{"id":55857,"date":"2019-12-24T05:19:08","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T10:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=55857"},"modified":"2019-12-24T06:16:59","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T11:16:59","slug":"the-bigness-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2019\/12\/the-bigness-of-god.html","title":{"rendered":"The Bigness of God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I am sure that many people, seeing the title of this post, will think immediately of the\u00a0Monty Python moment in which a prayer is offered that expounds on how very\u00a0big<\/em> God is. For those who don\u2019t know it, here it is:<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\nFor someone in my field, that comes to mind as well. But I am also led to think about the very useful points that one can make on this subject, perhaps using Monty Python as a starting point \u2013 although that is not at all essential to a discussion of this topic! On Christmas Eve, many think of an infinite God becoming finite, the immensely big becoming small (despite that not being something found in the infancy stories in Matthew and Luke, but that\u2019s another matter). Height and size are metaphors, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2WrigDZ\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">John A. T. Robinson<\/a> famously built on insights from Paul Tillich in suggesting that there is a need to find new metaphors, perhaps focusing more on depth<\/i>. I hope that you\u2019ll find depth in Jesus and his story today, rather than immensity or littleness.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/progressivechristianity.org\/resources\/towards-a-new-conception-of-god\/<\/p>\nA <a href=\"https:\/\/nakedpastor.com\/zoom-in-zoom-out\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">cartoon by David Hayward<\/a>:<\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-74274\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/719\/2019\/12\/zoom_1080x.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/making-sense-of-the-god-of-old-in-a-546-sextillion-mile-in-diameter-universe\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Making sense of the old God in a bigger universe than most ancients imagined<\/a><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/chrisglaser.blogspot.com\/2018\/11\/when-god-gets-too-big.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">When God gets too big<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/progressivechristianity.org\/resources\/maybe-god-is-too-big\/<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcnbritain.org.uk\/blog\/post\/god_is_the_question#When:10:42:00Z\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">God is the question<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"A9k34NAVY3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scienceonreligion\/2019\/05\/did-big-gods-come-before-or-after-big-societies\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Did Big Gods Come Before or After Big Societies?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cDid Big Gods Come Before or After Big Societies?\u201d \u2014 Science On Religion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scienceonreligion\/2019\/05\/did-big-gods-come-before-or-after-big-societies\/embed\/#?secret=Mk9j6lyjG0#?secret=A9k34NAVY3\" data-secret=\"A9k34NAVY3\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/dont-put-god-in-a-box-unless-you-want-to-be-swallowed-by-a-fish\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Don\u2019t put God in a box unless you want to be swallowed by a fish<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"n9psAdvCky\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2019\/01\/we-are-all-inside-god\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">We Are All Inside God<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cWe Are All Inside God\u201d \u2014 Keith Giles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2019\/01\/we-are-all-inside-god\/embed\/#?secret=pVZXk9j6Rd#?secret=n9psAdvCky\" data-secret=\"n9psAdvCky\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcnbritain.org.uk\/blog\/post\/perfecting_love_by_jim_burklo\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Perfecting love<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/lareviewofbooks.org\/article\/resurrecting-the-soul-in-a-secular-age\/#!<\/p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.graceunlimitedin.org\/collected\/2019\/1\/18\/portrayals-of-god-in-the-biblesome-key-passages\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Grace Unlimited on key Bible passages related to the nature and characteristics of God<\/a>.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.berfrois.com\/2018\/12\/what-einstein-meant-by-god-does-not-play-dice\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Einstein and God playing dice<\/a><\/p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/aldenswan.com\/this-i-know\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Alden Swan shared how his God survived all the various changes to his theological views<\/a>, which is another effect of recognizing God\u2019s transcendence, or at least of having a God that is \u201cbig\u201d enough as to \u201csurvive\u201d those changes. When God is simply the name for your theological box, the container for the views you hold, then as you discard contents from it \u2013 things that deserve to be discarded \u2013 your perception will be that God is diminished.<\/p>\nRelated to the metaphors of size is the aspect of\u00a0unfathomability<\/em> and incomprehensibility that has implications that <a href=\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/leaning-into-a-life-of-never-arriving\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Jared Byas recently explored<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>Once we feel like we \u201chave it,\u201d once we feel we understand God, we start to do whatever we can to remain feeling safe and certain. We begin to manipulate our understanding of God to keep what feels so good to us.<\/p>\nAnd so, I have begun to think that the best place for me, and for the other people I interact with, is the desert.<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s accepting that I may never arrive at certainty in my understanding of God or the ultimate meaning of life.<\/h2>\nAnd accepting that not only is that inevitable as a human being with limited understanding, but it\u2019s also preferred to keep me in the most open and loving place I can be, without the need to defend my territory, my castle of safety I had built for myself.<\/p>\nWe all know the best place to be isn\u2019t in Egypt. But perhaps it isn\u2019t in Jerusalem either. Maybe it\u2019s coming together to walk the desert in community, all of us following and trusting that mysterious pillar of smoke and fire that is often guiding us but never telling us where we\u2019re going (Exod. 13:21-22).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/using-truth-as-a-weapon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\" decorated-link\">In another post Byas wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>We live our lives feeling that there is a tension between truth and love. But there\u2019s only a tension if we believe truth and love are equals and opposites. They are not. Love is the bottom line. When we pursue a life of love, we will find truth along the way. When we pursue truth, we do not always find love along the way. When Jesus tells us the greatest commandment, it\u2019s not truth-telling, it\u2019s not fact-based, it\u2019s not doctrinal. It\u2019s love.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/steveawiggins.com\/2019\/03\/26\/mission-impossible\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Steve Wiggins wrote<\/a>, \u201cI could be wrong about this, but I have always considered the willingness to admit you might be incorrect as a sign of spiritual maturity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>I also know from my youth that that kind of uncertainty can drive you crazy.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.redletterchristians.org\/telling-the-truth-about-ourselves\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lee Ann Pomrenke wrote about the experience of reading Emmy Kegler\u2019s memoir<\/a>.<\/p>\nAlso relevant is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/allsetfree\/2019\/03\/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-plain-reading-of-the-bible\/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=FBCP-PRX&fbclid=IwAR0r5lk-Lr78h0gLGVMBoVOcK-xuUILB6k98c1-cU_Hkj_YL7oI-AyCY7Bc\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">post on another Patheos blog about the need to not hide behind a supposedly \u201cplain reading of the Bible.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0See too <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisglaser.blogspot.com\/2019\/03\/risking-brokenness-of-body-part-1.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Chris Glaser on risking brokenness of body<\/a>, a post in which he talks about Process theology (among other things).<\/p>\nSee also:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/progressivechristianity.org\/resources\/reflections-on-god\/<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"hUIBhfIdxo\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mosaicmagazine.com\/observation\/religion-holidays\/2019\/08\/why-does-the-hebrew-bible-so-often-refer-to-god-as-lord-of-hosts\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Why Does the Hebrew Bible So Often Refer to God as \u201cLord of Hosts\u201d?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cWhy Does the Hebrew Bible So Often Refer to God as \u201cLord of Hosts\u201d?\u201d \u2014 Mosaic\" src=\"https:\/\/mosaicmagazine.com\/observation\/religion-holidays\/2019\/08\/why-does-the-hebrew-bible-so-often-refer-to-god-as-lord-of-hosts\/embed\/#?secret=pVC0hmyJTN#?secret=hUIBhfIdxo\" data-secret=\"hUIBhfIdxo\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"pFsvtcJmPM\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scienceonreligion\/2019\/08\/the-decline-of-big-gods\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">The Future of Religion: What Follows the Decline of \u201cBig Gods?\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cThe Future of Religion: What Follows the Decline of \u201cBig Gods?\u201d\u201d \u2014 Science On Religion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/scienceonreligion\/2019\/08\/the-decline-of-big-gods\/embed\/#?secret=wLLW8NAfQ1#?secret=pFsvtcJmPM\" data-secret=\"pFsvtcJmPM\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/freelancechristianity\/oysters-ballerinas-and-a-reminder-that-no-one-owns-god\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">No one owns God<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.redletterchristians.org\/the-small-expectations-of-jesus\/<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B005N9CE4S\/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&linkCode=li3&tag=jamefmcgrshom-20&linkId=279d90ad44219a39ddabcd552c2089d5&language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\" decorated-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005N9CE4S&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=jamefmcgrshom-20&language=en_US\" border=\"0\"><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=jamefmcgrshom-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B005N9CE4S\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-60790\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/719\/2019\/03\/loyal-to-people.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"768\"><\/p>\nFinally, even though I will say it again tomorrow to all, I wish an especially merry Christmas to all those blog readers who read my posts all the way to the end, and so will see this!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am sure that many people, seeing the title of this post, will think immediately of the\u00a0Monty Python moment in which a prayer is offered that expounds on how very\u00a0big God is. For those who don\u2019t know it, here it is: For someone in my field, that comes to mind as well. But I am […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":60637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[15774,4005,11368,15771],"class_list":["post-55857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-progressive-christianity-religion","tag-big","tag-god","tag-size","tag-small"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The Bigness of God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am sure that many people, seeing the title of this post, will think immediately of the\u00a0Monty Python moment in which a prayer is offered that expounds on\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2019\/12\/the-bigness-of-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Bigness of God\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am sure that many people, seeing the title of this post, will think immediately of the\u00a0Monty Python moment in which a prayer is offered that expounds on\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2019\/12\/the-bigness-of-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}