From the 1950s to the 1970s, there was a popular TV show called “To Tell the Truth”. I loved watching it as a kid.
Recently, my, always-loving-to-push-the-limits mind wondered: what if the show came back, and the first episode had three contestants who claimed to be God? They would all have to be hidden behind a screen or disguised because I’m pretty sure we could identify him.
Then, I wondered: if I was on the panel, what questions would I ask to flush out the real God? That might be tricky. But here it goes:
1. “One of my grandkids would cheat at board games and make up the rules as he went along, so I quit playing with him. Do You make up your own “rules” depending on your mood that day?”
2. “How many “rules” can I break without coming back as a slug in my next life? Asking for a friend.”
3. “What are you made of – flesh and bone or smoke and mirrors?”
4. “If you really loved us, why did you make ice cream fattening?”
That was fun to imagine, but let’s move on.
The subject of God’s “rules” seems to ever be on our minds. If God’s not going to send us a modern-day “Moses” to help us tick off an updated list of “rules to live by,” then we will need to make some decisions ourselves. I think it’s more critical than ever for each of us to decide where we stand here.
Perhaps the place to begin is to come face-to-face with the age-old idea of an angry, vengeful, impossible-to-please God who confounds many of us. Even though today’s young people seem to be able to see right through him. They reject the blind faith of the older generations, and I can speak to that because I’m old.
In my past life of black-and-white faith, I was sure about EVERY SINGLE THING, even the fact that God would get those who refused to follow the dogmas and dictates infallibly laid out for us in his own words in a nicely leather-bound Bible that he dropped from heaven like manna.
I read that Bible from front to back several times. As a die-hard Catholic, I wasn’t supposed to do that. I was supposed to leave it to the “Experts”. But I had to see for myself. And, yep, it was all in there. All the literal “truths” that I didn’t discover until later were reformulated repeatedly to keep the masses in line.
And then it happened: In 2008, at the age of fifty-nine, a course of events upended everything I was certain about. I was offered a rare opportunity to attend Graduate School paid for by a grant. That’s a whole, “How the hell did that happen?!” story by itself, but we’ll leave that for another day.
I quickly discovered that there was a reason a string of Bishops in St. Louis made every effort to have that school shut down because those professors were corrupting minds. They dared to challenge us to think! Fortunately, Aquinas was independent of the Archdiocese, so they had no control!
One of the first questions in my Scripture Studies class was, “What if the story of Adam and Eve was just a myth and they were not even actual people? What if the snake didn’t talk? Would it shatter your faith?”
Wait! What?!
Right out of the gate, the certitude I clutched like a security blanket was unraveling. I had so many “what ifs” to sort through I’m surprised I survived. My righteous, superior attitude was being dismantled right in front of me, and it wasn’t pretty! But, I stayed and endured the painful reality of my shallowness – because – well – what if?!
I could give you many examples of how much Scripture was written, not by God, but by faulty humans, many with an agenda. But I won’t. Well, okay, maybe just one. Staying with Adam and Eve, how about the origin of “Original Sin”? Always a fun topic of discussion.
Let’s pick it apart, beginning with a peek into the relationship between Augustine, the author of “Original Sin”, and his mother, Monica. He was a rebel-rousing, partying, sex-lustful heathen with no intention of changing. Still, she was relentless in her prayers.
She admonished him over and over, but he was having too much fun to take her seriously. Finally, after years of her incessant nagging and possibly a heavenly whack (I’ve received my share of those, they leave marks!), he finally saw the error of his ways, or maybe a paternity suit influenced his decision. Anyway, he did a 180 and converted to a man of faith.
But then, there was the terrible reality of his life of sin and debauchery. How would he account for that? Being unwilling to take responsibility for his miserable life, he conjured up a brilliant idea, “I know”, he said to himself, “I will blame it all on Satan! Yeah, that’s the ticket!” And so he created this incredible story about two characters he named Adam & Eve. Oh yeah, and the Devil disguised as a snake who talked (nothing sketchy there).
And, voila, Augustine is off the hook for all his sexual indiscretions, and Satan took the fall. Brilliant!
Thus the well-worn bumper sticker, “THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!” was created by some genius who got rich from it and moved to the Bahamas.
Now, the obvious question arises: Does any of this raise any red flags regarding our convictions about Scripture and God? Anything? I have one: How are we supposed to believe in and follow a God we can’t label; a God that truly is more mystery than certainty?
Robin Meyers’ most recent book, “Saving God from Religion” offers his thoughts for “…everyone who is struggling with the old and narrow definitions of God but has yet to see any coherent and comprehensive way to reimagine the Ultimate Mystery…. we long for a faith that is more than judgmental certainty, more than “believe and receive.” ….we are hungry for new ways to heal and transform the broken world we inhabit.”
Perhaps, at this moment when so many once faithful have emptied the churches, and many others never gave God a chance, we are all challenged to reject that Great and Terrible Wizard that has been pulling our strings for too long. I don’t know a lot, but I do know that is no longer the God I have grown to love.
Today’s Extremists have created a violence and hateful God. One who seems to empower them to war against those who are different than them, seen as lesser, or not seen at all. Their god did not create all humankind in his image. Instead, they created their own god in their image and then defined “Christians” as only those adhering to the creeds and doctrines of their particular denomination. The God they worship is a Mighty Warrior that will beat the crap out of the rest of humanity – the lesser than, outcasts, poor, and lost beings.
We must ask ourselves honestly, does any of this make sense? Can we just stop and dare to question our beliefs that someone else with control issues instilled in us? Is it starting to feel like we have been conned by a little man with an intimidatingly loud voice behind a curtain?
I know it feels unsettling to let go of certitude and live in the question. But blindly following beliefs that just don’t work anymore isn’t the answer. Is that what Father Richard Rohr is speaking to here? – ” The human ego hates a genuinely new experience. It hates to change and is preoccupied with control. A genuinely new idea leaves you out of control for a while and forces you to reassess your terrain, find new emotions, and realign your life coordinates. We prefer to stay in our small comfort zones. God usually has to break in or break us down to break through to us.”
What are the “facts’ of our Christian faith? How about this: God created us from love for love (John 3:16). He created us in his image (Genisis 1:27). If that’s true, which I believe it is, how does the notion of “Original Sin” make any sense?
It has taken me a long time to understand that I have nothing to prove to anyone. I simply try to be the best version of myself, to do the next right thing, to give and ask for forgiveness, to grow in empathy for those who suffer, and to imagine a better, kinder, more compassionate world.
Okay, that was some heavy stuff, so I want to leave you with the hysterical and profound thoughts of Rami Shapiro, the author of “Holy Rascals”. In one section he offers made-up letters written by made-up kids addressed to God.
What’s so incredible is that these thoughts came from beliefs he literally heard from adults. He says, the letters “are not about dismissing dogma, doctrine, or belief, but about taking dogma, doctrine, and belief to their absurdist conclusions.” They made me laugh so hard I spit coffee through my nose – just giving you a heads-up. Here are just two:
Dear God,
My pastor says you need the blood of Jesus to calm down so you won’t get mad and send us to Hell. My mom makes me go to my room when I get mad. Maybe you should try that instead.
Dear God,
My pastor says when your son comes back to earth, he will send my gramma and grampa to Hell because they are Methodists. Please don’t let him come back before my birthday because they promised to take me to Disney World.
THE END – OR JUST THE BEGINNING?
PASSION, PURPOSE & POOPYHEADS 