God is dead. At least, one version of God is dead. Do you know how you can tell? Is there anything alive that doesn’t change? Nope. Everything alive is changing all the time. New cells are being made to replace old cells that die. Every living thing ages, even if almost imperceptibly. If a living thing stops changing, it dies. There are no exceptions to this rule, it is universal.

Traditional religion teaches that God doesn’t change. That [mistaken] notion is celebrated in song, scripture, and doctrine. That would mean that God cannot possibly respond, adapt, follow our evolution in any sense of that world, or offer different responses to nuanced situations. They have even killed off Christ in their scriptures. If Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” then Christ must be a mummy. Stand the mummy up in the corner and worship it if you must, but you would be accomplishing the same thing if you put a rock in the corner. Maybe that explains why religion struggles to be relevant.

I was listening to a podcast the other day from some people I respect, so I am not going to call them out here. In it they said that most people get their image of God from their father, or if not their father then their mother. I am afraid not. Over sixty percent of people experience at least one Adverse Childhood Event, many of us more than one. Religion still believes we all grew up in picture perfect families with picture perfect parents and no drunken Uncles. I am afraid that if that picture perfect family ever existed it, too, died long ago. If that is somehow related to your image of God, I am afraid that your God is dead.

If God is to be God, then God is aware that things have changed and that the majority of us cannot look at our families for an image of God – unless God passes out in his mashed potatoes during family gatherings. A God who is alive would be able to change, adapt, and reveal Divinity to each generation in a way that would make sense to them. If the Holy doesn’t evolve and respond to the changing needs of humanity and all of creation, then she is a lot more like a demented relative sitting in the corner drooling on herself than a loving presence who sustains and loves all that is. Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with drooling on yourself. We all do it from time to time. Most of us understand it’s not our finest hour when we do. We certainly hope those moments aren’t eternal…

The truth is that if you want a spirituality that makes sense to someone who actually needs things to make sense, you will have to craft it yourself through a process of trial and error. That may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it can be fun – and it has the added benefit that if you include something that just doesn’t seem to be working out you can just change it. It’s yours, after all, and that means you are empowered to create something that really works! If you need some tips, just let me know at craig.bergland@gmail.com!