Catholica Commentary by Fr Peter Dresser: God is Big .... Real BIG! (Chapter 1: The Thinking of Pooh)

"God is Big ..... Real BIG!" by Fr Peter Dresser (Chapter One)

How might A.A. Milne's character, Winnie the Pooh relate to God? That's the essential question Fr Peter Dresser, poses today in Chapter One from our serialisation of his book: "God is Big .... Real BIG!". In trying to think in the way of Pooh might we gain insight into why so many have given up listening to what the institutional church has to say?

Chapter One: The Thinking of Pooh...

Pooh is always very uncomplicated. He likes simplicity. He just likes to be. In his appreciation of life he asks for very little. He doesn't want the voice within him to be over-explained in doctrine or dogma. He wants to experience heaven on earth and for Pooh this is easy. You see Pooh sees heaven very much as a relationship with his God, a God deep within him, the Voice that is part of him. Our experience of heaven both on this earth and after we die is in direct proportion to our lived experience with God.

This idea of heaven being in essence our intimacy with God (and vice versa that hell is the lack of this intimacy) is a point taken up by many who think about and appreciate the presence of God in their lives. Note that I do not necessarily speak about theologians being in that class of persons who think about and appreciate the presence of God in their lives. Theologians to a very large extent are involved in fairly cold and calculating analyses of Scripture, Council Documents, Doctrines and Dogmas of the Church and so on — and preferably in Latin, Greek and Hebrew! Learned and clever theologians are usually a cold, dull and boring lot who invariably in their scholastic task fail to see the forest because of various theological trees. They may be able to extricate some sense out of terms such as Original Sin, Virgin Birth, Resurrection and so on, but very frequently fail to appropriate to themselves the voice that reasons beyond Cleverness and knows beyond Knowledge. Nevertheless there are some theologians who can find their God outside the learned and clever confines of academia. Unfortunately theological concepts can easily lessen rather than enhance the quality of that experience.[2]

George Bernard Shaw once described the so-called conventional image of heaven as "a place so inane, so dull, so useless, so miserable, that nobody has ever ventured to describe a whole day in heaven, though plenty of people have described a day at the seaside".

It has recently been stated that Pope John Paul II has demolished the conventional notion of heaven and hell. Actually the Pope declared that heaven is neither an abstraction nor a physical place amid the clouds, but a living relationship with the Holy Trinity — and a great number of God-thinking people would surely agree with him. In any case heaven and hell as places were never intended to be taken literally although many have done so. George Bernard Shaw once described the so-called conventional image of heaven as "a place so inane, so dull, so useless, so miserable, that nobody has ever ventured to describe a whole day in heaven, though plenty of people have described a day at the seaside".

While heaven described as a place has invariably been dull and boring, heaven as a state of union and completion with God must surely be a far more beautiful experience, a heaven that we can actually experience here on earth, an experience of the life-giving freedom and liberty and healing spirit of God, a God that we will melt into far more completely at death. Thus heaven is to be looked at as a state of being with our God rather than a place where we meet God. Having said that, however, the old penny catechism referred to heaven as "a place or state of happiness" so the Pope has not stated anything new. I recall asking a teacher once what was meant by the term state and was given a rather blank look. He told me, rather unhelpfully, that state was much the same as place. The point is that heaven was invariably referred to as a place. Actually the man Jesus wasn't much help in this regard either. He talked about many rooms in his Father's house and heaven being like a giant banquet, etc. Hopefully he was deliberately speaking metaphorically but whatever of this, his words have been taken literally for the past two thousand years! In a similar way hell as a place has conjured up some bizarre images in the past. Take, for example, the account of a soul given in a vision to St. Bridget in the 14th. Century:

My breast is open and gnawed with worms, for I loved foul and rotten things more than God. My lips are cut off. My nose is cut off. Mine eyes hang down my cheeks.

Then in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola instructions to imagine hell included phrases such as:

...smell in imagination the fumes of sulfur and the stench of filth and corruption. Taste in imagination all the bitterness of tears and melancholy and a gnawing conscience. Feel in imagination the heat of the flames that play on and burn the souls.

He should really have known better! But similarly and sadly contemporary visionaries have handed on images of hell as a place. One rather suspects their visions have been the results of overzealous preaching during the course of some Redemptorist retreat. No disrespect to contemporary Redemptorists!

In some kind of crazy way, however, life in the conventional hell seems a tad more interesting than enjoying the beatific vision — albeit a little warm and painful. OK on reflection, perhaps not, although I would really expect a little bit more in heaven than just enjoying the beatific vision — whatever that might mean incidentally.

Cardinal Newman: "ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem — from shadows and images into truth"

For the learned and the clever I suppose places like heaven and hell will continue to exist. I don't know where. Somewhere in some galaxy somewhere? But for people like Pooh the voice deep within calls us to a relationship with our God. His freeing and gracious spirit is our heaven and the lack of it is our hell.

Pooh represents many people today who are searching for a meaningful relationship with their God but who find that traditional doctrine and teachings actually interfere with this relationship. Young people in particular are searching for truth and for some kind of meaningful spiritual reality — yet they continually come across over anxious and zealous religious fundamentalists who contribute nothing to their search; indeed, even worse, can frustrate their endeavours. One is reminded of the inscription that Cardinal Newman asked to have on his memorial burial stone: ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem — from shadows and images into truth. The search for truth continues today and it is essential for all of us to remove as much as possible those shadows and images that pall and oppress the truth.

The man Jesus claimed to have the truth. He claimed to be the Way, the Truth and the Life [John 14:6]. Towards the end of his life in front of Pontius Pilate he declared:

For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. [John 18: 37]

When we look at the life and teachings of the man Jesus and his message of goodness and justice and beauty and liberation, one can appreciate the sad, tragic and poignant irony in the words of the condemning Pontius Pilate: What is Truth? It is a matter of urgency that we reclaim the truth of Jesus and to allow once more the freeing, liberating and healing spirit of God to invigorate the minds and hearts of all people, especially the young and those searching for meaning and truth and religious relevance in their lives. Indeed one of the principal reasons for a dramatic decline in formal Church participation could well be that the message of Jesus has not been mediated or transmitted in a relevant and meaningful way by the institutional Church. It is time that this situation be rectified before the horse has bolted, if the horse has not bolted already.

More about these and other matters as we continue our journey through this particular forest. Life, death, resurrection, morality, sacraments and liturgy are all bound up with the reality and the graciousness and the vibrance of a God that is big. Some discussion will be offered on all these topics in the pages that follow and some attempt to make them meaningful in our contemporary world.

Before moving on to take a look at this God we've been talking about, it might be advisable to take a look at Orthodoxy or right thinking. One does not want to step on the feet of the learned and the clever unnecessarily!

NEXT WEEK: Chapter Two: "Orthodoxy"

“It is a matter of urgency that we reclaim the truth of Jesus and to allow once more the freeing, liberating and healing spirit of God to invigorate the minds and hearts of all people, especially the young and those searching for meaning and truth and religious relevance in their lives.” ...Peter Dresser

FOOTNOTES:
[2] This statement may appear a little confusing at first. However, experience can sometimes be dulled by bringing into play too many concepts. I sometimes think that by simply letting the senses have full sway rather than analysing each move or movement with a mindset of a coach or referee, a person might enjoy a game of football more fruitfully. There would be many prepared to debate this no doubt. I suggest, however, that an overemphasis on the concepts of the game could make the experience of the game too clinical and calculating.

IMAGE CREDITS:
Winnie the Pooh and the other characters mentioned are the creation of the author A.A. Milne, originally illustrated by E.H. Shephard, and subsequently popularised even further by Walt Disney studios. There are a large range of books, dvds and other resources available in the Catholica Spiritual Marketplace from Fishpond [LINK] related to Winnie the Pooh and A.A. Milne's characters.

Peter Dresser grew up in Orange NSW. On completing his Leaving Certificate he studied for some years at Springwood and Manly Seminaries. His life journey has led him down diverse paths and he enjoyed the experience of many and varied employments including postman, public servant and factory worker. He has appreciated his exposure to different life styles and religions and his involvement with music and sport, particularly Rugby League. He eventually turned to teaching where he found an easy rapport with and respect for young people. Peter decided to continue with his studies for Priesthood and entered St. Paul’s Seminary. He was ordained in 1990. Peter's love for his Catholic religion dates from his very early years. His involvement with Science is only a recent phenomenon. His fascination with nature has always been predominant. His continuing pastoral concern is that the Good News proclaimed by Jesus be preached and mediated meaningfully in all its richness and fullness to the contemporary world. Peter holds degrees in Arts and Theology and a Diploma in Education. He produced this document in 2004 whilst Parish Priest of Kandos in Central West NSW. He now lives privately in retirement at Kandos where he spent six memorable years.

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[Index of Commentaries by Fr Peter Dresser]

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