Coffee Talk "God???" 2/4/08

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” This is one of the many sentiments that C.S. Lewis shared about God. At Coffee Talk this week we approached this most delicate of topics. It had been anticipated that the subject would be a difficult one, given the variety of experiences and wide scope of backgrounds of our membership. It is perhaps the god-induced pain mentioned by Mr. Lewis that made the subject so difficult to discuss this week. This was most evident at the beginning of the evening when, even before the topic could be properly introduced, there was a collective outcry for an extensive set of ground rules to regulate the discussion (Primarily: no discussion of organized religion). This was very clearly a sensitive topic; one which our moderator has been reluctant yet eager to broach.

The only general consensus reached by our group, was that the topic was a difficult one to tackle, even by a group with such stunning mental prowess. God means so many things to each person. Are terms such as spirituality and faith inherently associated with God? Can a person have faith and be spiritual, yet reject the notion of a divine power? These questions and more brought our conversation to a tumult. Want to know more of our thought provoking questions? Try these: as gay men, are we limited to just being spiritual? Furthermore, are white Christian gay men limited to just being religious?

“It's complicated.” That became the new theme of the evening. Many feel that the crux of our various spiritual struggles is this: Is there a benefit to being spiritual creatures? I believe this question received a resounding yes. “Religion is for those who don't want to go to Hell. Spirituality is for those of us who have already been through it.”

contributed by Richard A. Matthews, an active Village Core Group member and a devoted Coffee Talk attendee.