"Luis Palau Responds" for September 11, 1997

Who Is God?

Hello, this is Luis Palau. Americans today are more interested in matters of faith than at any other time in the past four decades. While interest in spirituality is rising, however, it's often experimental. Americans are dabbling in all things religious, often more concerned about how they feel than what is true an attitude that caused me to write a book titled God Is Relevant.

As a result, many individuals create their own pick-and- choose religion. I saw this when one of my city's business leaders was diagnosed with cancer. Before he died a week later, this gentleman, Bill Naito, planned portions of his own memorial. He insisted on prayers from a Buddhist priest, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a Methodist minister. Naito's brother Sam told the more than 1,000 attending the service that Bill "wasn't sure which God he would meet in heaven."

What about you? If you knew you had only one week to live, what would be your claim to faith? The bottom line is you can be any religion you want to be, as long as what you believe about God corresponds to reality. After all, God isn't Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish, or Methodist. The question ultimately isn't who owns God, but who God is. This is Luis Palau.