How can we Think of God?

Today our discussion was about the language of religion. It was Ezekiel who started the discussion.

Ezekiel: Rabbi, one day we discussed the question "why we live," and you answered the question like this: We live because God, our creator, wants us to live. Thus, faith in God gives purpose to our life. So, certainly, I want to believe in God. But, there is a problem. Whenever I think of God, what comes to my mind is the cruel face of God who sends Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. It fills my heart with fear, and I often think that it is better not to believe in such a God. I have also heard that God loves and forgives our mistakes. If so, why couldn't God forgive a silly mistake of Adam and Eve?

Rabbi: You are honest enough to admit that you find it difficult to believe in such a God. I admire your courage and honesty, without which no one can know the truth. The cruel face of God--that is the problem, isn't it?  Really the problem is not with God, but with us-- our inability to understand the language of religion. We are going to see how it is different from the ordinary language.

We perceive and understand the world around us using the five senses. We have no other way to know the world. Ezekiel, can you tell me who is standing at the other side of the synagogue now?

Ezekiel:  Can I go and see who there is?

Rabbi: So it is clear that you have to see to know who there is.  Unless we see, hear, feel, smell, or taste, we cannot know anything.  All knowledge comes through our senses.

We believe that the world depends on God for its existence.  Though we perceive and understand the world around us with our senses, we cannot perceive God like that. Therefore, we cannot know God. We can talk about God only in negative terms because God is not like anything we are familiar with. The world exists within the limits of time and space, but God does not exist within those limits. All living beings in the world have birth and death, but God has no birth or death. The world changes, but God does not change. Thus we cannot think or talk anything positively about God. However, people have always talked about God, and about the relationship between God and the world using metaphors. For example, we have seen how our ancestors compared God to a farmer, and the world to a farm. They have also used other analogies: God, like a potter, and the world, like a pot; God, like a king, and the world, like a kingdom. However, none of these metaphors brings out the real nature of God, or God's relation with the world. They are nothing but human attempts to think and speak about God.

In the story of Adam and Eve, God is compared to a feudal lord.  God owns the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve are placed there like tenants to keep the garden and till the ground. Absolute obedience is expected of them. When they disobey God, they are sent out without any mercy. Here, God behaves exactly like a typical feudal lord.   

Based on what we discussed earlier, it was Adam and Eve who broke their agreement with God, and once the agreement was broken, they refused to mend the broken relationship. Thus it is logical to assume that they banished themselves from the garden rather than God banished them.  

Our forefathers have used other analogies to represent God-Human relationship, such as that between father and children.  Like children, we have to grow to maturity. While being immature, we can't distinguish between right and wrong, and so, we commit mistakes. Then God, like a responsible father, may correct us, but will never cast us out as Adam and Eve were cast out.

Thus our forefathers compared God to a farmer, potter, king, shepherd, feudal lord and father. However, the real God is not like any of them; nor is he a mixture of all these.  But to speak of God, we have to use an analogy like this because we have no other alternative. However, we are not obligated to use these analogies that our ancestors used. We may choose the one we like or the one that suits our needs most. Or, we are free to use a new one our ancestors haven't used.

The analogy that I personally like at this time is that of father. I think of God as my father, and of myself as God's child. I believe that God loves me as a father loves his child. If I make mistakes, God corrects me, but never hates me. Even if I hate God, God loves me. I believe that God is always with me sharing my worries and problems. It makes my mind peaceful and healthy day after day. Moreover, this analogy helps me to see all people as my brothers and sisters. If God loves all people alike, I must also love all people in the same way.         

However, in relation to the world, I also see God as a king. If the whole world is seen as a kingdom, God can be seen as the king, the point from where it is managed and controlled.  If this same king is our father, then who are we? We must be the princes and princesses in the kingdom.  

Ezekiel was very happy.  

Ezekiel: Thank you very much rabbi. You have helped me to overcome a great problem.


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