God, The Father
Adult study
As We Believe, So We Behave
Living the Apostles' Creed
Object:
"I believe in God, the Father...." Really? Most of us would happily and unashamedly say absolutely! Good -- that is just what would be expected in a church sanctuary on a Sunday morning or, for that matter, in a mosque on a Friday or a synagogue on a Saturday. In fact, scripture says big deal: "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder" (James 2:19). In the words of the psalmist, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God' " (Psalm 14:1 NRSV).
Okay -- defend your belief. Prove that there is a God. You philosophy majors know there are several options (and the rest of us know that this could become really, really boring really, really quickly). Philosophers, if you want to show off, you can spout off the big names for the arguments: There is the "cosmological," the "teleological," the "anthropological," and the "ontological."1
Start with the easiest, the cosmological argument. The root word helps us -- cosmos -- the universe. Just look at the whole universe and ask this simple question: "How come?" Birds, bees, rocks, clouds, stars, atmosphere -- here they all are. How come? How did they get here? This argument states that this all must be accounted for by some cause equal to the task of bringing it into existence and keeping it going. The cosmological argument insists the answer must be God.
The teleological argument begins with its Greek root meaning "complete" and looks at the universe a little more closely and sees its intricate and amazing design. We look at the structure of a leaf, the growth of a seed, the power of capillary attraction, the stars in their course. Design and purpose seem interrelated in everything about us. Infinite design demands an infinite designer. Does a watch "just happen" without a watchmaker? As has been asked many times: How long would it take 10,000 monkeys hammering on 10,000 typewriters (and monkeys and typewriters would have to be accounted for first) to "just happen" to write the plays of Shakespeare? The teleological argument insists that this mind behind it all is God.
Of course, one of the most amazing designs in the universe is the human being -- anthropos in Greek. Thus, the anthropological argument. Humanity involves personhood and has what we call personality; could the human person come from an impersonal source? Humanity is creative in so many ways; was the source of existence uncreative? Are Bach and Beethoven, da Vinci and Michelangelo, the accidental by-products of an accidental process that began when the primordial slime (wherever that came from) accidentally gathered together to produce the first living cell? The anthropological argument says, "No," the source of this must have been God.
Finally, the ontological argument points to perfection. Several forms of the argument have appeared in the history of thought but that of Descartes is perhaps the clearest. Descartes raises the question as to where this idea of perfection comes from. It cannot be produced from the universe that has in it many imperfections. It cannot come from the person who is demonstrably imperfect; the idea of perfection is actually the person's ideal for himself or herself. Whence this idea, if not from humanity or from the external world, must be from another source; the idea has been implanted by some perfect one. This could only be God.
Four big arguments -- if you were not convinced of the existence of God before, do any of those prove it beyond a reasonable doubt for you now? I doubt it. The truth is no argument can prove the existence of God. For most folks, there is no need for proof anyway. According to all the surveys in our own nation, year in and year out, 95% of American adults believe in a god of some sort. The name might be different from one person to the next, but there is no need to prove God's existence.
That also happens to be the position of scripture. Nowhere does the Bible ever offer proof about the existence of God. It is just a given. We accept it -- faith. Go back to the first words of Genesis. At the beginning of the creation story we read, "In the beginning, God...." For the Bible, God always was, always is, and always will be. No argument. That is just the way it is!
So what about this God who is? As we say, 95% of us do not doubt God's existence, but we do differ on what kind of God we believe in. You, no doubt, have met some of the contemporary caricatures that attempt to pass for God. Dan Baumann has helpfully identified a half-dozen of them.2 You may have more:
1. God as resident policeman. God is a nagging inner voice. Just about the time you want to enjoy yourself, God blows the whistle. It is as if God were sitting on a cloud somewhere looking down at us and, seeing someone about to have fun, yells, "Now cut that out."
2. God as parental hangover. If your parents are kind, so is your God. If, however, your parents are severe and fearsome so is your God. God becomes a whip-carrying disciplinarian who cannot wait for us to do wrong so the punishment can begin.
3. God as grand old man. God is pictured as a gray-haired, smiling gent in a rocking chair, a nice old fellow, but not very "with it." God is an archaic remnant of the past, who talks in King James English -- lots of thees and thous. Of course, as with anyone of a previous generation, this God is hopelessly stuck in the past with no concept of contemporary realities.
4. God-in-a-box. God must be a member of my group, my social circle, my culture, even my denomination. If I am a Presbyterian, so is God. If I am a Baptist, Methodist, or you name it, so is God. If God were to visit our town, God would, of course, attend our church and no other. God-in-a-box is a provincial deity who is bound by my limited perspective and must think as I do. For example, to consider an issue in the current culture wars, if I hate homosexuals, God must hate them, too.
5. God as Santa Claus. God is an eternal disperser of gifts. God's function is to satisfy the selfish requests of earthlings who are perpetually asking. God is viewed primarily as a giver.
6. God as a great computer. God is a heavenly machine, about as personal as an IBM mainframe. God is mechanical, cold, and impersonal. God set this world in motion, then sat back with no more interest or involvement. God neither knows me nor cares about me.
The list is not exhaustive. Suffice it to say that none of them adequately reflects the God we meet in scripture, and, for that matter, no description would ever be adequate anyway, no matter how orthodox. Remember this: No matter what we say about God, it will never be enough. Read that again: No matter what we say about God, it will never be enough. One more time: No matter what we say about God, it will never be enough. The God of heaven is beyond our human descriptions.
"I believe in God, the Father...." One brief aside here. Some folks have trouble with the phrase, "God the Father." There is the legitimate concern over the gender-specific language. Different traditions explain it in their own way, but, coming from the Presbyterian family, I rely on our recent Presbyterian Catechism that says,
Only creatures having bodies can be either male or female. But God has no body, since by nature God is Spirit. Holy Scripture reveals God as a living God beyond all sexual distinctions. Scripture uses diverse images for God, female as well as male.3
Why, then, do we keep the archaic language? Simply because it continues to be helpful. It offers us a picture of God's relationship with us (and remember, whatever we say about God, it will never be enough) ... a picture that conveys love and care that is so special between parent and child.
My friend, Carlos Wilton, passes on a story of a five-year-old boy who is trapped in a burning house.4 The parents have gotten all their children out but this one. There he stands, outlined against a second-story window, surrounded by blinding smoke.
"Jump and I'll catch you," his father cries.
"But, Daddy, I can't see you."
The father shouts back, "I can see you -- that's all that matters. Jump!" The boy jumps -- right into the safety of his father's arms.
"I believe in God, the Father...." Again, we encounter the fact that what we believe determines how we behave. In terms of this affirmation, "I believe in God, the Father...." means we are saying something more than I believe that God exists. The key is that little preposition that is so easy to overlook. I believe in! -- and that in is incredibly important.
Here are some examples. I can honestly say I used to believe in my government ... trust my government ... to be straight and truthful and to look out only for the good of all. Then came the Pentagon papers, Watergate, weapons of mass destruction, and so on, and I learned I could no longer believe in the government. Oh, I could believe that my government existed -- all I had to do was check my tax bill, but believe in them? No. Or our justice system. I used to believe in that. Then I saw the police with Rodney King and saw that justice depended upon your color, I heard the O. J. Simpson verdict and saw that justice depended upon your bank account, I watched judiciary committee hearings and saw that justice can depend upon your political party. Do I believe in the system? Do I trust the system? I do not trust anymore.
Do you want to know something I do believe in? My wife -- I trust her completely. I know she will never lie to me, cheat me, steal from me, be unfaithful to me, and will unfailingly have my best interest at heart. If I ask her advice, I know it will be the best she can muster. If I ask her assistance, I know she will offer anything she has. No wonder I love this woman more than my own life! I believe in her! And that has an effect on the way I live. I do my best to care for her, support her, and encourage her. I would not be unfaithful to her. I try never to disappoint her. I would absolutely give my life for her. You see, what I believe determines how I behave.
What does it mean to me to say, "I believe in God, the Father?" It means, "Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the next seven days, I will fear nothing ... for my God, this one whom I have come to know in scripture and experience as one who loves me and cares for me even more than my wife does, is with me and has my best interests at heart." That is why I will try to rely upon God's daily presence, to know God's will for my life, and to do my level best to make that will my very own marching orders.
"I believe in God, the Father...." Our closing word is for those of you who, for one reason or another, have terrible trouble saying that, and who wish that you might. How can a person who does not believe in God gain that faith?
Remember that passage in Lewis Carroll's novel, Through the Looking Glass, where the Queen tells Alice that she is a 101 years, five months, and one day old. "I can't believe that," says Alice.
"Can't you?" asks the Queen. "Try again, draw a long breath and shut your eyes."
That does not work, does it? Faith in God does not come from shutting your eyes to truth and trying to force yourself to believe what is not so. The answer lies in a willingness to be open.
Start with this. If you believe nothing more than there is a difference between right and wrong, your good sense will tell you that God, if there is one, is on the side of what you believe is right. As you consciously give yourself to the right over the wrong, the God who is there will come to meet you. That is what Jesus meant when his enemies questioned his right to teach, and he said, "Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know ..." (John 7:17 NRSV). Whenever you are willing to do that much of the will of the highest which you know to be true, you will know more. Then the time will come when you too can stand up and, with heart and soul and mind and strength, say, "I believe in God, the Father..."
____________
1. Addison Leitch, Interpreting Basic Theology (Great Neck, New York: Channel Press, 1961), pp. 17-19.
2. Dan Baumann, Dare to Believe (Glendale, California: Regal Books, 1977), pp. 35-36.
3. Question 11, Presbyterian Study Catechism, approved by the 210th General Assembly, PCUSA, 1998.
4. From an unpublished sermon by Carlos Wilton, "By The Light of His Glory," delivered at Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Point Pleasant, New Jersey, February 18, 1996.
Questions For Reflection
1. How do you defend your belief in God?
2. Is reference to "God the Father" important to you? Why?
3. How would you react if your pastor repeatedly referred to "God, the Mother"? Why?
4. The author noted some "contemporary caricatures" of God. Did any of them strike a particularly familiar note? Did you think of any not on the list?
5. Of all the technically advanced nations on earth, the United States is the most overtly religious. Why do you think that is the case?
Okay -- defend your belief. Prove that there is a God. You philosophy majors know there are several options (and the rest of us know that this could become really, really boring really, really quickly). Philosophers, if you want to show off, you can spout off the big names for the arguments: There is the "cosmological," the "teleological," the "anthropological," and the "ontological."1
Start with the easiest, the cosmological argument. The root word helps us -- cosmos -- the universe. Just look at the whole universe and ask this simple question: "How come?" Birds, bees, rocks, clouds, stars, atmosphere -- here they all are. How come? How did they get here? This argument states that this all must be accounted for by some cause equal to the task of bringing it into existence and keeping it going. The cosmological argument insists the answer must be God.
The teleological argument begins with its Greek root meaning "complete" and looks at the universe a little more closely and sees its intricate and amazing design. We look at the structure of a leaf, the growth of a seed, the power of capillary attraction, the stars in their course. Design and purpose seem interrelated in everything about us. Infinite design demands an infinite designer. Does a watch "just happen" without a watchmaker? As has been asked many times: How long would it take 10,000 monkeys hammering on 10,000 typewriters (and monkeys and typewriters would have to be accounted for first) to "just happen" to write the plays of Shakespeare? The teleological argument insists that this mind behind it all is God.
Of course, one of the most amazing designs in the universe is the human being -- anthropos in Greek. Thus, the anthropological argument. Humanity involves personhood and has what we call personality; could the human person come from an impersonal source? Humanity is creative in so many ways; was the source of existence uncreative? Are Bach and Beethoven, da Vinci and Michelangelo, the accidental by-products of an accidental process that began when the primordial slime (wherever that came from) accidentally gathered together to produce the first living cell? The anthropological argument says, "No," the source of this must have been God.
Finally, the ontological argument points to perfection. Several forms of the argument have appeared in the history of thought but that of Descartes is perhaps the clearest. Descartes raises the question as to where this idea of perfection comes from. It cannot be produced from the universe that has in it many imperfections. It cannot come from the person who is demonstrably imperfect; the idea of perfection is actually the person's ideal for himself or herself. Whence this idea, if not from humanity or from the external world, must be from another source; the idea has been implanted by some perfect one. This could only be God.
Four big arguments -- if you were not convinced of the existence of God before, do any of those prove it beyond a reasonable doubt for you now? I doubt it. The truth is no argument can prove the existence of God. For most folks, there is no need for proof anyway. According to all the surveys in our own nation, year in and year out, 95% of American adults believe in a god of some sort. The name might be different from one person to the next, but there is no need to prove God's existence.
That also happens to be the position of scripture. Nowhere does the Bible ever offer proof about the existence of God. It is just a given. We accept it -- faith. Go back to the first words of Genesis. At the beginning of the creation story we read, "In the beginning, God...." For the Bible, God always was, always is, and always will be. No argument. That is just the way it is!
So what about this God who is? As we say, 95% of us do not doubt God's existence, but we do differ on what kind of God we believe in. You, no doubt, have met some of the contemporary caricatures that attempt to pass for God. Dan Baumann has helpfully identified a half-dozen of them.2 You may have more:
1. God as resident policeman. God is a nagging inner voice. Just about the time you want to enjoy yourself, God blows the whistle. It is as if God were sitting on a cloud somewhere looking down at us and, seeing someone about to have fun, yells, "Now cut that out."
2. God as parental hangover. If your parents are kind, so is your God. If, however, your parents are severe and fearsome so is your God. God becomes a whip-carrying disciplinarian who cannot wait for us to do wrong so the punishment can begin.
3. God as grand old man. God is pictured as a gray-haired, smiling gent in a rocking chair, a nice old fellow, but not very "with it." God is an archaic remnant of the past, who talks in King James English -- lots of thees and thous. Of course, as with anyone of a previous generation, this God is hopelessly stuck in the past with no concept of contemporary realities.
4. God-in-a-box. God must be a member of my group, my social circle, my culture, even my denomination. If I am a Presbyterian, so is God. If I am a Baptist, Methodist, or you name it, so is God. If God were to visit our town, God would, of course, attend our church and no other. God-in-a-box is a provincial deity who is bound by my limited perspective and must think as I do. For example, to consider an issue in the current culture wars, if I hate homosexuals, God must hate them, too.
5. God as Santa Claus. God is an eternal disperser of gifts. God's function is to satisfy the selfish requests of earthlings who are perpetually asking. God is viewed primarily as a giver.
6. God as a great computer. God is a heavenly machine, about as personal as an IBM mainframe. God is mechanical, cold, and impersonal. God set this world in motion, then sat back with no more interest or involvement. God neither knows me nor cares about me.
The list is not exhaustive. Suffice it to say that none of them adequately reflects the God we meet in scripture, and, for that matter, no description would ever be adequate anyway, no matter how orthodox. Remember this: No matter what we say about God, it will never be enough. Read that again: No matter what we say about God, it will never be enough. One more time: No matter what we say about God, it will never be enough. The God of heaven is beyond our human descriptions.
"I believe in God, the Father...." One brief aside here. Some folks have trouble with the phrase, "God the Father." There is the legitimate concern over the gender-specific language. Different traditions explain it in their own way, but, coming from the Presbyterian family, I rely on our recent Presbyterian Catechism that says,
Only creatures having bodies can be either male or female. But God has no body, since by nature God is Spirit. Holy Scripture reveals God as a living God beyond all sexual distinctions. Scripture uses diverse images for God, female as well as male.3
Why, then, do we keep the archaic language? Simply because it continues to be helpful. It offers us a picture of God's relationship with us (and remember, whatever we say about God, it will never be enough) ... a picture that conveys love and care that is so special between parent and child.
My friend, Carlos Wilton, passes on a story of a five-year-old boy who is trapped in a burning house.4 The parents have gotten all their children out but this one. There he stands, outlined against a second-story window, surrounded by blinding smoke.
"Jump and I'll catch you," his father cries.
"But, Daddy, I can't see you."
The father shouts back, "I can see you -- that's all that matters. Jump!" The boy jumps -- right into the safety of his father's arms.
"I believe in God, the Father...." Again, we encounter the fact that what we believe determines how we behave. In terms of this affirmation, "I believe in God, the Father...." means we are saying something more than I believe that God exists. The key is that little preposition that is so easy to overlook. I believe in! -- and that in is incredibly important.
Here are some examples. I can honestly say I used to believe in my government ... trust my government ... to be straight and truthful and to look out only for the good of all. Then came the Pentagon papers, Watergate, weapons of mass destruction, and so on, and I learned I could no longer believe in the government. Oh, I could believe that my government existed -- all I had to do was check my tax bill, but believe in them? No. Or our justice system. I used to believe in that. Then I saw the police with Rodney King and saw that justice depended upon your color, I heard the O. J. Simpson verdict and saw that justice depended upon your bank account, I watched judiciary committee hearings and saw that justice can depend upon your political party. Do I believe in the system? Do I trust the system? I do not trust anymore.
Do you want to know something I do believe in? My wife -- I trust her completely. I know she will never lie to me, cheat me, steal from me, be unfaithful to me, and will unfailingly have my best interest at heart. If I ask her advice, I know it will be the best she can muster. If I ask her assistance, I know she will offer anything she has. No wonder I love this woman more than my own life! I believe in her! And that has an effect on the way I live. I do my best to care for her, support her, and encourage her. I would not be unfaithful to her. I try never to disappoint her. I would absolutely give my life for her. You see, what I believe determines how I behave.
What does it mean to me to say, "I believe in God, the Father?" It means, "Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the next seven days, I will fear nothing ... for my God, this one whom I have come to know in scripture and experience as one who loves me and cares for me even more than my wife does, is with me and has my best interests at heart." That is why I will try to rely upon God's daily presence, to know God's will for my life, and to do my level best to make that will my very own marching orders.
"I believe in God, the Father...." Our closing word is for those of you who, for one reason or another, have terrible trouble saying that, and who wish that you might. How can a person who does not believe in God gain that faith?
Remember that passage in Lewis Carroll's novel, Through the Looking Glass, where the Queen tells Alice that she is a 101 years, five months, and one day old. "I can't believe that," says Alice.
"Can't you?" asks the Queen. "Try again, draw a long breath and shut your eyes."
That does not work, does it? Faith in God does not come from shutting your eyes to truth and trying to force yourself to believe what is not so. The answer lies in a willingness to be open.
Start with this. If you believe nothing more than there is a difference between right and wrong, your good sense will tell you that God, if there is one, is on the side of what you believe is right. As you consciously give yourself to the right over the wrong, the God who is there will come to meet you. That is what Jesus meant when his enemies questioned his right to teach, and he said, "Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know ..." (John 7:17 NRSV). Whenever you are willing to do that much of the will of the highest which you know to be true, you will know more. Then the time will come when you too can stand up and, with heart and soul and mind and strength, say, "I believe in God, the Father..."
____________
1. Addison Leitch, Interpreting Basic Theology (Great Neck, New York: Channel Press, 1961), pp. 17-19.
2. Dan Baumann, Dare to Believe (Glendale, California: Regal Books, 1977), pp. 35-36.
3. Question 11, Presbyterian Study Catechism, approved by the 210th General Assembly, PCUSA, 1998.
4. From an unpublished sermon by Carlos Wilton, "By The Light of His Glory," delivered at Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Point Pleasant, New Jersey, February 18, 1996.
Questions For Reflection
1. How do you defend your belief in God?
2. Is reference to "God the Father" important to you? Why?
3. How would you react if your pastor repeatedly referred to "God, the Mother"? Why?
4. The author noted some "contemporary caricatures" of God. Did any of them strike a particularly familiar note? Did you think of any not on the list?
5. Of all the technically advanced nations on earth, the United States is the most overtly religious. Why do you think that is the case?
