I’m sometimes asked about my belief in God. It’s difficult to respond to questions about how or why I believe in a life-creating and life-sustaining presence which somehow is greater than my imagination. I can’t prove the existence of God – nor do I particularly want to.
My faith is subjective. The basis of my belief is my experience. It’s not particularly scientific, even though I consider myself a social scientist. My belief in God is not the experience of some magical being who makes the sun shine on me when it rains on everyone else. My faith isn’t about superstition, magic, or a dualistic view that God’s on my side and against someone else. Instead, my experience of a Divine presence is rooted in my spiritual experience. Spiritual experiences occur during times in prayer and meditation, while engaging in other spiritual practices, and in those other peak experiences when something greater than the actual experience breaks into the moment. It is in such spiritual experiences that I am present to or encounter something or someone beyond the realm of my existence. In these experiences, it is as though time stands still. The experience is something like entering a new dimension in which the present, past, and future are all one. In the experience of that dimension, I know that I am not alone but that I am present with another. It is this Other whom I have come to know as God.
I consider myself to be a Christian. The life and teachings of Jesus are the basis for my understanding of what it means to live life well. I call myself a Christian not because I adhere to particular dogma. Instead, the metaphors of Christianity are ones which make sense to me and give me a language with which to describe my spiritual experience.
Ultimately, the foundation of my belief is not based in a particular proof of the existence of God or in the affirmation of dogma. My belief is subjective: it is an affirmation of my experience of One greater than myself who is ultimately transcendent yet is someone within and around me. It is this One whom I have come to know as Creator and Sustainer of life.
Lou,
Nice blog. Wondering what convinces you that this encounter is “other” than yourself? (That would be with a capital “SELF”)
Jim:
I understand this as a “both/and” rather than an “either/or” understanding of the Divine and the individual. In other words, the creative energy which I understand as the transcendent divinity is the same energy which is the core of the individual.
My understanding of this is rooted in the Genesis statement that humanity was made in the image and likeness of the Divine. It’s been further developed by reading Eastern Christian mystics, like Maximus the Confessor, who understood our life process as divinization: our lives being transformed into the life of the Divine, without a separation between the two. I believe that union is what we are growing into.
Thanks for the comment.
Lou
Hi Lou,
what does being a Christian mean to you? Is Jesus just another Bhudda or is he the unique gateway to the purpose of life for all mankind?
This question is not about dogma, but about insight, vision, fact even.
Madeleine
Hi, Madeline:
Thanks for the question. I appreciate that you visited the blog and responded.
As I’m sure you noticed, my brief comments didn’t address my beliefs about Jesus but were addressed to the larger issue of belief about God. As time goes on, I’m sure that I’ll explore more about my beliefs about the trinity and the person of Jesus.
For now, I just want to briefly say that I do affirm that Jesus is a unique incarnation of God. Neither the person of Jesus nor the person of Sidhartha Guantama (the Buddha) are the same nor are their teachings the same. In general, Buddhists don’t view the Buddha as divine but as enlightened.
At the same time, I don’t view Christianity as somehow better than Buddhism. They are different religious and spiritual traditions.
I am a Christian because the teachings of Jesus inform my life in a primary way. As Paul stated in Acts 17:28: “In him (Christ) we live and move and have our being.” As a Christian, it is the Christ (as opposed to the historical person of Jesus) who is the incarnation of Divine Life in the world.
Again, thanks for the question.
Lou Kavar
I really enjoyed reading how you understand your faith and beliefs, as much as we can. 😉
I’ve always liked a passage from the The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, “It is not objective proof of God’s existence that we want but the experience of God’s presence.”
I’ve come to experience God’s presence as well. Not in “white light” experiences, but through the amazing things I see in other people and happenings that I can’t explain; and stopped trying to. The experiences (whether interactions with others or intuitions) are like guideposts that let me know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be on my spiritual and life path. After having a spiritual awakening due to desperation and thus hard work, it is the “missing” part I had always been searching for.
Jared:
Thanks for your comment.
While I’ve not had contact with him in many years, I had known Brennan Manning in the 1970’s and 80’s. He was engaging, thoughtful, and humorous.
Lou
I don’t usually reply to posts but I will in this case, great info…I will add a backlink and bookmark your site. Keep up the good work!
Mr. Barns:
Thanks for your comment. I hope that you’ll join us often in discussion.
Lou