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Theology as Classical Understanding of God’s Quality

If I believe that all truth is God's truth, all beauty can be attributed to the Creator God, and that God IS the ultimate reality; it naturally follows that "quality" is a term that can also be used to describe the one true God. We know Quality when we see, but have a hell of a time defining it. We have selected samples within different genres and called them "classics" and given them 5 stars or two thumbs up. However...

1. Whether it be music, film, literature, theology, religion, pet grooming, marketing, or architecture, why do people differ so much on what they believe to be "quality" and yet we all have a very specific idea of what "quality" is? Furthermore, even within a group of peers that have similar ideas of what "quality" is, there are still moments (though rare) where our convictions could not be more diametrically opposed as to whether or not something embodies "quality".

2. If God is Quality, do mankind's different interpretations of Quality jeopardize the idea of their being one God or reality?

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig analyzes Quality in a way that has helped me make sense of how God can still embody Quality and yet allow for the reality that people differ on what Quality is.

I originally outlined in this blog exactly what Pirsig does with the hierarchy of metaphysics, but it became too cumbersome for one blog post. I want to summarize it by saying that what Pirsig does is flip this hierarchy on its head. He claims that Quality is Reality! We don't approach a reality and then decide whether or not the reality we perceive has quality. Instead Quality is our Reality and we encounter this both on a romantic AND intellectual level. The romantic quality is what occurs when we encounter reality in the present, and then as we process that quality it is classified and becomes part of our past and future. It takes on both subjective and objective modes as that quality is both matter and a formation of that matter in the mind.

If all of that seems too confusing just think of it as Quality being our indescribable reality. Pirsig argues that "we see it differently because we come to it with different sets of analogues." "People differ about quality, not because quality is different, but because people are different in terms of experience." If we all had the exact same experience, then we would all be identical in our estimations of quality, but we don't so we encounter diversity. And I personally thank God for this! I also thank Pirsig for formulating it this way because it causes me to refrain in some of my condescending attitudes towards those with different taste. They have different experiences they are building on and instead of insulting their taste perhaps as an "expert" in one certain type of experience I should add to theirs by exposing them to new experiences which may shape their understanding of quality.

When applied to religion this could lead one to naturally believe that all religions are grasping at the same reality and therefore all are "true". In fact, I would completely agree, were it not for the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus is the variable in this whole equation that trumps experience as the primary analogue. If you believe Jesus' life, His teachings, and His resurrection, then you have been given a lens through which to view all experience. A lens which colors experience beautifully in my opinion.

But those of us who have been granted this lens should never take pride in ourselves. In fact, we should remain cautious because Pirsig also gives the best simple explanation I have ever heard of the problem with studying Theology.

"To take that (quality) which has caused us to create the world (the subjective reality in our mind), and include it within the world we have created, is clearly impossible." "If we define it we are defining something less than Quality itself."

In our application, even though Jesus in his incarnation has unveiled quality in its most tangible form, it is still shrouded in mystery and remains impossible to define completely. That is why those who truly know Jesus understand that what he reveals takes a lifetime to understand and even more dedication to live out. It is quality to the fullest. Theology can help one understand God's quality, but theology is an intellectual formulation that was built upon romantic experience that is indescribable. To devote all of our time to the intellectual and neglect the initual romantic encounter in the present is to miss quality.