Like It Or Not, Our Understanding of God Comes From Organized Religion

In this column, I once told the story of a girl named Jennifer, who was being raised in an interfaith home. She asked The God Squad: "My daddy is Jewish and my mommy is Catholic and they did not raise me up to be anything. Do you know how I could get raised up to be something?"

In response, a reader wrote: "Dear Rabbi Gellman: Can't we use the one common denominator, God, to answer Jennifer's question? Why can't she be taught to only know a loving God, without the attachment of a religion? Why can't we separate religion from God? God and religion are not one. Religion is our downfall. God is above all that human stuff. - G., via godsquadquestion@aol.com

A: Your question is important and commonly asked by spiritual seekers who want to find God but not through organized religion. They often call themselves "spiritual but not religious."

Let's begin by thinking about spirituality and strictly "spiritual" people. Does their position make sense? Yes and no. I have no professional need to defend organized religion, even though I've given my life to organized Judaism (which is actually a contradiction in terms).

I like spiritual seekers because they're independent and motivated to ask the big questions about the meaning of God and life and morality and salvation. The fact that they're trying to find their way to God along a path less traveled is terrific. They may teach me something, and they may ask me to teach them.

My belief, and the belief of Judaism, is that all righteous people will go to heaven (we call it The World to Come). Therefore, those who want to do good things in our broken world with their lives, I'm all for them, whether they follow their own way to God, are atheists, agnostics, or some flavor in between. Just keep doing good things and God will be happy.

However, there are a few points I'd like to make for those who think they can throw out the bath water and not throw out the baby. Our understanding of God comes from organized religions. I prefer to call them the great wisdom traditions of the world. The oldest religions, and here I'm talking mainly about Judaism, Christianity and Islam, teach us about a God who created the world and created all people in God's image so we might learn that human life is sacred and the creation must be protected and nurtured.

Our moral codes were first written in the sacred texts of organized religions, and those moral codes, like not murdering and not stealing, have been reaffirmed by philosophers using reason alone. To accept these teachings without acknowledging their source is like pretending an apple didn't come from an apple tree. The tree carried the fruit into the world, just as organized religion carried the universal moral truths into the world. Out of fairness, let's hear it for the tree before we go munching on its fruit and pretending it came from the air.

The other great gift of organized religion is the gift of sacred community. Life is not meant to be lived alone or even in the small confines of family. We need community, and religion gives us community where we can help others need; pray together when we are week and gain strength from those who are strong; educate our children in the moral law and the traditions of our ancestors; and nurture the spirit of generosity and forgiveness, charity and benevolence that can so often elude us when we try to make life's journey alone.

Find the nearest soup kitchen or shelter in your community and my bet is it's run by some organized religious group. My favorite local example is the Interfaith Nutrition Network, run by my saintly friends Jean Kelly and Rob Kamerer. Without the help of organized churches, synagogues and mosques, their work to feed the hungry and cloth the naked would be impossible. (My pitch: Call them to volunteer your time and money: 516-486-8506. If you're not in the New York area, call the local interfaith coalition where you live.)

In the end, does the good done by organized religion overcome the perversions and distortions of organized religion that are also real? That question, dear friends, is above my pay grade. Just keep asking the big questions and doing good things.

Q: I respect everyone with different beliefs from mine and try not to discuss religion or politics with friends. However, I did talk about religion recently with a friend I see occasionally. To my surprise, she said she didn't believe in God or the Bible, knowing that I'm a Christian. She added that in this day and age, intelligent people think the Bible is just a collection of stories written by people without the knowledge we have today. I ended the conversation but felt hurt that she would say this. How would you have handled this situation?

A: Have her read my answer to the question No. 1. If that doesn't work, this person is not your friend since she doesn't respect your beliefs -- a basic duty of friendship. Let her go. I will be your friend. That way, your total number of friends will stay the same.

(Send QUESTIONS ONLY to The God Squad, c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or email them to godsquadquestion@aol.com.