Loki
27th July 2007, 01:30 AM
"There are two short, quick, and simple answers to the bottom-line question, what must we believe? The first answer is, "Not much"; the second answer is, "Everything." Both answers are true, depending on how you choose to look at religious reality.
"The "not much" answer is true because when push comes to shove, there are only a couple of things that are at the core of the Christian message. It may be only one thing really: God is love. All other doctrines and dogmas, teachings and regulations, principles and rules, rituals and practices, are only various ways of articulating that fundamental truth."
The Bottom Line Catechism, Fr. Andrew Greeley.
Fr. Greeley later states that it is more incredible to conceive of the concept of "God is love" than seemingly difficult concepts, such as the Trinity. In this point, I agree. I'm okay with the idea of a triune god, but the idea of god being love, a love so profound and strong that all theology could be built upon that idea, is difficult to conceive of.
And this begs the question, "what type of love?" Surely not Eros with all the prohibitions against sex and enjoying it, and I can't find the passion of Amor in the theology, which leaves a very sterile Agape. And intellectually I can accept this, that God is love that is an obligation to others, whatever it created, but it's about as comforting and exciting as a good teeth-cleaning.
I'm reading Kueng's The Church and enjoying it, but maybe I'm not inclined to theology, or at least beyond a thought-experiment sort of way, much in the way I play with trying to conceive of nothing (as in the absence of something). Perhaps I'm more given to living and passion. I'm young, and I want to live, and not just live, but live fully and passionately and creatively and violently and aggressively and simply to be. And I can't find that in "God is love." I'm slowly coming 'round to maybe accepting a god as say, the ground of being, but God being love? I guess I just don't get it.
Intellectually, I guess I'm doing okay, but passionately, I don't know if I can do this without experience of some sort, and I've never had an experience that would make me think that God is love.
Not sure where I'm going with this, just needed to vent, I guess.
"The "not much" answer is true because when push comes to shove, there are only a couple of things that are at the core of the Christian message. It may be only one thing really: God is love. All other doctrines and dogmas, teachings and regulations, principles and rules, rituals and practices, are only various ways of articulating that fundamental truth."
The Bottom Line Catechism, Fr. Andrew Greeley.
Fr. Greeley later states that it is more incredible to conceive of the concept of "God is love" than seemingly difficult concepts, such as the Trinity. In this point, I agree. I'm okay with the idea of a triune god, but the idea of god being love, a love so profound and strong that all theology could be built upon that idea, is difficult to conceive of.
And this begs the question, "what type of love?" Surely not Eros with all the prohibitions against sex and enjoying it, and I can't find the passion of Amor in the theology, which leaves a very sterile Agape. And intellectually I can accept this, that God is love that is an obligation to others, whatever it created, but it's about as comforting and exciting as a good teeth-cleaning.
I'm reading Kueng's The Church and enjoying it, but maybe I'm not inclined to theology, or at least beyond a thought-experiment sort of way, much in the way I play with trying to conceive of nothing (as in the absence of something). Perhaps I'm more given to living and passion. I'm young, and I want to live, and not just live, but live fully and passionately and creatively and violently and aggressively and simply to be. And I can't find that in "God is love." I'm slowly coming 'round to maybe accepting a god as say, the ground of being, but God being love? I guess I just don't get it.
Intellectually, I guess I'm doing okay, but passionately, I don't know if I can do this without experience of some sort, and I've never had an experience that would make me think that God is love.
Not sure where I'm going with this, just needed to vent, I guess.