Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Who is God? What is God?

Unitarian Unversalists, of all religions, have understood that God cannot be named. Francis David, the Unitarian pioneer in the sixteenth century, said that we need not think alike to love alike. In this statement is a profound insight that what we call as God is blasphemy because God is nameless.

Osho teaches that God is a verb not a noun. God is a quality. Osho suggests that if we have to think about the Divine we think of "Godliness."

Jonathan Merritt, in his book, "Learning To Speak God From Scratch," points out that contemporary people have become put off of religion because of the misuse and abuse of language. The word, "God" sends shivers of revulsion down many people's spines because of the mental and emotional abuse that the "God" word has inflicted on them.

In the Tao Te Ching, it is taught that "God" is nameless. "God" is too big for any one religion. Unitarian Univeralists, of all religious people in America, descended from the Judeo-Christian tradition, understand this deep and fundamental spiritual principle. UUs have even articulated this understanding in their fourth principle which is to covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. UUs know that "God" cannot be put in a box. God cannot be defined within containing concepts. The love of "God" is a journey not a destination.

Here at UU A Way Of Life ministries we teach that "God" is the force, the ground of our being, better referred to as "Life" and "Love". "God" is, indeed, a verb not a noun, and is the energy which generates existence. When we at UU A Way Of Life ministries talk about doing "God's" will we are talking about resting in the tao of existence by rising above the desires of our egos. We encourage people to go with the flow and to become one with God.


2 comments:

  1. UUs tend to be more mature than the norm. Most people are more literal and concrete. Talking about God to most people is like talking to a four year old about Santa.

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  2. Reframing the concept of "God" from noun to verb is life changing. Thank you!

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