Polls show that a growing number of Americans do not accept the traditional conception of God described in the Bible. For those that reach this point, the question is: what now? One possibility is to forget about the idea of God altogether. But, if one wants to keep God in his life, it is necessary to rethink one’s conception. In The Uncertain Believer, I suggest what I think is the most persuasive way to view God, but it useful to review a number of other possibilities.
I have heard a number of people suggest recently that they view God as a “divine life force” or a form of “spiritual energy,” perhaps emanating from the universe beyond earth, from a particular place or object, or even from another person, for example, someone who is about to die. As many have argued, humans have always decided what God is. There is nothing wrong with that; we just need to understand what we are doing. The question is what is intellectually persuasive and meaningful for our lives. If one finds meaning in viewing God as a form of divine or spiritual energy, then he has found the right path for himself.
There are several problems with such an idea, however. First, is the energy “supernatural,” that is, a form of energy never observed or confirmed by science? If that is the idea, this conception of God returns us to the mindset of our pre-scientific ancestors, visualizing a God that is purely the product of imagination. We might as well imagine emanations of energy from trees and rocks in the same way that pre-scientific humans viewed natural objects as divine. For example, among the magnificent rock formation near Sedona, Arizona, it is possible to visit spots that are claimed to be “energy vortexes” discovered by Indians centuries ago. Tourists hike to these spots, and having convinced themselves that they are going to feel a surge of energy when they get there, they do! The reality is that they are probably experiencing a surge of emotion based on anticipation, just as our pre-scientific ancestors’ emotions were heightened when they approached objects they considered sacred or divine.
On the other hand, if we are attracted by the idea of God as a type of energy confirmed by scientific observations, we have to imagine a God that is some aspect of the electromagnetic spectrum, alongside visible light, X-rays, gamma rays, and so on. That God is certainly real and we do not have to convince ourselves that such a God exists. The problem is figuring out how to love such a God. We can be impressed with radiation, but it makes no sense to be committed to it or feel that it plays a meaningful part in our life.
Finally, there is a problem with both notions of God as divine energy. How does it provide a framework for living? How does it help strengthen our relationships or make our lives more meaningful? In the end, we are left with an undirected mysticism, that takes us wherever we want. We might as well have forgotten the idea of God altogether.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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1 comments:
I, like yourself, have found the traditional forms of imaging God problematic. I, however, do not necessarily find the concepts of "God as energy" nearly so problematic. The reason I do not find the concept nearly so problematic is due to the current challenges that science is wrestling with in regard to the actual composition of the universe. Of all the matter in the universe, only about 4% is composed of the "stuff" (visible matter) that we are accustomed to: protons, neutrons, electrons, and the other sub-atomic particles that we have been able to verify. Another 23% of the universe's matter is "dark matter": materials that we cannot see or apprehend or verify, other than the effect that such matter has on light. The remaining 73% of the universe's composition is "dark energy", a force that is causing the continued acceleration of all visible matter away from other visible matter. At this point in the universe's history, much of the visible matter still stays in proximity to other visible matter, a process that is believed to be a function of the cohesive effect of visible and dark matter against the repulsive nature of dark energy. However, as time continues, that cohesive effect will continue to diminish.
Both the concepts of dark matter and dark energy, though, lend - for me - the ability to apprehend and comprehend of a God who is "other", but also "with us". At the very moment that I write these comments, untold amounts of dark matter and dark energy pass through my physical being without directly interacting on the physical composition of my person. Dark matter and dark energy do not interact with visible matter in that way. However, it is just as much here as the visible matter that I interact with: my keyboard, my computer, the electrons that communicate my actions and thoughts. It is here - and in much greater abundance - than any of the other "stuff" that I am seeing and interacting with. Yet, it might as well be a million miles away due to its lack of influence on my being.
Some of the dispositive questions to such a notion would be: If it was ever possible to "capture" such dark matter or energy, would it then be possible to "capture" the "God of energy"? How can something be with us, influence the visible matter of the universe (such as bending light) and still not interact with that visible matter? Further, if God were an energy not unlike such dark energy or matter, would God have existed as such prior to the origin of the "visibile" universe, the Original Energon?
I am not prepared to dispense of "God as energy", though - as you note - I do not embrace the mystical interpretations that others have adopted in the light of science's inability - at this point - to apprehend these other energies. However, I will contend that there are mysteries which science - even for all of its advances - is unable to comprehend or confirm in a substantive way that leave me still wondering if, at least in the instances of dark matter and energy, we might not still be able to conceive of a God who is "as near to us as our own being", but as "other" from us as could conceivably be imagined.
Looking forward to delivery and reading of your book.
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