Let’s talk God

Over the last several years, I’ve watched so many people move through different stages of faith, from the disorienting beginnings of spiritual seeking (or “deconstruction,” as the kids call it) to a deeper grounding in mystery, and now, for many, to a new kind of wondering: We know who God isn’t… so who or what is God?

We know God isn’t a patriarchal, colonial, authoritarian God.
God is not about manipulation, coercion, punishment, or violence.
God is does not lead us to narrow thinking, exclusion, or oppression.
God is not the source of anxiety, judgment, or fear.
God is not absence or isolation.

God is not the God many of us were handed in church. God is more.

More beautiful.
More expansive. 
More relational. 
More mysterious. 
More liberating. 

God has to be more. 

Otherwise, what’s the point of God? 

So what is God then? At Harbor, we’ve been gathering tools over the years to help us imagine God in new and expansive ways. We’ve learned from different theologians to see God as liberator, creator, mother, mystery, beloved community, beauty, and so much more. 

Diverse theologians have informed and shaped our cognitive knowledge of God. And yet, many of us are still left with pressing questions about whether we can experience God now. What does it mean to be in relationship with the Divine?

We did an exercise last Thursday night at our weekly Zoom gathering; each person wrote down their definition of God and then we wrote down the ways they experience God. Then we shared our thoughts. It was such a joy to see how different people in our community define God. And the different expressions of experiencing God. 

This fall, we are going to be talking about God a lot more in a series whose title is inspired by Judy Blume: Are You There God? It’s Me, Harbor. We’ll engage with the Bible, theology, philosophy, psychology, and other sources of wisdom as we wrestle with our ongoing questions of belief. Can we come up with some ideas about God that resonate with both our most deeply held values and the activities we practice to try to experience the Divine?