Defining God – Is it possible?

Today I visited the National Museum of Cambodia. Inside the museum, the local Khmer people were praying at the statues. Who am I to judge where, when or how they pray? Have I experienced their traumas, have I experienced their losses, have I lived through a genocide? Who I am to judge a nation in recovery? Who I am to judge an individual in recovery?

Is God not the perception of our collective thoughts and experiences within ourselves, and together with each other? Who am I to answer on the identity of God when I do not understand my own identity?

I was born in Africa, my heritage is Asian, my first and second languages are European, and my religion is currently in question. My formative years were under apartheid and my adolescent years were in post colonial South Africa. I have survived violations on multiple levels through racism, prejudice, stereotyping, misogyny, abuse and other forms. I have traveled, I have been educated and I have been churched. I have lived, laughed, loved, cried and suffered with people of varying cultures, both within South Africa and globally. My identity changes every day as a result of my experiences and influences.

Every human’s identity is fluid. How can the fluid define the fixed? How can the temporary define the permanent? How can the finite define the infinite?