Somewhere Between a Metaphor and the Infinite

Since the dawn of humanity, we have sought to understand how the world works, seeking to make meaning out of mystery. Our capacity to learn and make sense out of what we are learning is far greater than I think we can imagine. There is no question off limits in our appetite to consume as much as we possibly can in our pursuits of learning. Humans are meaning-making machines, wanting to understand our world, and even that which exists beyond our world.

This is what makes religion and theology particularly difficult. In these streams, we are attempting to make ritual and meaning out of something that exists beyond what we can grasp. Many religions adhere to an idea that the Divine is Infinite, existing both within and without tangible reality. God is simultaneously everywhere we can see but outside of that which we can see. God is both everywhere and nowhere.

How do we begin to comprehend the Infinite when our brains are only able to grasp what is finite? Is it even possible to understand a God that is bigger than that which we can possibly understand? We are like a single cup being dipped into the ocean, that even upon being filled to the brim can only hold so much. Even the largest glass is incapable of holding the entire ocean.

Now what if that ocean was endless, filling the entire cosmos and then some?

That’s what we have come across in our efforts to understand the Divine. We may think we understand, but do we really?

Our theological language is merely metaphor when it comes to speaking about God. It is impossible to craft language capable of containing the Infinite. We are limited to understanding that which God is like. What I mean by that is that we can only compare God to what we already know and understand.

It is why God so often looks like us in our respective theologies. And it is why theology is so dangerous.

If I say that ‘God is love’, you paint a picture of a God that is like your concept of love. If I say that ‘God is just’, you understand God in a way that mirrors your sense of justice. Of course, you can learn new concepts of justice and deepen your understanding of love, but your theology will always mirror what you already believe.

Because the Divine is Infinite, we are unable to grasp the entirety of what or who God is. We must reduce our understanding of the Divine to what we can actually understand. Our hand is forced to making a metaphor of God simply because the Infinite cannot fit within the boundaries of our finite minds. Even our imaginations are too limited.

Everything we say about God is simply metaphorical, but that doesn’t make it any less true. This is not to say that we should avoid saying anything about what we believe, and it isn’t to minimize the role of deepening our understanding of theology.

Be careful with your metaphors, friends. You at least fall short of grasping at the Infinite. All we can do is keep learning and growing, moving along the spectrum of somewhere between a metaphor and the Infinite.