God: A Package Deal?
Lay Sermon by Peter and October Craig
July 8, 2001
God: A Package Deal?
Imagine that someone you met recently, whom you don't know very well, told you I believe in God." What would you think he meant? What other things would you assume about this person's beliefs based on that comment? Take a minute to think about it.
Obviously not everyone is going to have the same response to these questions. The answer is likely to vary according to the religious background and culture of the person answering. But there are a lot of common elements that come to mind for many people in modern America. If you said "I believe in God," here's what many people would think:
You believe in an all-powerful Being distinct and separate from the rest of creation.You believe that this separate Being created the physical universe.
You believe that this Being intervenes in human affairs, OR
You believe that this Being does NOT intervene in human affairs.
You believe you can communicate with this Being through prayer, but that He does not speak directly to you.
You believe this Being is loving.
You believe this Being is serious and to be feared.
You believe each person has a soul which lives on after death.
You believe that we only live one life in the flesh.
You believe in judgment at the time of death, with Heaven for all who live morally correct lives and Hell for those who do not.
You believe that the Bible (or Torah) is the ultimate source of religious authority.
You believe Man is born sinful because of Adam and Eve's disobedience.
You believe sexuality outside a committed relationship is immoral.
We could go on and on. And we're not saying that ANY of these assumptions is wrong, or right. We think many people raised in our culture would make some subset of these assumptions, but probably not all of them. Others would make different assumptions.
The point here is that for many people, and many religions, the idea of God includes a lot of assumptions--what we've called "the package deal". And like some of the package deals you find when you go to buy a car, we believe the "God package" often includes accessories that are not useful, not relevant to your life, and that in general may not serve you. But that doesn't mean that the car itself is necessarily a poor fit.
The problem with the "God package" is that it can cut people off from the experience in which God would show up for them in their lives. They are not open to the actual experience of God because they've decided that the concept of God they were given--the "God package"--is not real, and that our society will not support them if they describe God in another way.
The following quotation is from Conversations with God, by Neal Donald Walsch:
"Why is it that You do not reveal Yourself? If there really is a God, and You are It, why do You not reveal Yourself in a way we can all understand?I have done so, over and over. I am doing so again right now.
No, I mean by a method of revelation that is incontrovertible, that cannot be denied.
Such as?
Such as appearing right now before my eyes.
I am doing so right now.
Where?
Everywhere you look.
No, I mean in an incontrovertible way. In a way no man could deny.
What way would that be? In what form or shape would you have me appear?
In the form or shape that you actually have.
That would be impossible, for I have no form or shape you understand. I could adopt a form or shape that you could understand, but then everyone would assume that what they have seen is the one and only form and shape of God, rather than a form or shape of God--one of many.
People believe I am what they see Me as, rather than what they do not see. But I am the Great Unseen, not what I cause Myself to be in any particular moment. In a sense, I am what I am not. It is from the Am-notness that I come, and to it I always return.
Yet when I come in one particular form or another--a form in which I think people can understand Me--people assign Me that form forevermore.
And should I come in any other form, to any other people, the first say I did not appear to the second, because I did not look to the second as I did to the first, nor say the same things -- so how could it have been Me?
You see, then, it matters not in what form or in what manner I reveal Myself--whatever manner I choose and whatever form I take, none will be incontrovertible."
Often, people have religious or spiritual experiences, and either the experience doesn't fit the prevailing concept of God, or for comfort and convenience, the experience is artificially fitted to the concept. These people see their experience through the filter of the God concept they were given and talk about it (if they talk about it at all) in the way they feel it's acceptable to talk about it. Or they reject the experience out of hand because the concept doesn't fit.
The alternative, of course, is to let your experience of God be what it is, and allow your concept of God to come from your experience. This is how mystics have always operated, but it is definitely not the norm in our culture.
Why is it so hard to see God in a new way? Somehow we imagine that if we develop a radical new understanding of God, speaking about it in public is dangerous. Essentially, there is a perception that society has a lock and key on the concept of God, and that's that. Unitarian Universalists may believe that revelation is not sealed, but sometimes in rejecting the prevailing "God package," we throw out the baby with the bath water, instead of seeking our own religious experience.
Peter and I are two examples of the "throw the baby out with the bath water" phenomenon.
Peter says he got stuck on the concept of God because he had been given, as Eckhard Tolle said in our earlier reading, a "closed concept" of God that just didn't fit for him. He says "In particular I found it hard to accept a notion of God as essentially a separate individual standing outside of creation. I also could not accept the idea of God judging and condemning." He adds, "I experience God as a pervasive conscious presence, that brings an ecstatic sense of unity when we are able to let go of the smallness of our individual identity."
As for me, I just couldn't buy into the "accessories" of predestination, original sin, judgment and eternal damnation, Jesus as the only ticket to heaven, theological hair-splitting, and many of the common Protestant assumptions about God and the meaning of life. So what did I do? Nothing. I decided it was all unimportant and that if it ever came up for me again, I'd deal with it then. So instead of rejecting God, I merely labeled It irrelevant. Now I experience God as truly All That Is, who dwells in me and in everything--and everyone--else. My experience of God has given me a whole new way to see people. I'm now mesmerized by the varied songs of the birds around me; the antics of butterflies, squirrels, and chippers; and the magnificence of sunsets and thunderstorms.. I experience God, as Conversations with God says, "not as unapproachable, but unavoidable."
As you can see, both Peter and I have come to new understandings of God, partially inspired by some basic ideas that many of the world religions have in common. Peter takes a more Eastern approach, particularly the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, and I have been inspired by the Conversations with God books, which provide a new interpretation of the God presented in the Judeo-Christian culture. Although our paths are not identical, we share a lot of common ground. And both of us believe we've discovered concepts of God that are useful, relevant, inspiring, and grounded in our own experience.
So, how do you find God in your own way?
Sometimes it just happens to you. Maybe you get caught up in some larger than life experience, and a new epiphany emerges from it. Or you hear a talk or read a book and it just fits. I fall into this category.For others there's some seed of spirituality that was planted earlier, and you reconnect with it. You go back to your roots and find something you can believe in.
For some people, all it takes is getting away from the stress and noise of their busy lives -- going away on a retreat, connecting with nature, meditation, or yoga. These things calm the mind and once the mind is calm, your spiritual nature becomes clear again.
Then there are the seekers--those who go out in search of something that they can believe in. Sometimes you need to try things on for size. Live it for a while and see if it feels right. The danger of this approach is that you can remain forever a seeker and never a finder.
After you've re-connected with Spirit, what's next? Often what it takes to solidify your religious experience in your life is another person you can talk with about it, who will at least support you, even if he doesn't accompany you on the journey. Yet it's not always easy to find this kind of support, even in a Unitarian Universalist church.
Believe it or not, some liberal theists can find the UU environment a little daunting. Sometimes it can feel as if they are required to defend their ideas in a climate of intellectual Darwinism, where the strongest rational argument survives. Rational discourse can indeed be a valued part of the "free and responsible search for truth and meaning," and is for many people stimulating and enriching. But it can fail to nurture the emerging spiritual nature of the person who is on a new path, instead forcing him out onto an intellectual playing field which has little to do with his religious experience.
Lest some of the ideas we are presenting sound out of place in the rationally oriented Unitarian Universalist context, we would like to refer to the 3rd of our 7 Principles listed at the front of our hymnal, and the first source of our living tradition also listed there:
The third Principle is "Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations"
The first Source of our Living Tradition is: "Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life"
There is a problem with the overly rational approach found in many UU churches. In reaction to other faith traditions with a rigid reliance on religious institutional authority, UUism has adopted rational argument as the primary source of truth, in effect rejecting personal religious experience as a valid source of authority, or at least relegating it to a minor place.
But rational argument can never describe the nature of religious experience, and leaves out a whole aspect of life that transcends the rational. Religious experiences can lead to a new view of the world. People need a social environment in which their religious experience is honored and their spiritual growth supported. Suddenly finding yourself with a new view of reality and your place in it can be overwhelming, exciting, and scary Ð and talking about it can be even scarier. That's why social support is so important. It's a critical part of the "encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations" that our 3rd Principle affirms.
How do we know that we are providing "encouragement to spiritual growth" in our congregation? Here are some ideas Peter and I would like to propose:
As individuals, we would work toward letting go of our own personal religious "baggage" enough so that we don't feel uncomfortable when people talk about God, or fear being co-opted or recruited when they talk about their religious beliefs. It's actually taken me quite a while to do this myself.People who have had religious experiences would be affirmed and supported in their beliefs.
People who have not had transrational experiences would get support for their rational view of the world.
Our congregation would recommit to pro-active support for theological diversity and the language of those theologies.
We would have more extensive adult programming oriented toward exploring and developing your theology, such as the Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography course our minister, Steve, has taught in the past.
No one should feel they risk losing the respect of others in our community because they either do or do not believe in God. Does this really happen? Let's take a measure of our comfort level with other points of view right now.
For atheists and agnostics, how does it feel to hear the following statements?
I feel called to this work.I'll pray for you.
My angel warned me about this.
I need to seek guidance about that.
For theists, how do you feel on hearing these statements?
Rational discourse and the scientific method are what separate us from primitive cultures.How can someone believe something that can't be proven and doesn't hold up to rational scrutiny?
If you want to talk about God, there are 10 other churches in this town.
I gave up all those superstitious beliefs a long time ago.
Did you feel a little twinge at hearing one or more of these statements? I understand that feeling of discomfort.
But if we are to make a place for real theological diversity, we need to get beyond our judgments and our discomfort.
Over the years this congregation has done a lot of valuable work toward the goal of becoming a supportive community and good neighbor. Recently, we've worked hard on the Welcoming Congregation program and will be undertaking the Journey Toward Wholeness together. "Respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person" isn't just one of our principles; it's part of the culture of this congregation. Wholeheartedly supporting theological diversity is another part of the journey.
In conversation with members here, we have encountered a rich breadth of spiritual experience and perspectives. All that's needed for this diversity to thrive is an explicit effort to affirm and support it. Given our congregation's track record in dealing with other diversity challenges, we have faith that we will be making this journey forward together.
Copyright © 2001 by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua NH. All rights reserved
