We don’t get very far when we attempt to figure out what or who God is. 

I have no idea, or almost no idea, of what or who God is. And I am a Christian who believes the Bible; I have several degrees plus ten years of theological seminary culminating in a doctorate. I have also been a pastor for more than fifty years and consider myself a preacher of the Gospel. 

When I read my Bible, I discover what God did. The short version of that story is summed up in The Apostles’ Creed. He (and He is a She as well, which can be argued based upon Genesis 1:271) is unlike any he or she of which we might ever have had awareness.2 

1 In this book I capitalize pronouns referring to the Trinity, thus He and Him. The English Standard Version of the Bible used throughout does not so capitalize. 

2 We do not need to get excited about the fact that the ancients did not have the sensibilities about gender issues that we do today. The authors of Scripture were people of their day, not ours. 

He created everything that exists, was actually present in the Garden of Eden on day one, communicated with the man and the woman, and then, due to a major problem, sent them away. Theologically, we know why the Creator took this drastic course of action. Sin, which is the breaking of God’s Law, cannot be united with Him. There has never been, nor will there ever be, sin in the direct presence of God. 

This is therefore the reason why the rebel, Satan, was cast out of heaven way back when. This is the reason Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden as well. Heaven, an utterly unimaginable realm, is where God dwells in utter holiness, meaning that no unholiness can be in His presence. This is an image or concept we will never understand, at least while on the planet. 

A confession is due right now. Early in my Christian walk I did not question what the Bible says about God. Now, with sixty one years at the time of this writing of walking with Jesus, I question my preposterous God more than ever before. I am confident I can do so knowing I am not in danger of losing my salvation. Then again, I am past the stage when I worry about what others might think when I raise serious issues about fundamental elements of the Faith. But most of all I think this book comes out of knowing God more completely than ever before. My child-like faith has grown up enough, to the point I grasp the enormity, at least from a human stand point, of the absurdity of the God of the Bible. For me, this Little Book had to be written for myself and others like me who dare to bring up the big issues. 

God is preposterous. The Oxford Concise Dictionary uses the words “absurd, outrageous, contrary to nature, reason, or common sense” to define the term. 

These attempts do not go far enough when it comes to what and who God is. After all, they are merely terms we understand, and if we are honest, we will admit that our understandings are very limited. We are not on equal terms with God, we will not become God, we will not be absorbed into God, nor will we have union with God. 2 

God is preposterous, even while we wish He were not. We keep trying to whittle Him down, reduce Him, or find a formula for Him, but it will not work. 

May we allow ourselves to ask the question, “What and who is God?”