The Names of God, Reaction Paper Example

Diana Eck’s chapter, “The Names of God,” does indeed address the title subject, but it is more an exploration of how different faiths interpret God, or define God’s presence.  She begins by noting how ownership of God is a principle alien to the natives of her own land, as strange as the idea of owning land is to these people.  Eck then emphasizes a commonality, in that the God concept, no matter the important variations, is a human constant: “Even those who are uncomfortable with the term God…have an idea and an image of God” (47).  She then explores how God is for varying cultures marked by a personal sense of definition, as with Christians, or utterly removed from identification, as in Buddhism.  This generates further thought on God as a “one” differently perceived by differing faiths, examination of the Christian Trinity, and the focus in general is on how naming God translates to expressions of meaning, for the individual and for the faith as a whole.

Most challenging here is the dilemma Eck poses and inevitably cannot resolve.  She devotes thought to the “oneness” aspect of God as reflected in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions (55), but she is unable or unwilling to probe what she in fact notes as likely responsible for the concept: the human need to achieve intimacy with God.  This is important because it seems likely that the idea of God itself may be created by the urge to connect in a personal way.  This then renders the Buddhist, “non-oneness” view of God as especially interesting, and all as perhaps more influenced by human psychology than by actual, spiritual belief.

This is in fact a question prompted by Eck’s thinking, and it is interesting that she does not address how and why psychological factors may go to the many “ownership” forms of worship, which then may translate to that kind of creation of God.  Linked to this is the further question of whether Eck’s belief that Christians may learn to expand ideas of their own faith through better understanding of Buddhism, and those beliefs which do not isolate God as an individual presence, is even possible.  More exactly, Eck’s idea here simultaneously affirms the Christian faith in God as One, yet asks that it defy itself and consider a reality completely opposed to its foundation.

Works Cited

Eck, D. L.  Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras.  Boston: Beacon Press, 2003.  Print.