Click for Sunday Message: What is God Up To?
Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard several interpretations of the role God is playing with this virus pandemic. Some have said this is the fulfillment of prophesy, that the day of reckoning has come. Others are saying that God is doing this as a way of getting us to count our blessings. Still others suggest that this is God’s way of forcing us to lay aside our petty differences and unite in a new age of unity.
Though nearly unnoticed amidst this week’s pandemic pandemonium, the Pope issued a statement that all major religions are different paths to the same God. The statement, of course, sparked a firestorm among certain Protestants who declare the only way to have a relationship with God is through Jesus Christ. I too disagree with the Pope, but for different reasons.
I believe there is but one ultimate reality that can only be known through direct experience. I do not think of any religion as a path leading to God, but more as a given denomination’s prescribed way to think of God. Most western religions would have us believe that God exists separate from the individual. It has been my observation that such religious indoctrination poses a formidable obstacle to a first-hand experience with God.
To get to the moon, our scientists had to align their thinking and technology with physical laws that permit space travel. They failed many times before finding the path. The way that succeeded was the one that best complied with the laws of physics. From this perspective, there are not many different paths to the moon. There is but one, and anyone who wishes to visit must stay reasonably true to this path. If we think of this body of science that got us to the moon as a religion, then how many can there be? Can they all carry us to our desired destination?
Most people depend on religion to shape their understanding of God. You are approaching spiritual maturity when your understanding of God shapes your religion. I’m sure the Pope was attempting to show respect for all beliefs. This does not mean, however, that all beliefs are in alignment with what is true of God.