Dear friends, when you see the topic “How to talk about God today”, do you find this question full of flaws? I would like to give an example to illustrate my point. Take for instance, the mobile telemarketers, in trying to sell the phones, they must first understand and master all the functions of the phone they are selling before they can sell them to customers. As to “how” to sell, they must learn the skills and methods. From this example, when we want to discuss about God do we really know who God is, have we really fully grasped the concept that God is a great mystery? If not, we should ask what we mean to talk about God? Who is God or to whom do we talk about God? If we are like a salesman looking for “how” to sell a mobile phone, we can only find the “God” of Steve Jobs (Apple CEO Steve Jobs), not the Job of the Bible, the God of Job!

Many people use “God” or the name “God” to “solve” the things they cannot solve, or to declare that it is the will of God. “God” has become the master key. There are also many people who say they do not believe in God. You do not need to be nervous after hearing that, because the “god” they talk about may have nothing to do with God. A French philosopher, a professed atheist, believes that God is not a panacea for all. But God is not a panacea for everything. The “god” of this atheist is not God at all. God is the greatest mystery of mankind, a mystery beyond human understanding.

God is not a thing, not a stone among a heap of stones. Rather, God is present in every stone, and every stone is in God. God is the source of all stones. If the stones are built into a bridge, God is in the bridge; if the stones are built into a wall, God is in the wall. When some people refer to God and creation, they see it as a contest between God and the created things, that is, God is in possession of all creation, but each of the created things is in opposition. However, God is not a boulder that wants to cover up all stones. God is the source, and all creation exists in the breath of God.

What does the term “God” mean? The term “heavenly master” or “heavenly king” that Chinese Christians use to call God was coined by Father Matteo Ricci after he came to China. Matteo Ricci pointed out that “God” referred to the God who created everything. But Jesus also let us know that God is not only creator, He is also the “Father”. Matteo Ricci believed that the term “Heavenly Master” or “Heavenly King” was more acceptable to those who did not yet know the “Father”.

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1. Why do we talk about God? God reveals himself through man. Because man can hear God, and God speaks to man. The Bible records what God spoke to Abraham, Moses, and the prophets, who would then communicate the word of God and the messages they received to the people. When man, through the testimony of others, hears God speaking to him, he then can do what he can - that is to hear God. This is the best way of listening to God, through communion and sharing with others.

Some people think that God is too silent, especially in the face of injustice. They often wish to hear God speak. The fact is that God keeps speaking to us through all things in the universe. It is only that people do not quiet down to actively listen!

When Abraham, Moses, the prophets, or one of those that received a message from God, they would share it with others, and they would immediately spread the message. They would not be like some animals that just consume the food all by themselves once they found it. These messengers of God do not simply compile the messages into books for others to read and interpret. They live out the Word of God for others to see. Therefore, the messenger becomes the message itself. Jesus sent out his disciples two by two to preach his gospel to all, using their own lives as witnesses to Christ.

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2. In the field of education today, many teachers are looking for new teaching methods, new teaching skills, and new resources to attract students’ interest, but often forget to ask what the purpose of education is. As a result, the energy of both teachers and students is sapped but interest in learning is lost. Students will fretfully ask, “What is learning for me? What is the use of learning these things?” To ask all the time whether this or that is useful or useless is a very dangerous thing, and it is easy to cause various social phenomena such as discrimination and rejection. The yearning for “truth, goodness, beauty” and the like will also lose their urgency, because “truth” will become arbitrary, “goodness” too abstract, and “beauty” will become only a man-made thing. If education is nothing but a desire for knowledge of how things work and no longer focuses on life and the pursuit of truth, education will lose its meaning. The same is true for the Church. If the so-called new evangelization only concentrates on the “how” – such as seeking better evangelization techniques and adding more information, it is then better to stay with the old evangelization!

3. How to speak of God “today”? We should learn from St. Peter when he spoke to the Jews about the resurrection of Jesus. Please read Acts 2：14-36. Peter quotes the prophets who pointed out how their past history was closely related to what he preaches “today”. The prophecy of God is realized “today”. What is hidden in God has been revealed “today”.

4. Likewise, when St. Paul preached to the Greeks, especially the intellectuals, he tried his best to tell these Gentiles that the God he preached was relevant to their daily life, history and culture. “God has endured all nations in past ages allowing them to go their own ways, but He Himself testifies to His goodness by giving you rain and fruitful seasons from heaven, filling your hearts with food and joy.” ( Acts 14：16-17﹚ Saint Paul exhorted them: “If they seek God, perhaps they may grope and find him. But in reality, he is not far from each one of us, because we live, act, and exist in him, just as some of your poets say: ‘So we are also his children.” ( Acts 17：27-28﹚ Because Jesus Christ is all-encompassing, in whom we live or act.

5. Another question is: to whom do we speak of God? If we are just self-centred, talking to ourselves, ignoring your listener’s, and just do whatever we want, then we don’t know to whom we are speaking, and we do not understand the needs of the listeners. This is an attitude that needs to be reviewed! Just like when you say “I love you” to someone, what do you exactly want to express? Do you want him/her to be with you all the time, do you want him/her to be happy, or do you want yourself to be content and happy? However, this joy will perish because death is a natural law.

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6. Ultra-conservative believers often use “God” to solve all problems. They believe that all answers to any problem are found in the Bible. If “God” is the master key, then he must be a controller of everything, and all atheists will surely rise up against him. There is no need then to find an answer to any question. Then why talk about God? When two people face each other, why not talk about you and me rather than talking about God! If two people do not want to listen to each other but force the other person to listen to him, there is a feeling of contradiction.

Ultra-conservative believers are actually atheists. To them all problems are not problems. Problems do not exist at all! What ultra-conservative believers have in common with atheists is the constant reference to “God”. Atheists often refer to “God” in order to resist “God”; ultra-conservative believers believe that “God” is the answer to all problems and must therefore must be known by all... Hence, they often make references to “God”.

In Greek mythology, there was a monster with many heads. Someone tried to kill it. Who would have known that when one head was cut off, another head would sprout up immediately, and it was impossible to kill it. Both ultra-conservative believers and atheists associate themselves with “God”, one to support, the other to resist. Both consider themselves in control of “God”. Jesus said, “On that day many will say to me: Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in your name, cast out devils in your name, and performed many miracles in your name? At that time, I will declare to them: I have never known you. You evil-doers, leave me!” ( Matthew 7：22-23﹚ Some people say too easily: Lord! Oh God! But they do not know the “Father” Jesus spoke of. Jesus said, “There is no one who knows who the Father is except the Son, and those whom the Son wills to reveal.” ( Luke 10：22﹚ Jesus criticized those who often talked about “God”, who treated the biggest mystery as an ornament that can be placed anywhere in their home. Jesus added: “It is not the one who says ‘Lord! Lord!’ that can enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father. ( Matthew 7：21﹚ If you really know God, you do not just talk and do nothing, but will work for justice and love others as a witness for the Lord.

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7. Some have suggested that instead of arguing about “God”, why not work together for justice, love others with mercy and replace words with actions. A silent loving heart weighs heavier than truth! These words sound pleasing to the ear, but it seems like there is no God. It is easy for people in modern time to accept this kind of thinking and this kind of actions, thinking that knowing God is not important, but the way we live is. These words imply that even if there is no God we can still live well, and work together for the welfare of the world. This theory is very appealing to teenagers, because once you think you are in the right you can do anything, or if someone advocates something and someone follows, everyone else can follow suit. It is very difficult for people to figure out what absolute righteousness is. The above theory, which holds that knowing God does not improve the way of life, differs from atheism. It holds the notion that nonbelievers or people of other religions can still be upright, virtuous, and loving, just without God. Yet I believe that without the knowledge of God, man still needs to know what righteousness is, what love is, what kindness is, and what ethics and morals are. If man is the only measure of good and evil, there will be no principles or laws that all mankind can accept because everyone can have their own propositions and interpretations.

Besides, there will no absolute atheism either and it will be is impossible for a person to be a true atheist. If you ask someone, “do you believe in God?” the answer can be yes or no. Rather you should ask: Is there anything absolute in your life? A true atheist cannot have “the absolute” or hope to make everyone atheist, let alone deify anyone or anything, including himself. Neither can he deify money, economy, entertainment, or careers. If you are truly an atheist, nothing in the world is absolute. Is it not very conflicting? I want everyone again to think about the story of the multi-headed monster that gave birth to another head once a head was cut off. People resist God, but make another “God” appear. Taken to the extreme, atheists also end up creating a god for themselves.

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Man cannot be responsible for all times. Our responsibility is “today”. In fact, in every era, human beings have a common destiny. People can be happy because they can love; people can be fearful and anxious because they have to face death. Human beings “today” not only realize their own limitations, but also realize the impending threat of death. Humans “today” know that when a person dies, his journey in this world ends, and they know that the entire human race will end as well. By way of an atomic explosion, or even a nuclear explosion, people can disappear in an instant. On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians. Therefore, many people set this day as the beginning of a new era — the post-human era. People wake up to the constant destruction of nature by human beings, so many people focus on environmental protection. Many people prefer to hide themselves and bury themselves in the virtual electronic world. Some people endeavour to build smart cities, using all kinds of information technology or innovative ideas to integrate urban constituent systems and services to improve the efficiency of resource utilization, optimize urban management and services, and improve the quality of life of citizens. Whatever the people may think, they do not think about God or believe in God. The same is true in traditionally Catholic countries. Now is the time for us to peruse Jesus’ parable of the weeds. ( Matthew 13：24-30﹚ “Today” is the best of times to imagine the future and see the growth of wheat. “Today” can also be said to be the worst of times to see how the weeds have grown so tall as to cover the wheat any time. Is the wheat better than the weed, or is the weed better than the wheat? Or are the wheat and weeds present at the same time? Jesus reminds us to be careful, “Lest you gather the weeds and pluck out the wheat.” ( Matthew 13：29﹚

The Catholic faith is quite realistic. We are not beset by the notion that the world is constantly progressing. Progress will bring pain; and the wheat and the weeds will certainly co-exist. The hope of our faith is that “when I [Jesus] am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me”. ( John 12：32﹚ “Lifted up” has a double meaning. First, when Jesus was being crucified, he was first nailed to a cross-bar, and then the cross-bar on which Jesus was nailed was pulled with a rope to the vertical wood that had already been erected. The other refers to the ascension of Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. The most painful moment of Jesus’ death on the cross was the moment of the resurrection of mankind. Just like the moment of childbirth, a pregnant mother goes through the most painful moment of her life; but when a new life is born, all her pains are forgotten, and everyone is filled with joy. We believe that as that day draws near, there will be more and more suffering in the world. “When I [Jesus] am lifted up from the earth, I will draw people to me”. Truly, the entire universe is looking forward to the birth of a new heaven and a new earth. Being so, the entire universe must protect the wheat, not removing the wheat in the process of plucking out the weeds. The whole universe is to look forward with hope, courage and resolution to the time when people will come and take refuge in Jesus.