Miller and the Art of renouncing god

‘I tell you all this only to say I came back to God. All the complexity about life was begging for an explanation; and me actually being god wasn’t answering very many questions And so in a way I left the old god of easy answers, the god who was always wanting me to be rich or wanting my country to be better that other countries or, for that matter, for me to be better than you. I left that god the preachers talk about on television and the politicians mention in their prayers (like a trump card). But I left room for another God, a god who might explain my existence, explain the complexity of my hand and feet and feelings and the very strange and mysterious fact even as I type this I am breathing.
I confess, I fell there is a God who is very big and who understands everything.’
- Donald Miller Searching for God knows what

In the margin a few pages earlier I wrote this:
“Your God is a crutch if all He’s good for is answers and tricks. In that case those people who say your religion is a crutch, they’re right! That kind of god we have to stop believing in. renounce our faith in the Santa Clause god.”

Besides recommending this book, I nervously identify with Miller in rejecting the God propped up by an over inflated notion of certainty in our expression of faith. The formula god is a dead god and the formula god rises out of the ashes of our quest for certainty. But that is no wonder really when you consider how arrogant we all are.
So along with the New Year’s resolution to lose some of my girth – I am also committing myself to carve off a few pound of arrogance at the same time…