Whereas religious discussions were before handled in the Philosophy forum, it is clear that it deserves its own separate forum, and so this one has been created. Theology can be a touchy subject, and so it should be made clear at the outset that this forum will entertain all pertinant views on theology and religion, including those contra to it, and will not entertain special biases towards any particular religion or creed. As such, this forum will remain a place for open-minded discussion over all things related to theology and religion.

Needless to say, Shawn, I think that this is good idea. To kick things off, please allow me to offer my own pilgrimage:

UNITHEISM
Born in 1930, in my early teens, I started having great difficulty accepting, literally, the ideas of traditional theism in which I was raised. I was taught about a God who was presented as a personal being who watches over all his creation. He is one who is interested in, historically speaking, what is happening on earth, and he hears and answers our prayers. This idea of a superman-kind of God made little practical sense to me, so I began to ask questions

For decades, I have been, deliberately, exploring a concept of God which I now call unitheism—a concept similar to that of panentheism, which says: All that IS, exists within God. And God is in and through all that IS. This theological concept, now becoming more and more respectable, has helped me avoid becoming a materialist and an atheist.

I was first introduced to the concept of “panentheism”—I think it was in the 1970's—by the former Dominican priest, who is now an Episcopalian, Matthew Fox. For some time he has been the director of an holistic institute in Los Angeles. I heard first his theological concepts—very attractive to me—when I attended some lectures which he gave, in Toronto, around that time. This brings me to the work of Professor Marcus Borg.

THE GOD WE NEVER KNEW

In his book, The God We Never Knew—Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary Faith (1997), Marcus Borg discusses the details of this concept. It order to get across what I have in mind when I write 'GØD' I will ask you to note the new symbol which I have devised.

About GØD, GØd, gØd
When I write the symbol,'GØD', I mean it as a way of saying that I believe...no, more than that: it is my way of symbolizing that know--as far as I can know anything--that GØD is a real experience. That is, physically, mentally and spiritually speaking, GØD is everything, that ever was, ever will be, and ever is. Everything includes people, families, community, and you and I, as persons. In addition, I experience GØD in mystery, as the absolute "everything"; I experience God in the relative, measurable and scientific "everything", in nature and in society. And I experience god, personally--that is, in and through me and you. I like to think of myself as a pragmatic mystic.

IMHO, my role, as a GØD-filled individual person, is as follows: without imposing my personal beliefs, likes and dislikes, on anyone, I am here to make the conscious effort to act morally and ethically and to connect with "everything" and to practice the art of loving "everything", and everyone. I am not here to impose a rigid orthodoxy on anyone. I am here to do a flexible orthopraxy in my relationships with everyone--the basis of justice, peace, harmony, joy and beauty.

Please take note: When I use the symbol, GØD, I do not use it to refer to a personal and super being. I use it to refer to that of which there is nothing greater, which relates to nothing and to which all things relate. Orthodox Jews, when writing in English, use G-d to indicate the same concept.

Also, in my humble opinion, GØD is ineffable, immanent and transcendent being itself, not "A" being. John quotes Jesus as saying to the Samaritan woman, "God is Spirit..." In his Epistle, John says, "God is love". For me, G-d is the source of faith, hope, love, truth, beauty, justice, peace and is as real to me as the next breath I take. I often say to agnostics and atheists:

"Trying living, physically, without taking your next breath; try thinking thinking without including the absolute and the relative, and try living without including your human spirit in relationhip to others spiritual beings."

I DO NOT CLAIM THAT I HAVE FOUND THE FINAL ANSWER
However, having said this, I always keep my options open so that I do not fall into the trap of claiming that I now know all that I need to know about G-D. Like you and others, I consider myself to be a pilgrim. Of course I feel that the universe is filled with goodness, order, openness, opportunity, design, direction and dedication. However, I always leave room for the unknown, the mystery of life. This I indicate by using the “-” dash instead of “o”.

While I allow for the possibility that GØD could be a person, at this point, I feel that if
GØD were a person "He" would open his own Website, whatever. Until he does, I will assume that G-d works in and through us, as persons. We are, so to speak, GØD's personality. At the same time, GØD is in and through and even beyond, all things—immanent and transcendent.
===========================
Usually, I spell the divine name GØD.
************G...Ø...D**************

GØD dwells within this heart of mine,
As Goodness, Order and Design;
All growing in a positive direction.
The source of knowledge, wisdom, power
And present with us at this hour,
Impelling us to find divine perfection.

GØD lives in justice, peace and truth,
As old as time and young as youth--
The source of beauty and of real communion.
GØD lives as faith and hope, and love,
Around, within, beneath, above,
Inviting us to join the great re-union.

GØD is the source of total health;
The source of science, art and wealth,
And interpenetrates through all creation.
Past, present, future move as one,
Around a bright celestial Sun,
Whose glorious light invites participation.
LGK

The theology of Carl Jung
In his early days, Jung may have been a scientific humanist. And, apparently, he and his father were, not surprisingly, at odds over the claims then made--and still being made --by traditional religions. However, they reconciled later in life.

JUNG CAME TO THINK OF GØD, NOT AS AN OBJECTIVEN AND PERSONAL BEING UP THERE, BUT AS THE ULTIMATE REALITY OF ALL THAT IS--PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND SPIRITUALLY REAL.

In a famous interview on the BBC--I think I remember hearing the program--he was asked if he believed in God: He responded--and I am not sure of the exact words: "I no longer believe in God; I know there is God..."

I do not think he was talking about the personal God up there in the heavens, the kind worshiped by those who believed in the monotheism popular at the time. Though I never felt comfortable with monotheism, I grew up having it preached to me. God was portrayed as being an all powerful and super being, not unlike a celestial Santa Claus.

Not wanting to embrace the cynical concepts proposed by most atheists, gradually, after I entered university (I was 17) I came to believe that GØD is nothing more, or less, than the totality of all being itself--physically, mentally and spiritually. Eventually, independently of others, who, I found out later, were thinking along the same lines, I coined the word "unitheism" as a doublet for panthentheism. I did it to avoid confusion with pantheism.