Oh, my . . . God!
Is God supernatural? Or is God nature? Is God a message from the cosmos? A voice within? Does God change the course of history? Or the course of your day? Is God love? Or judgment? Where is God in moments of terrible tragedy, cruelty, terror, or pain? And where is God in moments of joy, celebration, or inspired creativity? Is God all-powerful? All-knowing? Is God very near, or far away? Absent or present? Benevolent or vengeful? Or simply disengaged?
These are some of the questions I’ve been exploring with our adult chat group over the past six months, and these are some of the questions that are taken up in the powerful documentary, God in the Box.
Whether you are a believer, a doubter, or a confirmed atheist, the idea of God is one that has profoundly influenced this world we share, both for better and for worse. The fact that God is not a fact—cannot be proven or disproven, mapped or measured—has never stopped human beings from time immemorial building and destroying nations, institutions, landscapes and lives, all based on thoughts about this mysterious idea, power, or presence. If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is this: we are dealing with potent stuff.
And so, we talk about it. We listen. We learn. We strive toward understanding and compassion for one another, and perhaps a broadened way of thinking for ourselves. This has been our hope for the adult chat series about God, and this is our goal in screening God in the Box on April 6th. Please plan to attend—and plan to bring all your friends, of every stripe, secular or religious. We’ll watch and listen. We’ll talk, and learn. (And the next morning, we’ll talk and learn some more at the adult chat—new-comers welcome!)
Whether or not we feel closer to God at the end, perhaps we’ll feel closer, more connected, to each other. Maybe we’ll feel just a little bit better prepared the next time we encounter the power and diversity of this “God” idea, to wield or respond to it for good, and for healing, and for the building of a better, kinder world.