Lenten Blog – Day 15 – Baptismal Covenant, Part 2

Baptismal Covenant, Part 2

Celebrant	Do you believe in God the Father?
People	I believe in God, the Father almighty,     creator of heaven and earth.

Okay, just a quick editorial note for clarification. What I had started including in these blogs about the Baptismal Covenant was the actual Baptismal CEREMONY. Still, I wanted to make some points and tell that story (see Day 14 Part 2 of Part 1) but now we’re into the whole Baptismal Covenant thing. My apologies for any confusion that may, or may not have, happened.

Thank you. Now, where were we?

When the priest of our church left after 30 years of being in charge, I was put on both the committee to write up the priest proposal (basically an elaborate job description) and the committee to interview priests. I suggested that we use the Baptismal Covenant as a template, if you will of talking points. To show how our church lives out the baptismal covenant and, hopefully, that would be a selling point to those interested.

I think, during Lent, it’s also a good time to figure out these talking points in our own lives.

Above is the first question and it brings me back to my initial blog points. In 2016 with the in-roads in science and nature and life and all, do I truly believe that someone named “God” created heaven and earth. And then it brings in the whole “father” thing again. And, damn, I’m right back to square one struggling with the concept of anthropomorphic and “father” and all the baggage those images or words entail. Add all the sciency stuff and I truly do have to ask do I believe this? Well...do I believe that the world is only 6,000 years old as many fundamentalists do? No, I gather it’s much MUCH older than that. Then where did it come from? What about the Big Bang? And what if that Big Bang is God?

When stories of creation come up and Noah and the flood, all I imagine is that people are so intent to find some discernible TRUTH that God exists that there would be no questions whatsoever and people can say: HA! See!! Right there, buddy. PROOF! I think someone was even saying that the design of the banana was proof that God exists.

I imagine that I will struggle with these concepts my entire adult life but that’s what makes it fun, in a way. If I can just believe there is no God, then I feel my sense of wonder is diminished (and I truly believe there is SOMETHING beyond all this).

Whether God created the Heaven and Earth in seven days or seven quintillion days, I think the lyrics to the Iris Dement Song “Keep Me God” sums up how I feel.

Now, I don't know just where God lives
ain't all that sure just exactly who God is
I don't know if there's a church
that deserves to take God's name
I just know that when I look around here I see
the hand of someone or something
that is bigger than me
and I call that God
and then I pray "Just, keep me God"

And if that’s believing. I’m good with that.