Challenge

Have you heard of Gretta Vosper, the self-professed atheist minister? She maintains that the word “God” is no longer useful because it is fraught with images and ideas that the world largely rejects. I hear what she is saying, but I have never liked the idea of throwing the baby out with the bath water. I have no problem claiming to believe in God or Jesus or the Spirit, or using the Gospel as a guide for life.  One of the biggest theological challenges I face comes from another era. While it may have worked for a time, it’s now full of holes. The belief in a God who intervenes, who has the power to grant wishes, alter history, and protect or punish is both what keeps people fearfully faithful,  and what sends them  into the vast sea of disbelief. When things go well, an accident averted, a disease cured, God gets the credit. When things go wrong, a horrible tragedy or an incurable illness, God gets the blame. While it feels good to feel blessed by God, conversely, the thought that if there were a God, God would prevent bad things from happening reduces the deity to the status of Santa, easily discarded with maturity.
 
This is a difficult theological construct to work with and one that causes many to outright reject the idea of God.  It puts a lot of pressure on believers to define what it is they really believe. With a different world view, actually science helps. We no longer rely on our imaginations to know what lies beyond the clouds. Although defining God is no easier than it ever was, we can see that what worked in a pre-scientific world is no longer relevant. As our knowledge of the world evolves, so must our theology, otherwise, the disconnect renders theology useless.  Yet good theological insight is helpful.
 
A spirit of God that envelopes the world with love and generosity and selflessness, which is manifest in humanity at its best, is the kind of Godly presence I believe in. Of course, this presence is seen clearly for Christians in Jesus of Nazareth, who offers insight into the Spirit at work in the world. That presence invites our prayer into action; changing our hearts, transforming our community, one person at a time, and starting with the one who prays. That understanding of God invites us into the horrors life throws at us in ways that combat loneliness and isolation, inspires courage and finds meaning.  It does not change the circumstances of life so much as it works within them, finding goodness and connection and building relationship.
 
In a world focused on individualism, this is exactly the kind of godly presence people of faith, can name and claim. Knowing that pain and suffering are as much a part of life as joy and celebration, yet feeling that we are not alone in times of anguish is helpful.  Those who travel with us become a tangible image of God. Putting our faith into action will help us transform our sense of God with us into faith for today!
 
Rev. Donna Tourneur works in ministry with the congregation of Trinity, New Glasgow in the United Church of Canada.