I Believe in God?
Over the years, we have seen many images of God in Movies. Dogma presented Alanis Morissette as God. In The Rapture, the image of God is not a visual or loving one, but rather intellectual and judging. In Evan Almighty, Morgan Freeman images a God that is personal, humorous, and relentless. In Oh, God!, George Burns gives us a gentle, funny and encouraging God that admits making mistakes. There are many other images that are presented in American films about what God looks and acts like.
Many have a difficulty seeing God as both personal and all-powerful. We cannot fathom a God that transcends our limited, even jaded, perceptions. Sometimes we limit God because we so desire independence and lack of accountability. Sometimes we limit God because of our usual way of dealing with the world. In short, we have an intellectual assent that there is A GOD somewhere out in never land.
If, as Margaret Guenther states in The Practice of Prayer, that: “Our spirituality is not what we PROFESS to believe, but how we order our loves” then our creeds define our lives and how we behave. I emphasized profess in that last sentence because we say a lot of things that do not play out in how we live. That is why a Creed is important as it defines life and the way we intend to live.
We all have beliefs so we all have a creed. The first paragraph of the Apostle’s Creed reads: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.” This Christian Creed gets to be specific about some things that believed about God.
The claim of the Faith is that there are knowable attributes to God. First, that there is a particular God that exists, not just one of a pantheon. This statement is one that challenges many due to the gauntlet nature that it presents. It argues against intellectual assent and for a personal decision that involves the entire being that you are.
The above paragraph from the Creed also illuminates some elements of God’s personhood that are important. Creator is easy, but it is important to see the almighty and father aspects as well. Without these aspects, God would become a cardboard cutout. Perhaps that is what we want a God that is just easy on us, or is always controlling or just creates and leaves us alone. Yet, a one or two-dimensional God would leave us wanting more. We already want to feel more and yet the reason we do not feel is our senses, not a lack of personality and ability upon Gods part.
Whatever your faith, you need something on which you can hang your hat. A definitive statement that defines who God is, that outlines Gods abilities and relationship with you and the world around you. Fight against the urge to pick from only the dessert menu of what you want God to be.
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
Many have a difficulty seeing God as both personal and all-powerful. We cannot fathom a God that transcends our limited, even jaded, perceptions. Sometimes we limit God because we so desire independence and lack of accountability. Sometimes we limit God because of our usual way of dealing with the world. In short, we have an intellectual assent that there is A GOD somewhere out in never land.
If, as Margaret Guenther states in The Practice of Prayer, that: “Our spirituality is not what we PROFESS to believe, but how we order our loves” then our creeds define our lives and how we behave. I emphasized profess in that last sentence because we say a lot of things that do not play out in how we live. That is why a Creed is important as it defines life and the way we intend to live.
We all have beliefs so we all have a creed. The first paragraph of the Apostle’s Creed reads: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.” This Christian Creed gets to be specific about some things that believed about God.
The claim of the Faith is that there are knowable attributes to God. First, that there is a particular God that exists, not just one of a pantheon. This statement is one that challenges many due to the gauntlet nature that it presents. It argues against intellectual assent and for a personal decision that involves the entire being that you are.
The above paragraph from the Creed also illuminates some elements of God’s personhood that are important. Creator is easy, but it is important to see the almighty and father aspects as well. Without these aspects, God would become a cardboard cutout. Perhaps that is what we want a God that is just easy on us, or is always controlling or just creates and leaves us alone. Yet, a one or two-dimensional God would leave us wanting more. We already want to feel more and yet the reason we do not feel is our senses, not a lack of personality and ability upon Gods part.
Whatever your faith, you need something on which you can hang your hat. A definitive statement that defines who God is, that outlines Gods abilities and relationship with you and the world around you. Fight against the urge to pick from only the dessert menu of what you want God to be.
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
posted by Covenant of the Cross at
7:06 PM
0 Comments
