Coleman A. Baker on Who God is and how do we know?
I went to school with Coleman. At that time I called him J.C. He and I shared classroom space, and we both journeyed in baptist life in a variety of ways. After college he served rural churches and then went onto pursue Ph.D. work in Early Christianity/New Testament Studies.
Coleman Baker is a PhD candidate at Texas Christian University, Brite Divinity School. An ordained Alliance of Baptist clergyman, he has served churches in West and Central Texas. His interests include social science criticism, narrative and literary theory, and hermeneutics. In addition to scholarly biblical criticism, J.C. also enjoys reading and writing on issues of inclusion and justice in the church.
Let me begin with the second half of this question; how do we know who god is? First, I would say that we cannot “know” that god exists but choose to believe it as a matter of faith. Given that “faith” statement that god does exists, we may address the question of who we believe this god to be and identity sources for it.
As for sources, I would argue that all religions of the world have something to contribute to humanities understanding of the divine. I do not believe that Christianity has all the answers or that being a Christian is the only way to follow god. For my own understanding of god, I draw on Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhists, and other sacred texts. These texts represent a variety of human perspectives on god and god’s work among humanity. Beyond that, I think that philosophy and theology can help us frame our understanding of god and god’s work. I also think that modern scientific discoveries, especially those related to quantum mechanics and physics make significant contributions to this conversation. I am sure I will think of more later, but these are some initial thoughts.
Now for the first part of the question; who is god? Luke’s statement (put in the mouth of Paul) in Acts 17 that god is the one “in whom we live, and move, and exist” is my basic framework for understanding god. From my understanding and perspective, which is heavily influence by Hindu thought, god is the eternal animating force behind the universe and that the universe exists within godself. In theological language, god is panentheistic, or existing and penetrating all parts of the universe but is not synonymous with the universe; god is bigger than the universe for it exists within god.
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