The Work of the Holy Rascal
The God of the holy rascal is the God beyond brands. To paraphrase Lao Tzu: the God that can be branded is not the true God. The religion of the holy rascal is the religion beyond brands, religion as art in service to meaning making.
The holy rascal doesn’t want to erase brand-name Gods and religions, only to make it clear how they operate. Our job isn’t to dethrone the emperor, only to point out that the emperor has no clothes. Our task isn’t to banish the Great and Terrible Wizard, only to reveal that the Land of Oz is run by a small man with a large megaphone. Our work isn’t to demolish the stories people tell, but to show them to be parables rather than histories and in this way free those who love them from being exploited by them.
The God of your understanding is just that: the God of your understanding. What you need is the God just beyond your understanding.
RR