Who is God? | A Pastor, A Rabbi and an Imam | The Story of God

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Okay, so stop me if you've heard this one: a rabbi, a pastor, and an Imam walk to a bar. Okay, so it wasn't a bar; it was a diner to discuss my show, "The Story of God," about who is God.

So the Rabbi says, "I think it's really intimidating to just start a conversation about God. Who is God, or where is God, and how these questions are related to each other?"

In the Christian tradition, God Almighty is the creator of all things. And what about Té? Who is God for Té? God is literally my friend; he's my inspiration daily, he's my counselor.

It's kind of funny saying 'he' because we know God is without sex, but he's my everything. I think one important understanding within Judaism is that faith in God is not a requirement to be a Jew.

I think of Jews as the God wrestlers, the people who wrestle with who God is and where God is. It's not just in a sanctuary, but it's within each one of us.

In the Islamic context, God is the beginning and the end and all in between. Yet—and this is the part that I really can't wrap my mind around—but it makes sense to my heart at the core of my being, is that while God is in charge of all things and all of what we call nature, he's also intimately connected to each one of us in a personal way.

Sometimes God speaks to us in the still small voice, and that can, in some ways, be even more effective than the loud booming voice. That speaks of this sensitivity that we have to God's voice.

And so I just believe that we got a nose, we got eyes, we've got hands to touch, but there's also something that God created within us on the inside that allows us to perceive distinct instructions.

God doesn't have actual hands in the world, so we can use our hands to do God's work in the world, and that's one way that we can find God. God is found in the effort to help out someone in need to stand up for justice in society and for the down-and-out and the voiceless.

It's a way in which you can connect to God. I was following some of the trends of young people who are describing themselves as spiritual but not religious.

I think young people can connect to God through nature and to sort of look at God through his creation. Dealing with young people, in particular, Millennials, is that faith has to be their own. It can't be their grandma's faith; it can't be their pastor's faith.

For a long time in Christian faith, we were afraid to give them permission to wrestle. I think we should encourage people to ask the challenging questions, the big questions, and see what settles in their minds and their hearts.

I agree, because we're given this gift of curiosity, and that's really a very unique characteristic of human beings. The way we use that curiosity is one way of interacting with our creator to try to understand the world and who is God or where is God, and answering those bigger [Music] questions.

Sometimes, if we approach people in terms of godliness instead of God, it's easier to relate to other people. If we all were created in the image of God, then that means that any individual that I run across, regardless of what their belief is or philosophy, I'm going to be able to find a little bit of God in them.

Religion, when done right, is spirituality with a little bit of discipline, right? I wonder if we substitute the word 'practice' for 'discipline.' That's a relatable word to people.

I have a yoga practice; I practice basketball; I practice playing the clarinet. And, well, I don't do most of those things, but one could say about themselves that I practice these things.

And it all is just practice because, in the end, we're just human people who cannot understand the Divine, but we can seek to practice. It helps you to strengthen your character, to strengthen your spirituality and your connection to God.

And so, to your point, summarize who God is. Wow! Okay, God is the light of the heavens and the Earth. God is love. God is in me, and God is in you. God is hope, and he is bigger than anything we can never fully describe. He's large and in [Laughter] charge.