John Shea's Stories of God

This essay presents a critical analysis and evaluation of God as interpreted in John Shea's Stories of God: An Unauthorized Biography. Human beings have always speculated about the

existence of God; however, down through the centuries God has

remained an ambiguous concept quite beyond any form of proof thus far. Faith has always been the ultimate standard upon which religion has depended for its endurance and credibility. There has never been a scientific or empirical way to prove the existence of God; therefore, God has been more of a derivative Being, whose existence seems a logical conclusion because of the apparent order and design of the universe and humanity's superior intelligence in comparison to other earthly creatures. Shea states: "The fact that the world had been created by a Divine Intellect meant that its ways were intelligible. And since the human person also possessed an intellect, he was capable of discovering these ways and harnessing them for the betterment of mankind. It is one of the strange ironies of the history of science and religion that the very God who encouraged scientific inquiry was eventually discredited by it" (Shea 23).

Shea somehow infers God from ourselves and ourselves from God. In other words, we are God's story, according to Shea's viewpoint. This is a very positive, optimistic interpretation of the human animal, and also of God. In fact, Shea sees both God and mankind as having a compatible situation. Shea asserts: "The c

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it on our coming and going, we are forced to ask the meaning of it all and the awareness of Mystery is upon us. And if we follow the strange lead to our heart and imagination, we are soon in ontological wonder -- 'Why is there anything at all?'" (Shea 26). The answer to that question remains ambiguous. All why questions are ambiguous on our human level. Shea admits this: "Our relationship to Mystery is also ambiguous . . . Mystery, because of its pervasiveness and ultimate character, either grounds or undermines our deepest hopes and loves. Its importance is beyond measure" (Shea 38). Shea describes our human situation quite well. For certainly, all of our hopes and fears are related to Mystery, which Shea believes stimulates a quest for meaning. Consequently, Shea arrives at this belief: "It seems that there is no darkness which humankind will not try to light, or at least make warm" (Shea 45). The search for meaning causes mankind to engage in mythic activity, according to Shea. All of the basic concerns of humanity are dealt with through myth: birth, death, life, and rebirth. God is also a very important concern of myth,. as Shea points out: "The central Christian mythic stories concern God. In Christianity no matt

Category: Philosophy - J