By Rev. Barbara Prose
Tell Me About the God You Don’t Believe In and Chances Are I Don’t Believe in that God Either.
“It is like the finger pointing to the moon…” says Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, referring to an ancient teaching from the Zen Buddhist tradition.
If someone points to the moon – don’t just look at the finger – because either you’ll miss the moon or you’ll think the finger is the moon.
The word God is a lot like that finger, and it has pointed in many different directions.
Karl Marx said God is a tool for the wealthy and powerful to use to control people. I agree that religion has been used in these ways, and that any concept of God that is used to justify oppression is not worthy of my allegiance.
Nietzche announced that God is dead. He is right, in that the concept of God many of us had in the past and certainly had as children, has died or must die. But our spiritual understanding of God does not need to be arrested once we allow the concepts of our childhood God to die.
Sam Harris writes, “If God exists, either God can do nothing to stop the most egregious calamities or God doesn’t care to. God therefore is either impotent or evil.” This idea of God as an external force, completely separate from human beings, apathetic, indifferent or powerless is not a God worthy of my attention.
When I talk about God, I’m not talking about a God who commands people to kill or be killed. And I’m not talking about a man in the sky watching over us, keeping tabs on who’s naughty and who’s nice, like Santa Claus.
I’m talking about a love that is the source of love. I’m talking about a power or presence within us and around us that helps us realize that loving our neighbors is the right thing to do. I’m talking about a soft spot inside us, always accessible, that connects us with compassion. I’m talking about our capacity to forgive and to heal, against all odds.
God is a word, intended to draw one’s attention to experiences of truth, beauty, mercy and goodness.
What, not of your own making, calls you to a life of connection, courage and compassion? Call it what you like. Just don’t mistake the finger for the moon or get too distracted or distressed by the word god, which is just a finger after all!
Bring your donations by Dec. 7th!
After receiving her Master of Divinity degree from Bangor Theological Seminary in 2009, Rev. Prose served the All Souls Unitarian Church of Tulsa Oklahoma from 2010 to 2023. As the Executive Minister of this 2,000 member congregation (one of the largest UU churches in the US), she led a staff of 20 or more. Rev. Prose moved to Hood River over a year ago and has been enjoying spending time with her granddaughter in Washougal. Rev. Prose also serves as Executive Director of the Portland-based Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (“IMIrJ”). We are pleased to support Rev. Prose as she continues to lead IMIrJ’s vital programs while also serving as our minister this coming year.