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Is God dead? Is God even God any more? Can we even speak about God, or is he, as Dan Cohn-Sherbok declares, “beyond human comprehension”, an unfathomable mystery, the only response to which can be silence in the face of the Unknowable?
“. . . Such a way of unknowing reveals that there is no means by which to ascertain the true nature of Divine Reality. In the end, the doctrines of Judaism must be regarded as human images constructed from within particular social and cultural contexts. Thus, the absolute claims about God as found in biblical and rabbinic literature should be understood as human conceptions stemming from the religious experience of the Jewish nation,” said Professor Cohn-Sherbok in his lecture How Odd of God to Choose the Jews at Ripon Cathedral recently. (The same could be said, indeed is said, by modern theologians about Christianity and any other religion which claims to have a monopoly on the truth).
His main message is that we have to put aside human notions of a God who cares for and protects us, who has revealed himself exclusively to one faith or another, and who can intervene to prevent human tragedies such as the holocaust or natural disasters.
“Arguably in our post-Holocaust world, we can no longer accept that traditional doctrines of God are valid. Instead, we must reconsider traditional theological belief in the light of the tragedies of the modern age.”
However, far from being new approach, it is one with strong roots in the Bible, in rabbinic literature, and one that would be recognised by prophets and mystics down the ages.
Professor Cohn-Sherbok is a Reform Rabbi with a string of eminent publications (more than 70 books to date) to his name and he’s currently visiting professor at St Mary’s University College, London. He’s a leading theologian and his views are thought-provoking and controversial. You can see the full lecture here cohn-sherbok lecture
If we do stop to think about God from our limited human perspective, however, then many of us will conclude he doesn’t exist: we may have needed such a figure to explain the universe before science did it for us, but now we all know better because the scientists have filled the gaps. Haven’t they?
Not according to Bishop Richard Harries (Professor Lord Harries of Pentregarth) a former bishop of Oxford and currently Gresham professor of divinity at King’s College, London. In his lecture, God Outside the Box: On Taking Atheism Seriously, Bishop Harries claimed we just don’t – take it seriously, that is.
He says: “One of the features of the current religious scene in the UK is the absence of a serious encounter with atheism. You may find this statement surprising. After all, the attack dogs of the new atheism, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchins and co have had huge publicity over the last ten years and their books sell in the tens of thousands. But although a fair number of people have had their anti-religious feelings affirmed by such writers, I suspect that they have failed to make much impression on the minds of either religious believers or more open-minded non-believers.”
The reason, he says, is because the kind of religion that many of these writers and thinkers attack so strongly is “not that shared by most members of the Church of England” but that espoused by religious fundamentalists who are opposed to evolution. “Such people, in their turn, like to suggest that a belief in evolution is integrally linked with hostility to religion. In short Richard Dawkins and the fundamentalists feed on one another and need one another.”
The debate, though often portrayed as science versus religion, is no such thing, says Bishop Harries: the percentage of scientists who are religious believers is roughly the same as for the population as a whole, and for most people science isn’t the “decisive factor” in whether or not they believe in God. You can find the full text of Bishop Harries lecture here richard harries lecture
Both lectures are part of an annual series held at Ripon Cathedral. Entrance is free and there are four more to come. You can find full details at either http://www.riponcathedral.org.uk, http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/stwilfridlectures or by emailing judithbustard@riponcathedral.org.uk, or by telephone – 01765 603462. The leaflet giving details is here wilfrid lectures leaflet
If you fancy going to future lectures there’s usually somebody going from Askrigg: contact Betsy on 01969 650180. If you drive down there’s a public car park alongside the cathedral and it’s free in the evenings.