IDEA 17
Being is Belonging
How do we define God? A cosmic spirit? A universal force? An organizing principle? An emergent intelligence? Or a relic of ancient fears, hopes, and superstitions – a mental prosthesis, a mere cover for potholes, soon to be paved over, on the royal road to a modern paradise of science, democracy, and capitalism? … Traditional theology lays out answers in terms of being and non-being, or essence and existence, and attempts to prove its conclusions by means of logic, rational evidence, and linguistic analysis. (IIQ, page 25)
The traditional approach to broaching the question of God is to begin by asserting or denying His Existence and then to marshal arguments for or against that initial step. In Ideas Inspired by the Qur’an, I chose a detour that, for me at least, is actually a shortcut, and closer to the heart of the matter than the brain-twisting exercises of classical philosophy.
As I explain in Chapter 3 of my book, the question ‘What is God?’ is already a step in the wrong direction, since the very use of “What” presupposes a frame that will constrain our discourse going forward. “What is …?” sets up a false equivalence between two things — and GOD is not a thing in any case — whereas nothing is comparable to Him (Q112:4). GOD is, moreover, preeminently a ‘Who,’ for Whom a different set of questions needs to be activated.
My detour, if I could call it that, is to begin by asking not what you think or believe, but what you do and feel. In other words, what is there in your daily being that already commits you to GOD, despite your not recognizing it? What are the values you prize most highly and devote yourself to constantly? What are the absolutes that constitute your practical faith — the faith that enables you to function from moment to moment?
Suppose you call yourself an atheist. Your conception of God compels you to reject that premise. Fine. But do you value existence? Do you respect intelligence? Do you seek power? Are you loving, creative, and appreciative of the good things in life? Are you not who you are by virtue of your hearing, seeing, knowing, and willing certain outcomes in life? Why would you let one minor aspect of who you are, namely your material body, dictate the limits of all your other, more valuable aspects?
All these qualities, and many more you never think of, taken to their utmost degree and combined in one, belong to the same One you are valuing, respecting, seeking, and participating in without realizing it. This indivisible fusion of absolutes, including eternity, infinity and personality, is what it means to be GOD. By having these values, these aims, and these ways of being, you have engaged yourself in His values, aims, and Way of Being. Your denial of Him relies on His qualities to make it convincing to you. Even by being His shadow, the obverse of His Light, you are greater than your thought can ever conceive.
Download the PDF version for free at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’ān – Mont Redmond complete version, or purchase a hard copy at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’an: Redmond, Mont: 9781738842506: Books – Amazon.ca.
