Images of God

    `’God” is not god’s name. “God ”is the name we humans have given to our image or idea of the great mystery that underlies our limited perception of our lives and the universe.   Christians, of course, derive their images of God from both the Bible and our more than  2000 year old  religious tradition.  Other religions alive and active today  - Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism etc. have different sources and traditions from which they derive their ideas and images of “God”.

While the followers of each of these religious traditions tend to believe their beliefs and ideas about God and the traditions from which they come are the ”right” ones -“inspired” perhaps - modern science, including historical and literary research, has shown that our separate traditions have arisen from different unrelated “tribes” or groups of people, each group needing the same reassurance that their beliefs underlying their way of life and destiny are true and  reliable.

Unfortunately, out of these different sources of “truth” has grown conflict , violence and wars.

The modern ecumenical movement among the more “liberal” trends within each religious tradition has  led most of human kind to a more cooperative and intentional effort to ease our separate dogmatism and exclusivism and seek to learn from each other.  

The “niners” class that meets each Sunday morning at 9:00 (now on ZOOM)  is actively exploring how the Christian faith tradition might  reexamine its origins, history and current relationship to science and biblical scholarship. 

    It turns out that Christian tradition contains an amazing and deeply enriching variety of sub-traditions based largely on two factors: the historical period when each was developed and the visionary spirit of individuals and small groups of persons willing to open their minds and hearts to different ways of understanding God and practicing their faith. All Christians root their faith in the life of Jesus of Nazareth whom we have anointed with the title “Christ.” 

    It is an exciting mind and heart expanding experience to study, discuss and pray our way along this path of exploration. Currently, the Niners class is following Dr. Katherine Keller and her challenging book entitled “On The Mystery.” Every one is welcome to join this venture on ZOOM each Sunday at nine o’clock .  The zoom address is in the church bulletin  The pass  code is niners.