What’s the Question? Who’s Asking?

As I observe the descent of humanity asserting ourselves again in religious fascism as a way to facilitate religious materialism, I lift my eyes to the grandeur of our existence. The many photographs by astrophotographers offer awe in contemplating the Mystery of the vast universe. I pray the scriptures of the Biblical prophets and psalmists whose language names today’s good and evil as they did in ancient times.

The ancient Greeks grew disillusioned with the bad behavior of the gods and Plato led the turn to values asking, “What is good?” This new philosophical quest made Values the gods, using Doubt as the discipline contemplating reality.

Abraham J. Heschel wrote in his groundbreaking work, God in Search of Man “The Biblical man’s sense for the mind-surpassing grandeur of reality prevented the power of doubt from setting up its own independent dynasty. Doubt is an act in which the mind inspects its own ideas; wonder is an act in which the mind confronts the universe.” He says that there is no doubt in which faith is not involved. The questions of faith are:

• “What does God require of us?”
• “Lift up your eyes on high and see, Who created these?”

Heschel says, in this “the mind stands face to face with the mystery rather than with its own concepts.” Pre-requisite to solving our fascist mess, we look beyond ourselves; we acknowledge that we are a part of the Mystery beyond us. Responding to this Unknown, we awaken to the freedom of partnership with God; our creative powers are guided in perspective, humility, wisdom and Love.

So, I offer my poem based on page 98 of Heschel’s book.

Shall we revert 
To ancient Greece
Or have we ever 
Moved on, weary of
Some bad heavenly
Model for life?
 
Plato let Socrates ask
What is good? and that is God,
Another brainchild we can
Contain, define and enforce.
 
Impressive but not sublime,
We’d vote for it, but it gets
So wordy and never done;
We stand and filibuster
But not like encountering
Galaxies arriving from
Billions of light years away.

Are we forgetting something
Like standing with open mouths
Silently searching for words,
Our defining human tool,
But unable to muster 
Some glossolalia that
Might offer a sufficient 
Greeting to vastly distant
Stars our dignified seniors?
 
But they do not need our praise
While they move about as if 
In another room before
The family gathering.
Is that not remarkable,
So thought provoking as to
Make us wonder at the fact
That we wonder about it?

While morals, oppression, lies,
Laws, corruption, and dogmas
Systematize national
Hierarchies and classes,
When will we let God find us?
What response will we confess?

Mark R. Turner
June 26, 2025
Athens House
Inspired by Abraham Joshua Heschel
God in Search of Man p. 98