounded to me like a defendant pleading his case.

I plead not guilty, Lord; let me present my case.

Listen to what I have to say.

I tell the truth; my lips do not lie.

When you hear my story, you will know I am in the right;

You have the wisdom to see through any pretence.

Check up on me at any time, at any hour of the day or night.

Test me, and you will find me pure.

My words and my actions will prove my integrity.

As for what others do, well, do what you will with them!

But I have avoided their ways; I have walked the straight and narrow path.

I have not wandered away from the route you defined;

My feet have not strayed.

That's why I trust you to treat me justly.

Show me that I am right to depend on you.

You have a reputation for helping those who turn to you,
who seek sanctuary from their enemies.

I rest my case.

I am satisfied that you will be fair.

For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalms from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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YOU SCRATCH MY BACK…

·       Ralph Milton’s most recent project, Sing Hallelujah -- the world’s first video hymnal -- consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.ca

·       Isabel Gibson's thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com

·       Wayne Irwin's "Churchweb Canada," an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>

·       Alva Wood's satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town are not particularly religious, but they are fun; write alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.

·       Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at twatson@sentex.net

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TECHNICAL STUFF

If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, jimt@quixotic.ca.

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            My webpage is up and running again -- thanks to Wayne Irwin and ChurchWeb Canada. You can now access current columns and about five years of archives at http://quixotic.ca

            I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, jimt@quixotic.ca, or send a note to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

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