Honors Prompt 1

"Let me first explain why I use the word God, when I could just as easily use the words, Jehovah, Allah, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, or Zeus.  Alternatively, I could call God “That,” which is how the ancient Sanskrit scriptures say it, and which I think comes close to the all-inclusive and unspeakable entity I have sometimes experienced. But that “That” feels impersonal to me--a thing, not a being—and I myself cannot pray to a That. I need a proper name, in order to fully sense a personal attendance. For this same reason, when I pray, I do not address my prayers to The Universe, The Great Void, The Supreme Self, The Whole, The Creator, The Light, The Higher Power, or even the most poetic manifestation of God’s name, taken, I believe, from the Gnostic gospels: “The Shadow of the Turning” (13).

I like this passage because throughout her book, Gilbert often speaks about praying and this passage explains why she uses the word God. I think this passage creatively explains her use of the word "God" and is cleverly written. I normally don't like comparisons but I liked the metaphor she used in comparing God to the word "That." It's one of m favorite parts because she chose a word that people commonly use to replace God and gave her reasoning for why she could never use it, even though it's justified in the Sanskrit. I, personally, think it is a bit wrong to call God “that,” or even “it,” but I like that she says, “I cannot pray to a That." Even though it is very simple, it's very head-on and straight to the point. She explained that she could use it, but it's too impersonal which I agree. I also think she used it to convey that one cannot call God an object and at the same time pray to that object, because for her God is not an object but a being. In a later passage she says she refers to God as a “Him," and not something that would cause a revolution, which makes me think she's living life pre-cautiously. I think the language she uses shows her point especially when she refers to all of the names of higher powers that all start with the word “The.” I think listing all the names puts an emphasis on another reason why she doesn’t use those names and furthers her reasoning for using “God”