WHERE IS GOD?
by Bob Wickizer
Scripture: 1 Kings 8:1, 1 Kings 8:6, 1 Kings 8:10-11, 1 Kings 8:22-30, 1 Kings 8:41-43, Psalms 84:1-12, Ephesians 6:10-20, John 6:56-69
Title: Where is God?
Author: Bob Wickizer
Text: 1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
In my first year as rector of a church in Maryland, I was getting to know various clergy in the area including the imam of a very large mosque nearby, and the rabbi of a Reformed Jewish Congregation. One day, over lunch, the rabbi told me that his biggest theological issue with Christianity was the statement by Jesus we heard last week and today, "No one can come to the Father except through me." He asked me how I dealt with Christianity as monotheistic and statements like that.
First, I tried the Marcus Borg distinction between the earthly Jesus and the resurrected Christ.My rabbi friend would have none of that argument. Next, I tried the "cosmic Christ" arguments of Richard Rohr and Teilhard du Chardin, no deal. Finally, I tried to explain the Trinity in terms of particle physics and quarks composing baryonic matter but rabbi Gary could not be satisfied. I failed miserably although we remained friends for years.
Twenty-five years later, I still do not have a concise answer to that question. Some Muslims consider Christianity polytheistic because of the Trinity and this proclamation by Jesus. In their thinking, we are infidels. The best I can do with this idea is to tell you the three persons of the Trinity are different aspects of the same underlying reality of what we call "God." But all this theologizing takes us to a very practical question, where do we find God?
Before we tackle this question, I caution you not to use Trinitarian faith to exclude or discount other monotheistic religions such as Judaism or Islam. Neither should you use exclusive claims about your faith to claim superiority or "my way or the highway" theology. These kinds of claims are not Christian. They are just another way of dominating people.
So, where DO we find God? I spent a sabbatical summer in Greece learning about the Greek Orthodox ch ...
Author: Bob Wickizer
Text: 1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
In my first year as rector of a church in Maryland, I was getting to know various clergy in the area including the imam of a very large mosque nearby, and the rabbi of a Reformed Jewish Congregation. One day, over lunch, the rabbi told me that his biggest theological issue with Christianity was the statement by Jesus we heard last week and today, "No one can come to the Father except through me." He asked me how I dealt with Christianity as monotheistic and statements like that.
First, I tried the Marcus Borg distinction between the earthly Jesus and the resurrected Christ.My rabbi friend would have none of that argument. Next, I tried the "cosmic Christ" arguments of Richard Rohr and Teilhard du Chardin, no deal. Finally, I tried to explain the Trinity in terms of particle physics and quarks composing baryonic matter but rabbi Gary could not be satisfied. I failed miserably although we remained friends for years.
Twenty-five years later, I still do not have a concise answer to that question. Some Muslims consider Christianity polytheistic because of the Trinity and this proclamation by Jesus. In their thinking, we are infidels. The best I can do with this idea is to tell you the three persons of the Trinity are different aspects of the same underlying reality of what we call "God." But all this theologizing takes us to a very practical question, where do we find God?
Before we tackle this question, I caution you not to use Trinitarian faith to exclude or discount other monotheistic religions such as Judaism or Islam. Neither should you use exclusive claims about your faith to claim superiority or "my way or the highway" theology. These kinds of claims are not Christian. They are just another way of dominating people.
So, where DO we find God? I spent a sabbatical summer in Greece learning about the Greek Orthodox ch ...
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