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FEB 10

The question,”who is God?” is probably one of the more difficult questions for humans to answer. I find it very telling, and supportive of my point that the concept is so arduous, that Ratzinger opens his piece by asking, “what is God?” while Professor Pagliarini asks “who is God?” This simple word choice, on the surface only a single word swapped, is a world of difference. Two people who spend a great deal of time studying and trying to understand God cannot even agree if God is a person, warranting “who,” or something other, warranting “what.” Ratzinger goes on to discuss the differences between monotheism, polytheism, and atheism, which add more complexity to the question. I think this complexity is, in essence, God. God is too complex to be understood, and any attempt to completely understand or give God one specific characterization is a hopeless journey. Genesis tells us that God is a creator, a force for good and a loving being. As we begin to see in the opening of Exodus, these traits are further evidenced. We see that God continues to be a fulfiller of promises and a determined being.

While we often refer to God as “He,” I have always thought that this is an inaccurate pronoun. However if asked to find a more fitting one, I would come up empty. I do not think God can be captured in one pronoun, or can be categorized with a simple “who” or “what.” God transcends our perceptions and our languages. I do not think we can comprehend God, or even come close for that matter. Our faith is in the trust that we one day will be able to. As proverbs will later tell us to “lean not on [our] own understanding,” I think that trust is more necessary in understanding God than knowledge.