The god of the public square

Does your image of God allow you to wear costumes?

I criticize the God-of-the-public-square. Why? There are many reasons but the chief among them is this: The God-of-the-public-square is too known. He has no autonomy! He is under our control. He is a puppet, and the public square holds the strings.

A literal interpretation of the Bible is at fault for this misinterpretation of God (more on this in my next post). This way of reading the Bible lends itself to no nuance, no metaphor. God doesn’t need to even be with us because our answer to all things is in this thousandth-translation made by human hands under God’s direction. If this were true, this would be a miracle with a capital M, and it is exactly these “miracles” that God does not perform (more on that later, too).

Life just isn’t this easy. Human beings are not this easy. God is not this easy.

I cower a bit as I write these words. Am I pretending a knowledge of God that is not accessible to others? No! It is accessible! It is very much right here!

If it is, if God is, right here, then why opt for this literal-Bible-reading-God-of-the-public-square? Because meeting God on God’s terms is hard! Because in doing so we stand alone, without pretense, before an all-knowing God about whom we know very little. Because learning how to match what is written within us (that divine image) with Who it is we’re praying to requires great effort, patience, and grace.

The God-of-the-public-square allows us to wear our costumes. The real God invites us to risk shedding those to find out who we really are.

Reflection

Write down five adjectives describing the God of the public square. Do you agree with or disagree with these adjectives? What qualifications do you want to add?

Prayer

Dear God, I do not know you. I want to know you. Please help me to quiet the noise of the public square and trust your words: “when you look for me, you will find me” (Jeremiah 29:13; NAB). Help me to rest in this truth and keep watch!