The world is divided into various religious traditions . A few of these traditions have a huge following and diverse “internal” branches – Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian; some are smaller but influential (usually with their own internal branches – Jewish, Sikh, Mormon, Shinto. Others are small like yeast: Zoroastrian, Baha’i, Unitarian Universal, etc.  And then there are ideological streams that stand apart from religious commitments  but have ardent supporters.  

As a Christian,  I embrace this diversity as a sign of the amazing human passion to deepen our understanding of the divine ubiquitous presence and God's persistent intention for life in the cosmos.   But  I have increasingly become aware that too much theological reflection in our tradition is “particular” – geared to the Judaeo-Christian silos of religious practice.   It too often has seemed as if the real God were present  exclusively to those in this Judaeo-Christian tradition.   Beyond that, there is "terrae nullius" - as if God is absent from the rest of the world outside of our particular theological and religious silo.  

Christian theology has too often assumed that the corollary to the absence of God "out there" is the worship of false gods, idols, and atheism   In practice, this assumption nurtured hubris and conscious or unconscious superiority attitudes towards others outside of the Christian community. 

So mission, then and still  in very conservative Christian communities, meant proselytizing to "save" "them".    The talking point was:   I will love you and therefore I want you to leave behind your old ways and beliefs, and let yourself be  transformed into a (Euro-) Christian like me.  In Canada, the relationship between colonial settler society and Indigenous peoples exemplified this corruption of both the Golden Rule,  Great Commandment, and the Great Commission.  (Matthew 22:37-39; Matthew 28:18-20)   

Happily most Christian denominations of the "ecumenical" variety have gone beyond this simplistic "us and them"  dualism,.  Since 1966, the United Church of Canada has wrestled creatively to discern  more fully the conviction that "God is creatively and redemptively present" in the religious life of the whole human family.

The Judaeo-Christian scriptures testify persistently against the false belief that there is any "terrae nullius" when it is about the presence of God.   Any Christian theology, which suggests that God is present "creatively and redemptively" exclusively to  those who affirm this exclusivist doctrine has too small an understanding of the Divine and is not taking scripture seriously.   To be sure, many texts point or seem to point  to exclusivity for Jewish believers in the Older Testament and to exclusivity for Christian believers in the Newer Testament.  But scripture  witnesses repeatedly to God's ongoing and steadfast concern, love, and relentless reaching out to all Creation, to all creatures and to the entire human family.  

The issue:   is your "God" simply a tribal god? or is  the Creator present to all peoples around the world, all endowed with the breath of the Spirit and with gifts of life and love? 

1. Creation of the Universe – Genesis 1: 1-9; Psalm 148. John1:1-5

The dramatic opening sentences of the first book of the Bible – Genesis – speaks by faith of the origins of all Creation. “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the Ruach [spirit, wind, breath] of God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light” and there was light. … God called the dry land Earth, … And God saw that it was good.” There is no presumption here about knowing how or when this took place. There is simply a timeless affirmation of faith made by the writers of event, but within the eternal reality of the divine presence.

The actions of God are perceived by faith as the passionate work of an artist creating a work of love which has awed people of all ages and places and caused them to sing praises as in Psalm 148.   Psalm 104 is a sung witness to God's creative endeavor (sung recently in the funeral service oof Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.)   In the Prologue to John’s Gospel, God’s “word” of creative love brings all things into being. Christians have identified this eternal “word” with Christ in whom was both life and light. The divine Spirit, recognized by Christians in the person and work of Jesus Christ, creates and brings to life everything and everywhere.

2. Creation of Earth and Flora & Fauna – Genesis 1:10-31; Psalm 104

Many religious communities focus largely on humankind – as if that is all that the Holy One is really interested in relating to and “redeeming”. In this creation story anthropocentrism is balanced with environmental recognition. Creatures of land, sea, and air occupy Creation along with humankind – male and female created in the image of the Holy One. Patriarchy is rejected in this witness because the Holy One recognizes in both females and males, at their best, attributes and traits that reveal God’s essential being. Humanity reflects and is - in-breathed - by divinity. The harm done to humans and everything that prevents humans from their fulfilling their full humanity assault and traumatize the Holy One.

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. And God saw it was good. … And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky. … ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ … And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ … ‘And God saw that it was good.’ … Then God said, ‘let us make humankind (atham) in our image.’ … God saw everything God had made and saw that everything created was good.” “Let us” suggests the mystery of God in community - not a mon-arch in cosmic aloneness, but God relating  with Creation in divine community: the Three-in-One! 

The Reading of Ecclesiasticus or Sirach - one of the books of the Apocrypha - at the funeral of Prince Philip will give the prod to deeper exploration of at least chapter 42:15 to chapter 43:27.

3. Sin and Consequences – Genesis 3; Romans 8:12-17: The story of “the Fall” is a mythological witness to the reality of sin – “the one verifiable doctrine of the Christian Church!!”   St. Paul understands that there are choices here and that the consequence of the choice can bring disaster and death, or reveal to self and all humans that they are the beloved offspring of God. “If you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if you live by the Spirit, you will put to death the evil deeds of the flesh and you will live. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. For the Spirit that God has given you does not enslave you and trap you in fear; instead, through the Spirit God has adopted you as children, and by that Spirit we cry out, “Abba!” God’s Spirit joined with our spirit to declare that we are God’s children. And if we are children, we are heirs as well; heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing in Christ’s suffering and sharing in Christ’s glory.” (The Inclusive Bible translation)

4. A Day of Rest – Genesis 2:1-3; Mark 2:27; Exodus 20:8-11 

Work is blessed by the Holy One, but work is not the total purpose of living. Rest and reflection on accomplishment is a sacred restorative – Sabbath - activity. Later witnesses report that Jesus proclaimed the Sabbath to have been made for humankind and not simply a regulatory device to restrict human activity and test obedience.  “And on the seventh day God finished the work … and rested … from all the work done. So, God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it….” The 4th of the Ten Commandments echoes this theme.

5. Covenant with Earth, Creatures and the Whole Human Family - Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 150.   

The story of the Flood and the rescuing Ark climaxes in a Covenant in which the Holy One promises never again to wipe out Earth and its creatures.   God gives the rainbow as a sign to remind God (and all humanity) about this divine promise. For all sentient beings and for Earth itself, the rainbow becomes a perpetual natural reminder of God’s unconditional, eternal love.

“Then God said to Noah and family, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.’ … ‘This is the sign of the covenant …I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. … When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

6. Abraham and Sarah, Hagar, & Keturah – Genesis 15, 16, 17:15-22 21:1- 22:15-18; 25:1-6-18 

(Ref.: Hagar, Sarah, and Their Children – Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives by Phyllis Trible and Letty M. Russell, eds., Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)

Books galore have been written about Abraham, some about Sarah – the first wife, then Hagar – the slave-woman taken as wife, but little about Keturah – third wife after the death of Sarah. But this foursome is reputed to be the parentage of the “Abrahamic faith communities” – Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Judaism is the story of God’s covenant promises to Abraham and through his and Sarah’s son Isaac, who with Rebekah bore Jacob, who with Rachel and Leah bore twelve sons to form the twelve tribes of the Jewish nation; Abraham’s offspring with Hagar and Keturah tell the stories of the ancestry of the Arabic tribes. See Gen. 21:13 for the divine promise to Ishmael: “I will make a nation of him also, because he is your [Abraham’s] offspring.” Abraham’s six sons with Keturah receive gifts but no report of a divine promise. They are, however, still within the Noachic covenant of Genesis 9.

7. I am, who I am – I am has sent you - to deliver your people up out of misery and bondage - Exodus 3:1-17:   God’s self-revelation to Moses through the burning bush which is not consumed [sign used by churches of the Presbyterian tradition] is a moment of call to Moses, a Jewish child raised in the Egyptian palace but never uprooted from his heritage. In the wilderness, he perceives God calling him to lead the Hebrew slaves to freedom and into the promised land where they may thrive – a call that is fraught with threat and danger, but hard to resist because it comes from the Holy One with an assurance of support and protection. The burning bush not consumed is a symbol of the nature of God – the I am - JHWH - full of limitless energy but beyond human comprehension. 

 Humans may apprehend the Divine Mystery and explore the nature and mission of God, but they will never fully comprehend the essence and nature of God. Theologians throughout the ages have exercised their vocation to understand more of the essence and nature of God – at times to ridiculouss lengths and picayune ends, but only the most arrogant and pretentious theologians will pretend to have fully grasped the divine reality.  

It is for this reason that humility is one of the principal attributes of a serious, authentic theologian / preacher. Moses understood this and hesitated to go to the Pharaoh and state that he represented the Holy One. But the Holy One also didn’t let him off the hook – “Go!! And tell that Pharaoh to let my people go!” Taking the risk to speak for God can be extremely hazardous as too many martyrs have learned, but they also know by faith that the Holy One will ultimately not let them down – even when it may cost one’s life, as Jesus revealed and as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and other faithful women and men have witnessed.    

8. The Liberating God – Exodus 7:14; Exodus 15; Psalm 105:37ff.    The exodus becomes a key liberating narrative for the Jewish people and a key attribute of the Divine. The Holy One calls - then and now - leaders committed to the “let my people go” cause, in diverse situations of oppression, injustice, and slavery. Powerful humans in every age continue to assault, abuse, and degrade the “divine image” in others and subvert the Divine intention granting life in its fulness for all in the human family. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to [the Divine] justice anywhere.”(M.L. King Jr.] The journey of Exodus may be long – as long as the symbolic 40 years, but the Divine will is not overcome. And when liberation is experienced, the grateful people sing their praises to the One who in steadfast love redeems people.

9. Ten Commandments – Exodus 20:1-17 // Deuteronomy 5:1-22

Central to the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Ten Commandments with some variations guide all humanity in its life together – in the family, in the community, in the nation, and across all boundaries. For non-theists, the first tablet of the law (1-4) is less obviously relevant – though these commandments have their own applicability. The second table is more obviously a clear injunction to honour the humanity and possessions of others. In patriarchal society the wife was regarded as the husband’s possession; in contemporary society the patriarchal conventions are challenged by the higher authority of equality within the human family, expressed as inclusive language by which patriarchy can be overcome. (The following text is from The Inclusive Bible.):

‘Then God spoke all these words,’ and said, “I am YHWH who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 1. Do not worship any gods except me! 2. Do not make for yourselves any carved image or likeness of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters under the earth, and do not bow down to them or serve them! … 3. Do not utter the Name of YHWH to misuse it, for YHWH will not acquit anyone who utters God’s Name to misuse it! 4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy! For six days you will labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for YHWH. Do no work on that day … For in the six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that they hold, but rested on the seventh day; this is why JHWH has blessed the Sabbath day and made it sacred.   

5. Honour your mother and your father, so that you may have a long life in the land that YHWH has given to you! 6. No murdering! 7. No adultery! 8. No stealing! 9. No giving false testimony against your neighbour! 10. No desiring your neighbour’s house! No desiring your neighbour’s spouse, or worker – male or female – or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”

10. Naomi & Ruth: Ruth 1:16; 2 Samuel 5:1-5; Psalm 89:19-37: Your God will be my God. 

The tragic story of Naomi’s loss of her husband and two sons is balanced by the persistent love of her Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. A famine in the land of Israel led Naomi and her husband with two sons Chilion and Mahlon to seek refuge in the gentile land of Moab. But the three men died and the widowed women decided to return to Naomi’s homeland, Israel. On the way, Naomi realized that the two younger women might not be well-received in her homeland and encouraged them to return to Moab. Orpah finally did, but Ruth persisted and proclaimed “do not entreat me to leave you…where you go I will go, your people shall be my people, and your God my God…” In Israel, the story continues, Ruth meets Boaz, they are married, and bear a son, Obed, grandfather of King David, the great fore-parent in God’s story of salvation leading to Jesus. God’s love is not just tribal, the circle of God’s steadfast love is far wider than sectarian limitations.  An alien woman becomes a key parent in God's narrative of salvation for all.

11. The Hymnal of Israel: Psalms 24, 33, 47, 65, 67, 75, 98, 111 (Covenant); 117, 119 (God’s ways); 145. 

 In this collection of 150 songs to accompany acts of worship, we find hymns of praise, laments – both personal and for the nation’s distress, historic songs, wedding and coronation texts, wisdom words, covenant commitments, and songs to curse enemies. The Psalm are for Israel’s worship and for synagogues.  As part of the Older Testament they became a key song book for Christians – in monastic chants, in Protestant psalters, and,  paraphrased in various Christian communities. 

In their poetic lyrics, the Psalms  invite worshippers to reflect on the Divine in ways that go beyond the limitations of the Jewish or Christian religious traditions. Psalm 24 may be a song to sing as worshippers enter the Jerusalem temple, but it also serves to remind them that “the earth is JHWH’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it….”  "All peoples are part of God’s one family".   Psalm 33 proclaims that JHWH “loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of JHWH.” The whole earth! All the peoples of the earth are invited to “Clap your hands, … shout to God with loud songs of joy. For JHWH, the Most High, is awesome, a great Ruler over all the earth.” (Psalm 47). “All the earth worships you [JHWH].” (Psalm 66) Even “Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs” “you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” (Psalm 65) The destiny of all the nations is under God’s control (Psalm 75). All nations are invited to “make a joyful noise to JHWH.” (Psalm 98)   God is trustworthy and faithful, the divine covenant is forever, and living in awe of JHWH is the beginning of wisdom; “all those who practice it have a good understanding.” (Psalm 111) “Praise JHWH, all you nations! Extol God, all you peoples! For great is God’s steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of JHWH endures forever.” (Psalm 117)

In the lengthy meditation on the Law of God (Psalm 119), worshippers are reminded that “JHWH exists forever; your word is firmly fixed in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth and it stands fast.” The Psalm gives us an indication of attributes of God, but never a comprehensive description. God is larger than “our” nation. God laws, ways, steadfast love transcend human capacities, human intellect, and human wisdom. Laudate omnes gentes – Praise JHWH all peoples.

The underlying good news in the Psalms is the “steadfast love” of the Holy One. Psalm 139 extolls not only God's boundless love but also the inescapable nearness of the Divine: “where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? … I come to the end – I am still with you!” (see also Romans 8:38-39)

12. Prophetic words: Isaiah 2:1-4; 42:1-9//49:6; 52:15 – 53:6; 55:5-13; 57:14-58:14; 65:17 ff., 66:18ff In the context of both Judah/Israel’s ongoing covenant relationship with JHWH – a relationship filled with prophetic challenges against evil and disobedience, as well as compassionate laments at the suffering of the people, and revelations of the mercy of God, there are glimpses of awareness of the nations of the world. Sometimes simply as oppressors to be judged; elsewhere, as subjects of JHWH’s love longing to redeem and draw them into the Divine presence. The prophetic word spoken for all peoples: “In days to come the mountain of JHWH’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it….and JHWH shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”   

The message sees Israel as “a light to the nations” welcoming all to the Holy One on an elevated Mt. Zion. Crucially for our purposes, it recognizes that the Divine intention transcends Judah/Israel alone, revealing JHWH’s redemptive commitment to effect justice and peace for all nations and the whole earth. God requires people to live more generously and reject worship hollowed empty by self-interest: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of JHWH shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and JHWH will answer; you shall cry for help, and God will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. JHWH will guide you continually, and satisfy your need in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.”

God is “about to create new heavens and a new earth, the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. … They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.”

13. A New Heart: Jeremiah 31:31ff.  

Jeremiah’s message, like that of the Isaiah tradition, is addressed initially to Judah/Israel, but reveals Divine inclinations which, using the lens of the rainbow covenant, speak to all who see the divine in whatever context. “The days are surely coming, says JHWH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors…. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know YHWH,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says JHWH, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin so more.” Knowing the Holy One and receiving the gifts of the Spirit of God “in their hearts” the whole human family will know themselves to be God’s people.

14. The Faithful Shepherd: Ezekiel 34:11-31; see also Psalm 23

Ezekiel continues the prophetic message of both judgement and grace in the context of Judah/Israel, but, by extension, true for all earth’s people. In Chapter 34 he rails against faithless “shepherds” (‘pastors’, religious and political leaders) who have seen the “sheep” as objects for “fleecing”. “I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.” Instead, JHWH will seek the lost sheep wherever they are to be found and bring to pastures and water courses when they can thrive with the Great Shepherd in person. The failing intermediaries will no longer be necessary.

  

15. Message of Mercy for the Alien City: Jonah 1-4. (Mt. 12:38ff//Lk. 11:29-32)

A fish story! A commentary on the exclusivism of people re their God (in a box). God calls Jonah to preach in the great city Nineveh about their wickedness. Jonah however sets out in the opposite direction on a ship headed for Spain! A violent storm terrifies the crew and they beseech their god to save them. Jonah is thrown overboard because the crew learns he’s disobeying God. A fish swallows Jonah and for three days he “camps” in the fish till he is up-chucked onto the beach.

God again calls on Jonah to carry out the mission. He goes; preaches a sermon of condemnation and threatened destruction; and, lo! and behold, the city repents in sackcloth and all citizens are told to “pray earnestly to God and … give up their wicked behaviour and evil actions…” in the hope that God will have mercy. “God saw what they did; God saw that they had given up their wicked behaviour….” So, God repented and did not punish them as planned! 

Jonah was @#$%^%$#@# angry at God and sulked in the shade of a made-to-order big bushy plant. But an east wind and hot sun killed it, causing Jonah to now wish he were dead. God challenges Jonah sulking self-centredness and anger about the plant. Here’s the divine kicker: “This plant grew up in one night and disappeared the next; you didn’t do anything for it, and you didn’t make it grow – yet you feel sorry for it! How much more, then, should I have pity on Nineveh, that great city. After all, it has more than 120,000 women, men, and children in it, as well as many animals.” 

JHWH’s mercy and steadfast love transcends any particular love for Israel, to include the larger world of women, children, men, and creatures as represented by the city of Nineveh. The Jonah story countermands all the scripture passages with “divine commands” which culminate in the death of foreign peoples.  Instead, it  calls all “to love neighbour as self.”  

16. Hollow Religious Festivals Won’t Do: Amos 5:21-24:

“I hate your religious festivals; I cannot stand them! … Stop your noisy songs; I do not want to listen to your harps. Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness like a river that never goes dry.” Where justice flows like a stream" - there the Divine Spirit delights to be present – wherever justice abounds, JHWH is at peace.

17. What Does JHWH Require of the Entire Human Family? Micah 6:1-8

“JHWH has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does JHWH require of you? But to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God!” No mortal – no human being – is excluded from this Divine requirement. It is part of being essentially human - being created “in the image of JHWH” and being endowed with the gifts of the divine Spirit. The challenge for all human beings created in the image of God is to grow these divine attributes and share them like a contagion.

And more.... There is much more in the Older Testament pointing toward a globaL theology than can be included in a blog post.  Books need to be written on what has been briefly pointed to above and more needs to be said:     

- about the wisdom of the Proverbs   ( see my blog post:  http://www.minister.ca/sophia-challenges-hubris), 

- the sensual love of the Song of Songs (see my blog post:  http://www.minister.ca/copy-of-song-of-songs-sex-and-faith-1) , 

  

JHWH is no tribal god.  The Creator and Lover of Earth and all that continues to reach out in love to all that has the breath of life.  Hallelujah

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