nav-left cat-right
cat-right

God, Or Whatever You Want To Call It

“God, or whatever you want to call it” is a phrase that is frequently heard in the spiritual community. The phrase has become so familiar and commonly used that nobody seems to take much notice of it.

Often you will hear an extension of the phrase, such as, “God, Spirit, Being, or whatever you want to call it.”

Or, “God, Source, Oneness, Universal Mind, or whatever you want to call it.”

Or, “God, Divine Energy, Cosmic Consciousness, The I Am, The Higher Self, The Unified Field, or whatever you want to call it.”

God. Or whatever.

Just what does this lack of precision indicate?

First of all, you never hear people say, “God, Allah, Yahweh, Brahma, or whatever you want to call it.”

There is a message in that omission. The message is, “I am not talking about comparative religion. I am talking about spirituality. You have been alerted to the context.”

Now, to give multiplicity its due, here are the possible meanings of the phrase that you do hear people say—“God, or whatever you want to call it,”—however you want to translate it:

“The word ‘God’ is very vague.”

“There are lots of words for ‘God’ ”.

“No single, particular, or unique word is fully adequate to name God.”

“The word ‘God’ is synonymous with all of these other things.”

Sometimes, the speaker delivers the phrase as if revealing something to the audience:

“I am teaching you that there are many words for ‘God’.”

“I am providing you with new concepts of what God is.”

“I am giving you permission to call God whatever you want to.”

“I am showing you words that deflect the religious connotations of the word ‘God.’ ”

The translation also depends on the tone of voice of the speaker:

(said warmly) “Let’s all be tolerant of each other’s diverse perspectives.”

(said bemusedly) “Everybody is saying the same thing but they don’t realize it.”

(said expressionlessly) “I’m reciting what’s politically correct.”

(said dismissively) “You know the drill.”

But perhaps the real translation is, “None of these words stick because what-God-is ultimately defies being named.”

Answers From Silence says, “ ‘I’ and ‘God’. In my best moments, those would just be two names for the same nameless thing.”

—JC

All Titles

God In Disguise

”Answers From Silence” Becomes An International Bestseller

Spiritual Success

The Tyranny of Thought

The Obstacles To Enlightenment

Your Spiritual Path—And Beyond

Meditation Techniques—And Beyond

Misconceptions of Enlightenment

Definitions of Enlightenment

How To Be “Never Better”

Why I Am “Never Better”

Balancing The Material And The Spiritual

Oneness—And Beyond

God, Or Whatever You Want To Call It

Having A Higher Purpose—And Beyond

Answers From Silence: An Interview

Having A Spiritual Experience—And Beyond

Success and Happiness—And Beyond

This Will Change Your Life

The Map Of Enlightenment

Your Peak Experience—And Beyond

First-Hand Enlightenment

The Law Of Attraction—And Beyond

In The Zone Of Enlightenment

Your Life Story—And Beyond

Are You Ready For Enlightenment?

The Meaning of Being

Positive Thinking—And Beyond

The Enlightened Viewpoint

The Triumph of Enlightenment

Enlightened Agreement

Enlightened Success

Tsunamis, Karma, and Divine Retribution

The “Mr. Enlightenment” Interview, Part Three

The “Mr. Enlightenment” Interview, Part Two

The “Mr. Enlightenment” Interview

Being In The Present—And Beyond

Enlightenment: Why Bother?

The Answer Is Being

You’ve Got Enlightenment All Backwards

The Mayan Calendar And The End Of The World

Ask Your Enlightened Self

Your Mistaken Identity

How To Find A Piece Of Enlightenment

“It’s The Journey That Counts.” Or Is It?

Is Jeffrey Chappell Enlightened?

“Never Better”

The Enlightenment Business

What Does Enlightenment Look Like?

Crossing the Line to a New Existence