Is God a Person? Wednesday, July 9, 2014 I consider the question of whether God is a “person” an important one for any serious understanding of mysticism and the experience of individual holy people. Yes, most Hindu, Sufi, Jewish, and Christian mystics, including [St.] Francis and [St.] Clare, speak—in part—as if God is quite personal, friendly, and sitting in a chair next to them (a human writ large), which reveals the deep and personal character of mystical encounters. Many rightly feel that humanity has moved far beyond any “old bearded man sitting on a throne” kind of God, who always ends up looking like our past authority figures and who must be “feared,” yet can also be cajoled into doing our will. This view seems to cheapen any honest or profound notion of God, and it surely has been subject to misuse and manipulation by immature people and clergy. These critics are, of course, half correct (God is surely not male nor a human writ large!), but I also believe their too-quick dismissal can keep us from wonderful possibilities and openings. Maybe God is supremely personal! I would like to offer my common “yes, and” approach . . . to help Christians and unbelievers alike know what is very good and deeply true about a personal notion of God, but then to move further, too. Francis surely loved and related to God as “Jesus” in a personal and intimate way, and yet he also saw God in “Brother Wind and Air,” as “Sister Water,” “Brother Fire,” and “Sister, Mother Earth.” When you get to the more mature levels of mystical union everything becomes a metaphor for the divine, and you grab for metaphors to concretize the mystery that is now in everything and everywhere! Thus God is revealed as transpersonal (“Father”), personal (“Jesus”), and impersonal (“Holy Spirit”) all at once! This is a good basis for profound mystical experience. -- Richard Rohr, OSF Adapted from Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi, pp. 229, 230-231
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 09:22:52 +0000
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