Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Quaker Pagan Reflections

Home
Pagan
Naked for a Sign

Naked for a Sign

Last updated on: July 16, 2007 at 9:08 am by Cat Chapin-Bishop

Naked for a Sign 2007-07-16T09:08:00-04:00 Cat Chapin-Bishop

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This one’s not part of my spiritual journey series, though it reflects on it to some extent…

Yesterday, in meeting for worship, one of our members described having had pointed out to her, on a recent tour of Salem, Massachusetts, the site where a Puritan-era Quaker had chosen to “go naked for a sign”–as a testimony against Puritanism, presumably. That member then asked us, in a quiet, powerful voice, how we make our lives speak.

After settling back into worship, a series of related messages came through. I’ll report only on those that spoke to me strongly:

In our modern world, how do we choose words to make ourselves “naked” and vulnerable to one another, and how do we choose words to separate us from one another, to hide us, and to make us safe?

If we must have a name for ourselves as a people, why not “pacifists”?

The practice of “going naked for a sign” goes back to Isaiah, Ch. 20, where Isaiah was directed to do so by God, as a sign not to rely on the things of mankind, but only on God.

Names are like clothes.

And finally, my mind kept running back to a thought I’d been having ever since I learned of the disruption by right-wing Christians of the Senate chamber, because a Hindu had delivered the opening prayer.

The Hindu priest, Rajan Zed, gave this prayer:

Let us pray. We meditate on the transcendental Glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the Earth, inside the life of the sky, and inside the soul of the Heaven. May He stimulate and illuminate our minds.

Lead us from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality. May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we work together with great vigor. May our study be enlightening. May no obstacle arise between us.

May the Senators strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world, performing their duties with the welfare of others always in mind, because by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life. May they work carefully and wisely, guided by compassion and without thought for themselves.

United your resolve, united your hearts, may your spirits be as one, that you may long dwell in unity and concord.

The reason given for the disruption was that the Senate chamber “was violated by a false Hindu god,” through Zed’s prayer.

Oh, really? The God that “is inside the heart of the Earth, inside the life of the sky, and inside the soul of the Heaven,” is a false God? Not one that Christians would recognize? Because, you see, that God sounds an awful lot like the one the Christians and other Quakers I sit with in worship on First Days appear to love. That God sounds an awful lot like what I experience within Quaker worship myself, and have experienced in moments of deep communion with the Lady. What, precisely, makes this God a false one?

Ah. No name brand. This one does not come clothed in the familiar words, “Jesus,” and “God” (said in unaccented American English).

It occurs to me that “God”–if, by this, we mean the supreme uniting spirit of the universe, as most Christians seem to–is very unlikely ever to have awakened one morning and said to Herself, “Hey–I’m suddenly inspired to name myself. I’ll begin with a sound that, once I create/give birth to humans, will become their letter ‘G’… add a sound that their tongues will render ‘ahw’, and finally add a sort of a stop sound, a dental for their as-yet-undesigned teeth to make… I know! A letter ‘D’ sound. G-O-D! That’s me! Name me in any language but good ol’ American English, and you’re getting it wrong. ‘Allah,’ will be wrong, ‘Sophia,’ will be wrong, ‘Dryghten’, will be wrong, ‘Bramah’ will be wrong…”

Where did this name brand language for deity come from? What nonsense to suppose mere labels, whether Jesus or God or Kumquat-in-the-Sky, contain the essence of so great a spirit. What nonsense to weigh the mere fact of Hindu ideas and nomenclature against the sentiment given in Zed’s prayer, and, based on the clothes we humans impose upon our spirits, declare Zed’s God “false.”

It’s not just nonsense, I’ve been thinking. It’s idolatry. Not the real, juicy, bowing down before stones and trees sort of idolatry which, as a Pagan, I can utterly respect. Nope, it’s the kind even I, a heathen to the bone, am against: relying on the things of mankind rather than those of God. It is clinging to the reassuring and deceiving clothing of names, when God has instructed us to “go naked for a sign.”

Here’s the reflection on my spiritual journey series, and I promise I will keep it brief: I have been told that I’m brave for being so candid in sharing my spiritual journey here. I am trying to be as truthful and open as I can, though some of what I write is not, I know, very flattering to me.

I’m trying, I think, to trust in the things of Spirit. To the extent that I am able, I’m trying, perhaps, to go naked for a sign.

Just perhaps.

Previous Post

July 12, 2007

Cat's Spiritual Journey, Part VI: A Letter and a Kiss

Next Post

July 17, 2007 Cat's Spiritual Journey, Part VII: Morticia Loves Gomez

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Cat's posts Peter's posts Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2017 February 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 July 2000

Follow Us!

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the longest chapter in the Bible?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 23 Genesis 1 Psalm 119

Related posts from Quaker Pagan Reflections

Goodbye to Patheos Pagan Channel

Quaker Pagan Reflections

Facing Death/Facing Life

Quaker Pagan Reflections

Peter on Mysticism and Facebook in a Time...

Quaker Pagan Reflections

Peter on the Election

Quaker Pagan Reflections

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Pagan

What do the Gods Look Like?

I was recently chatting with someone on Instagram. She asked me what...

My Blogging Style

While there are many people who share their results, the end of...

On July 23, I saw Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey which is Homer’s...

Work in progress

As I write this two big events have just finished up. One...

Restoring the Watershed of Divine Love

Perhaps cooperation is not something we manufacture through legislation, ideology, or moral...

Many UUs don’t pray because of bad experiences in a previous religion,...

view all Pagan blogs

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos