May 13, 2026

God is God, right? There is only one God, right?

And yet, when a person says God, my guess is that they have a slightly different understanding of God – maybe even a large difference – from the person to their right or to their left. There have been times when I have been in conversation with an “atheist” who proclaims, sometimes proudly, to me, “I am an atheist.” My response in that situation is, “Define the ‘God’ which you don’t believe in.” More often than not, after the self-defined “atheist” describes that “God,” I declare with them, “I don’t believe in that God either.” Which doesn’t make me an atheist, but rather makes me one who, in the words of Anselm, undergoes the process of “faith seeking understanding.”

This usually elicits a surprised expression on her or his face. A conversation then begins between the two of us about the nature of God. And, depending upon that conversation, the atheist is, perhaps, not so much of an atheist as before the conversation started.

This Sunday, we hear the story of Paul’s stay in Athens. Often labelled “To an Unknown God,” the story shares how Paul engages the Athenian thinkers of his day in a conversation about the nature of God. We will join that conversation in this Sunday’s message. Come and hear!

Rev. Eric