Rev. Dr. Paul Hasselbeck and Nontheism

The Unity movement recently experienced a major loss when Rev. Dr. Paul Hasselbeck made his transition.

Paul was one of the leading metaphysicians in the Unity movement. You might say that it was under Paul’s leadership that Unity metaphysics was pulled into the 21st century. He was a good teacher and a dear friend to me.

While he was the author of many books, probably his most important work was Heart-Centered Metaphysics. In this book, Paul not only detailed Unity’s key concepts, but he also highlighted what leading Unity teachers have said on these subjects over the years.

Paul’s observations and guidance on these spiritual principles are priceless. I have gone back my copy of Heart-Centered Metaphysics so often that this beautiful book is held together by tape in many places.

But let me tell you something that might surprise you: Rev. Dr. Paul did NOT believe in God. Let me explain: Paul did not believe in a personal God. No, he was not an atheist. He was what has become known as a nontheist. 

Paul was in good company. The Dalai Lama could very much be called a nontheist. That great teacher of mythology, Joseph Campbell, was also a nontheist. 

So let me define a few terms. Theism is a broad term covering any position that affirms the reality of one or more gods or divine beings. Many theists believe that God is, or the Gods are, both transcendent and more than the cosmos, as well at the same time being as internal and as imminent as one’s heartbeat or breath.

Let me confess that I am a theist, and I believe in a God who has skin in the game and deeply wants a personal relationship with us.

A nontheist does not believe in a personal God. But, such individuals often do believe in universal principles that can guide a person, and society, into a “peace that passes all understanding” and “a world that works for all.” They often refer to these principles as divine wisdom or a force which “can be with you.” 

Many would also place Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Confucius in the nontheist camp. I think some concepts from the philosopher, Ken Wilber, can help flesh out these ideas.

Wilber writes about “the three faces of God.” The first face of God that Wilber points to is the You Face. This is probably the face that most Westerners are familiar with. In this You Face, God is a separate being or reality from the human. One can have a relationship with this “You.” One can pray or speak to this “You.” 

Wilber’s next face is the I Face, which pictures the Divine as being inside of the individual. Unity and New Thought tend to get an A+ with the I Face.

Wilber’s third face is what he calls the It Face. With this face, one tends to see the Divine as principles, laws, and concepts. Nontheists, like Paul, tend to see the Divine through the It Face.

However, nontheists do not have a monopoly on the It Face. For example, I sometimes envision the Divine as Providence.

Paul, the nontheist, and I, the theist, had many interesting discussions. At times I have asked myself: What would I do, and do differently, if Paul were proved to be right? 

I have concluded that if the nontheist position proved to be the truth, it would change very little in my day-to-day existence. I would still get up in the morning, and the first thing that I would do would be to go into meditation and prayer, centering on divine principles. I would continue to “chop wood and carry water.” I would continue to try to “love, serve, and remember.” I would still go back to Jesus and Buddha for guidance and direction. 

Paul reminds me of a key figure in Judaism: Joseph Caro. Today if you go to either an ultra-orthodox rabbi or the most liberal rabbi you can find, and you ask them for guidance based on the Talmud, over 95% of the time they will give you an answer based on a book written by Caro.

Caro was born in the 1400s in Toledo, Spain. His major commentary on the Talmud came out just when movable type floated into the picture. As such, Caro’s book was at the right place at the right time, and it became the tradition that rabbis would turn to and answer most of their congregation’s questions.

Judaism tends to divide things up into what is called Halacha and Agadah. Halacha in Hebrew means the way, the law, or the commandment. Agadah in Hebrew means the story, the non-legal narrative. The rabbis determined that there are 613 commandments, or times where God instructed the Israelites to do this or not to do that. 

The Talmud is a compendium of rabbinical opinions, and debates, over how to carry out the 613 commandments. Caro’s book is a readily accessible periodic table of the Talmud.

But while Caro’s Halacha was strictly kosher (as it were), when it came to Agadah, Caro was anything but straight laced. Many of his views were way out there in terms of theology. He was light years ahead of most of his contemporaries. For example, it was 200 years later that the great philosopher Spinoza was born, and Spinoza was kicked out of the synagogue for expressing many of the ideas that Caro held.

In many ways, Paul was Unity’s Joseph Caro. Paul’s Halacha often has become kosher, but Paul’s Agadah may be light years ahead of our time.

I think all this points to a very important issue about the future of the Unity and New Thought movements. I believe so strongly that the Unity and New Thought tent should be broad. It should be a movement where both theists and nontheists feel comfortable and can call it “home.”

We say that we honor all paths that lead to spiritual enlightenment, and that nobody has a monopoly on truth. I hope that we continue to be a place that welcomes and learns from mavericks like Rev. Dr. Paul Hasselbeck.

Many blessings,

Rev. Rick