People reading this inspirational piece may have no clue who Sallie McFague is. She was an important theologian in the late twentieth century and for some years in the twenty-first century. She very recently died and I had not known this. I did not really know her, although I met her a couple of times. I was very helped by some of her books and other writings. I especially liked a couple books called, Models of God and Metaphorical Theology. I want to share some gratitude and to share some of the thoughts of Franciscan sister, Shannon Shrein, whose writing informed me that McFague had died.
As the title of the above books would indicate, McFague did a great deal of work around the theme of metaphor. In case you forgot, a metaphor is using one figure of speech that is familiar to talk about another thing that may not be familiar. An example I often have seen used is the metaphor, “war is a chess game.” In this case the chess game is the familiar term and it is used to described something that is unknown or difficult to grasp. Basically, McFague argues the only way we can talk about God is to use metaphors.
To begin with, McFague argues that what theologians are doing is “the elaboration of key metaphors and models” to talk about God and so many other things of religion. This is true for the theologians of the early Christian Church and will be true for theologians of our own time. We can stay with age-old metaphors, such as talking about God as “Father,” or even, “Mother.” Or we can think about God in fresh ways and use new metaphors. Shrein puts it this way: “New metaphors are required to give substance to new ways of conceiving God.”
This does not mean the old metaphors are wrong or useless. But they may be tired or not as helpful to new generations. Schrein appropriately tells it this way. “The power of metaphor, when talking about God, is found in the flash of discovery, a moment that offers a different way of thinking about God. Suddenly the traditional image of God as father, for example, is recognized as no longer sufficient for our time.” Metaphors are not right or wrong. More to the point, metaphors are useful to convey knowledge and understanding or they are not useful.
This means to me that we have to be careful with metaphors. They are not inherently doctrine. For example, I say that I believe in God. For me this is a truth. Of course, I know I cannot prove it to an atheist. But it is true to me. I still find talking about God as Father to be meaningful. I recognize it as metaphor, but understanding God to be something like a good, caring parent is meaningful to me. But I don’t think the “Father” is necessarily a doctrinal affirmation of truth. Metaphorically, it is not true nor false that God is Father.
In a way that may sound a little too convoluted, Schrein speaks both for herself and for McFague in an insightful way. She says, “Overused metaphors, especially those that have become reified over time, lose their ability to speak, to move, to change and to transform us. McFague understood that the immensity of God demands that no single image is sufficient for understanding God's grandeur.” In this quoted sentence, we may not know what “reified” means. That is a fancy term that means a metaphor becomes a “thing.” God the Father becomes a “thing” when we lose sight of the fact that “Father” is a metaphor. It is not a “thing.”
The metaphor of “Father” is an old metaphor for God. To many folks, it is now overused. I thought McFague was right. Some of the overused metaphors lose their ability to speak. They do not excite or transform the one hearing the message. While “Father” might still be fine for me, I know it is not for my two daughters. Talking about God that way simply does not speak to them in any constructive way. Whatever I might want to think, that is the way it is. And so I take it as true and begin to look for new and more appropriate metaphors.
I take solace in the fact that we have to use metaphors to talk about God. To me this means we have real freedom. If one metaphor does not work, then choose another one. This seems to me to be crucial for taking the faith to someone else. McFague knew this. Schrein tells us that McFague’s own life grew and developed and, hence, her understanding of and doing theology changes. For example, her own experience changed her early view of God as a distant God. As Schrein tells the story about McFague, “Hiking brought her back to the realization that God is all in all, that all living things exist in proportion to one another and to God.”
I like the fact that hiking could change her theology. That does not make me worry; it excites me. It tells me to keep having experiences. And that we should keep doing theology, which means reflecting on our experiences. Theology is always a work in progress. I find this a relief and joy. I sense God is so great, no theology can capture absolutely the way to describe that divinity. That is why we resort to metaphors.
McFague offered some other metaphors. I think my favorite is God is friend. God is energy is another important one for me. That conveys something the truth about God for me. I know it may or may not speak to someone else. I am thankful for Sallie McFague’s life. She lived a rather long time---86 years. She did some remarkable writing for me.
That’s a good life---she made an impact.
As the title of the above books would indicate, McFague did a great deal of work around the theme of metaphor. In case you forgot, a metaphor is using one figure of speech that is familiar to talk about another thing that may not be familiar. An example I often have seen used is the metaphor, “war is a chess game.” In this case the chess game is the familiar term and it is used to described something that is unknown or difficult to grasp. Basically, McFague argues the only way we can talk about God is to use metaphors.
To begin with, McFague argues that what theologians are doing is “the elaboration of key metaphors and models” to talk about God and so many other things of religion. This is true for the theologians of the early Christian Church and will be true for theologians of our own time. We can stay with age-old metaphors, such as talking about God as “Father,” or even, “Mother.” Or we can think about God in fresh ways and use new metaphors. Shrein puts it this way: “New metaphors are required to give substance to new ways of conceiving God.”
This does not mean the old metaphors are wrong or useless. But they may be tired or not as helpful to new generations. Schrein appropriately tells it this way. “The power of metaphor, when talking about God, is found in the flash of discovery, a moment that offers a different way of thinking about God. Suddenly the traditional image of God as father, for example, is recognized as no longer sufficient for our time.” Metaphors are not right or wrong. More to the point, metaphors are useful to convey knowledge and understanding or they are not useful.
This means to me that we have to be careful with metaphors. They are not inherently doctrine. For example, I say that I believe in God. For me this is a truth. Of course, I know I cannot prove it to an atheist. But it is true to me. I still find talking about God as Father to be meaningful. I recognize it as metaphor, but understanding God to be something like a good, caring parent is meaningful to me. But I don’t think the “Father” is necessarily a doctrinal affirmation of truth. Metaphorically, it is not true nor false that God is Father.
In a way that may sound a little too convoluted, Schrein speaks both for herself and for McFague in an insightful way. She says, “Overused metaphors, especially those that have become reified over time, lose their ability to speak, to move, to change and to transform us. McFague understood that the immensity of God demands that no single image is sufficient for understanding God's grandeur.” In this quoted sentence, we may not know what “reified” means. That is a fancy term that means a metaphor becomes a “thing.” God the Father becomes a “thing” when we lose sight of the fact that “Father” is a metaphor. It is not a “thing.”
The metaphor of “Father” is an old metaphor for God. To many folks, it is now overused. I thought McFague was right. Some of the overused metaphors lose their ability to speak. They do not excite or transform the one hearing the message. While “Father” might still be fine for me, I know it is not for my two daughters. Talking about God that way simply does not speak to them in any constructive way. Whatever I might want to think, that is the way it is. And so I take it as true and begin to look for new and more appropriate metaphors.
I take solace in the fact that we have to use metaphors to talk about God. To me this means we have real freedom. If one metaphor does not work, then choose another one. This seems to me to be crucial for taking the faith to someone else. McFague knew this. Schrein tells us that McFague’s own life grew and developed and, hence, her understanding of and doing theology changes. For example, her own experience changed her early view of God as a distant God. As Schrein tells the story about McFague, “Hiking brought her back to the realization that God is all in all, that all living things exist in proportion to one another and to God.”
I like the fact that hiking could change her theology. That does not make me worry; it excites me. It tells me to keep having experiences. And that we should keep doing theology, which means reflecting on our experiences. Theology is always a work in progress. I find this a relief and joy. I sense God is so great, no theology can capture absolutely the way to describe that divinity. That is why we resort to metaphors.
McFague offered some other metaphors. I think my favorite is God is friend. God is energy is another important one for me. That conveys something the truth about God for me. I know it may or may not speak to someone else. I am thankful for Sallie McFague’s life. She lived a rather long time---86 years. She did some remarkable writing for me.
That’s a good life---she made an impact.
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