The spiritual world is filled with stories and metaphors, which some people find intriguing, but others find frustrating. However, when religious thought is codified to simplified doctrines, it can equally prove a dilemma for those not raised with this mindset. From my perspective, it is best to accept the inherent mystery of spiritual language and concepts, which are due to the virtual impossibility of human minds trying to grasp the Infinite.
Let me illustrate this challenge with a metaphor. I have traveled more than many people. In my career as an international banker and later as a company executive, I took as many as 50 – 150 airplane flights per year. I often traveled to other countries and continents. When I returned, I found it difficult to convey adequately the places and cultures I had seen to friends who rarely traveled overseas.
Similarly, in my career in the world of finance, I worked with the invisible world of finance, dealing with millions and tens of millions of dollars in countless financial transactions. I found that trying to explain this financial world was even more challenging than telling about my travels to other parts of the planet. I made public presentations about finance for various audiences, both academic and professional. I found out quickly that using stories and metaphors was crucial to getting my points across to non-financial audiences.
But my most difficult challenge is trying to communicate about the spiritual world, which seems as real to me as foreign continents and the mysteries of finance. However, the challenge to find apt language is more daunting. I have found stories and metaphors are more useful than abstract theories to explain a world where there are no pictures and videos available to convey the hidden wonders of the spirit.
Take for instance trying to describe God: while every known language has words for the Highest Power in the Universe, sometimes it appears that the various concepts of God found around the world are irreconcilable. However, if we consider both the names for God and their meanings as metaphors of a greater Reality, rather than as precise descriptions, the conflict diminishes.
Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Muslims. It literally means "The One Worthy of Worship”. In the Aramaic language used at the time of Jesus, a similar word Alaha was used for the name of God. The Jews have many names for God, such as Yahweh, Adonai, El Shaddai, Elohim, and Emmanuel, each with slightly different meanings. Christians tend to use the Jewish names plus Deus (Latin Catholic), Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit), and others. In Chinese, the name Shang Ti (Hanyu Pinyin: shàng dì) (literally King Above), is the name given for God.
Meanings for the name of God in various cultures include: Lord of the Universe (Ethiopian Orthodox), “The Holy One, Blessed is He” (Orthodox Jews), The One, The Great, The Supersoul, The Ineffable, The Ground of all Being, The Eternal, The Nameless Power, The Great Spirit, The Master of Life, and The Force (in Star Wars).
Not all of these names and concepts are equally appealing, but they all suggest a universal intelligence and power beyond us that connects everything. Fortunately, this Power seems congenial towards us.
Beyond naming or describing the Highest Power, there are equal problems in describing the human spirit or soul, and other spiritual beings like angels without using metaphors. Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, wrote:
Calling an angel a metaphor says nothing one way or another about the reality of angels as such. Metaphor is a primary means by which language deals with what is unseen and yet real. If we say, as the psalmists often did, that God is a rock, and that “rock” in the sentence does not refer to an idol but is a metaphor for God there is no implication that the rock is not real on its own account. Angels as metaphors provide a means for making story and sense out of illusive energies and forces for which abstract terms seem unsatisfactorily thin.
I find that metaphor, poetry, and story work best in trying to convey the Indescribable. We humans must stretch to comprehend a Cosmic Power capable of creating and maintaining billions of galaxies, and yet also to keep the infinitesimal world of subatomic particles functioning. Ambiguity and mystery are inevitable for us in face of such awesome Infinity.
