some of the best theology i've heard lately

from the book "children of God" by mary doria russell

"maybe God is only the most powerful poetic idea we humans are capable of thinking .... maybe God has no reality outside our minds and exists only in the paradox of Perfect Compassion and Perfect Justice.

or maybe ... maybe God is exactly as advertised in the Torah. maybe, along with all its other truths and beauties, judaism preserves for each generation of us the reality of the God of abraham, of isaac, of jacob, of moses -- the God of Jesus.

a cranky, uncanny God. a God with quirky, unfathomable rules, a God who gets fed up with us and pissed off! but quick to forgive ... and generous. always, always in love with humanity. always there, waiting for us -- generation after generation -- to return His passion. on my best days, i believe in Him with all my heart.

and on your worst days?
even if it's only poetry, it's poetry to live by -- poetry to die for. maybe poetry is the only way we can get near the truth of God ...

and when the metaphors fail, we think it's God who's failed us!
now there's an idea that buys some useful theological wiggle room!"