When commenting on scripture, it's always good to reference that scripture. That may seem obvious, but it's lost on a lot of people. In any case, since I'm still in Genesis 1:1, here it is:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
As noted in the Part 1, I detected five main mysteries in this verse:
- What exactly is "the beginning"?
- Who is "God"?
- What is meant by "created"?
- What are "the heavens and the earth"?
- Whose account is this?
2. Who is "God"?
Seems silly to ask, right? Wrong. First off, too few of us (believers and non-believers) can even describe God's attributes as God does Hisself in Exodus 34:6-7:
6 And the Lord passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation."
That could help us understand God from God's own mouth, if you will. I think it's good to have that basic understanding before getting into some of my own perspectives.
Let me share with you what I, personally, believe God is not:
- God is not a physical being; man nor womana
- God is not Santa Claus/Zeus/Odinb or any other image of an old guy with a white beard keeping tabs on humanity for reward/punishment sake.
- God is not a religious figurehead as He is outside of our human-made religions
- God is not religion itself nor a set of commandments.
- God is not an alien -- Reptilian, Anunnaki or otherwisec
- God is not His name; meaning our name for God doesn't define God
- God is not the programmer of a simulated reality à la "The Matrix" d
- You are not Gode
That's not to say that people don't truly believe any of the above. And they have valid beliefs. Also, while I believe that God is not necessarily the above mentioned things, I also believe that, in a way, He is! Confusing? Read the footnotes.
Since we, in our puny human brains, cannot truly understand whom or what God is, we need to have something concrete; some way of understanding so that we can wrap our brains around such a grand and abstract idea. This, however, can potentially produces a problem: we run the risk of worshiping that concrete idea/image which we use as a representation of God instead of God (i.e., idolatry).
Now that I've shared what I believe God is not, I'll share my ideas on what/whom God is.
I believe that the God of the Judeo-Christian belief system is Love. Already I can hear the "sloppy agape"f retorts. Nonetheless, that is my belief; which begs another big question: What exactly is "Love"?
The modern western view of "love" is not love, and far from God, who is Love. I call the modern western conception of love "Contemporary Love." In contrast, the essence of God which is Love, I call "Higher Love." And yes, I now have the Stevie Winwood songg stuck in my head.
Contemporary love is nothing more than a manufactured idea, spawned of romcoms and sappy entertainment. I'll exclude literature (i.e., prose, poetry, etc.) simply because literature can and does tap into the idea of Higher Love. Contemporary Love is basically a heightened fondness sometimes mixed with infatuation and possibly obsession. Chances are you have heard (or even said) the following sentiment: "I like so and so, but I don't know if I love them." The idea is that there is a threshold from like to love which one advances due to an increased fondness of their romantic interest. That is a mere gradation of fondness.
But the Higher Love -- that Love that is God -- is more than mere fondness. Instead, an argument can be made that one can become fond of another by way of loving them first. That's something to chew on.
Higher Love is composed of three main elements, each in succession to the next. Quick note: the following three elements are not necessarily that which some may call "The Trinity," yet there bears a resemblance. The three elements are:
Love needs a structure, a way of expressing itself. That structure is Wisdom. To use the lightbulb analogy, there would be no reason to create a lightbulb if electricity was not available. The existence of electricity builds a need for a form to utilize it. In this way, Wisdom is Love's way of expressing itself. This is the basis of the Proverbs which speak of how wisdom was in the creation of all things; specifically Proverbs 8:12-31.
Love and Wisdom produce the Word and the Law (the light). Light illuminates things, solves mysteries, combats darkness, etc. Attempting to understand the Word and the Law is an lifelong undertaking. Needless to say, they are two parts of the same thing. The Word is the language of life and the Law is the order in which that language has set the universe into motion.h
In Part 1 of this string of thought, I stated that, as of the very first verse in the Bible, we must choose a path of interpretation; a "lens" to view the scriptures through. God is the marriage of Love and Wisdom which produces the Word and the Law. That is how I begin to understand the concept of God.
Let's revisit how God defines Himself in Exodus 34:6-7. I'll bullet-point the traits:
Seeing God in any other way will yield a dogmatic doctrine with Swiss cheese-like holes in it. Seeing God as stated above will open up pathways to understanding which are infinite and peaceful.
Before I wrap this up, I'd like to touch on the Word and the Law as a product of Love and Wisdom. When we, as humans, are in harmony with God -- in harmony with Love, Wisdom, the Word and the Law -- our actions/traits are, what Paul the Apostle called in Galatians 5:22-23 the "fruit of the Spirit."
Likewise, we can even head over to that well-tread set of verses everyone reads at weddings (a holy union, like Love + Wisdom). I Corinthians 13:4-7:
In essence, a person who truly has God in his/her heart, has the following traits:
God, is the highest essence of all these things, the source of all these things, the spiritual well of all these things. To view God as some figurehead idol representing a wrathful old man is not just ill-conceived, it's harmful. It's taking all these wonderful things and throwing them out the window and saying, "The only love there is, is the love I may or may not feel and that's life. So if I don't feel love (or respect, patience, desire, or whatever), it simply isn't there or is an illusion." From there, it's a step to arrogance, envy, anger, pride, selfishness, lack of empathy, and all manner of nastiness.
God is the good stuff.
a I'll go into the masculine and feminine natures some other time. Just know that when I use those terms, "masculine" and "feminine", I don't exclusively mean "male" and "female." That said, I do feel that, in general, men are better off being masculine and women are better off being feminine. Those terms carry weight and are beautiful in their complementary traits. But again, I'll go into that at a later time.
b It's no wonder that humans have pictured God as an old man with a long white beard; the old grey sage. Throughout history, men have worked in "jobs" which involved risk. I write "jobs" as such because being a farmer/mason/blacksmith/soldier at the ready/etc. wasn't as much a job as we see it these days, but more of a thing a person did. Regardless, throughout history the vast majority of providers and protectors have been men. If a woman lost her man, another man or the community may care for her. With that in mind, if a man made it to old-man-with-long-white-beard status, he would be considered wise for navigating a dangerous and harsh world and would be approached for advice on how to do the same. At least, that's my take on it.
c There's no doubt that the Sumerian account of the Anunnaki is strangely closer to what we understand God to be than the Santa Claus/Zeus/Odin understanding. I'm ever willing to discuss the Anunnaki, mostly because I'm a conspiracy theorist and I like looking into reptilians and such. In a strange way, the reptilian Anunnaki image fits into the creation story in the Bible. That said, if one believes we are who we are due to Anunnaki intervention, how does that explain where the Anunnaki came from. I'm sure there are YouTube videos on that as well, I simply haven't gotten to them just yet. Perhaps that's something for a later post.
d If you have been living under a rock or are just out on Rumspringa, you may not know of the movie "The Matrix." I've linked it up so that you can do some casual research. In any case, the premise is that we are living in a simulated reality, a video game of sorts. And while I state that I don't believe God is the programmer of such a video game, I have to admit that this too is more closer to what we understand God to be than the Santa Claus/Zeus/Odin understanding. If I believe God is a creator and that He lives outside of this reality while dabbling in it every so often, that does fit the description of a programmer and the program, especially AI (which I touched on in the previous post). Also, the idea of a simulated reality is nothing new. It goes back as long as we have been able to question our reality.
e Don't worry. I'll get to Psalm 82, namaste, subconscious mind, etc. at a later date. All I'm saying here is that no one person is the dictator of the universe and supreme ruler over others.
f This is a straw man argument at best and, in my experience, is used by legalistic folks who believe that obedience to the rules/dictates/dogma of any given denomination is greater than obedience to God's Word. And no, I don't believe that God's Word = the Bible necessarily. The Bible is the best representation we have of God's Word, not the Word in its entirety.
g I never considered Stevie Winwood's "Higher Love" (lyrics by Will Jennings) to be about God until a bit later in life. In fact, I didn't even like Stevie Winwood. It wasn't until I got older that his music began to resonate. In any case, I found an item online about the meaning of this song. I thought it was cool. Click here if you are so curious.
h Here's another analogy to explain it: a computer program. I'm no programmer, but I know that there are two major parts to code: the language and the code. The Word is the coding language and the Law is the code itself. I refrained from putting this in the main body of text but couldn't help but add it here. And yes, I realize I'm back on that whole Matrix train again.
i That "law" is not the Law that I mentioned, but more along the lines of humanistic law. I like to see it as "limit," meaning that there is no limit to these wonderful acts.
j Just say "No" to Schadenfreude.
Now that I've shared what I believe God is not, I'll share my ideas on what/whom God is.
I believe that the God of the Judeo-Christian belief system is Love. Already I can hear the "sloppy agape"f retorts. Nonetheless, that is my belief; which begs another big question: What exactly is "Love"?
The modern western view of "love" is not love, and far from God, who is Love. I call the modern western conception of love "Contemporary Love." In contrast, the essence of God which is Love, I call "Higher Love." And yes, I now have the Stevie Winwood songg stuck in my head.
Contemporary love is nothing more than a manufactured idea, spawned of romcoms and sappy entertainment. I'll exclude literature (i.e., prose, poetry, etc.) simply because literature can and does tap into the idea of Higher Love. Contemporary Love is basically a heightened fondness sometimes mixed with infatuation and possibly obsession. Chances are you have heard (or even said) the following sentiment: "I like so and so, but I don't know if I love them." The idea is that there is a threshold from like to love which one advances due to an increased fondness of their romantic interest. That is a mere gradation of fondness.
But the Higher Love -- that Love that is God -- is more than mere fondness. Instead, an argument can be made that one can become fond of another by way of loving them first. That's something to chew on.
Higher Love is composed of three main elements, each in succession to the next. Quick note: the following three elements are not necessarily that which some may call "The Trinity," yet there bears a resemblance. The three elements are:
- Pure Love (the energy)
- Wisdom (the structure)
- The Word and the Law (the product)
- The energy = electricity
- The structure = the light fixture with the bulb
- The product = the light
Love needs a structure, a way of expressing itself. That structure is Wisdom. To use the lightbulb analogy, there would be no reason to create a lightbulb if electricity was not available. The existence of electricity builds a need for a form to utilize it. In this way, Wisdom is Love's way of expressing itself. This is the basis of the Proverbs which speak of how wisdom was in the creation of all things; specifically Proverbs 8:12-31.
Love and Wisdom produce the Word and the Law (the light). Light illuminates things, solves mysteries, combats darkness, etc. Attempting to understand the Word and the Law is an lifelong undertaking. Needless to say, they are two parts of the same thing. The Word is the language of life and the Law is the order in which that language has set the universe into motion.h
In Part 1 of this string of thought, I stated that, as of the very first verse in the Bible, we must choose a path of interpretation; a "lens" to view the scriptures through. God is the marriage of Love and Wisdom which produces the Word and the Law. That is how I begin to understand the concept of God.
Let's revisit how God defines Himself in Exodus 34:6-7. I'll bullet-point the traits:
- Merciful
- Gracious
- Long-suffering
- Abounding in goodness
- Abounding in truth
- Keeping mercy for thousands
- Forgiving of iniquity
- Forgiving of transgression
- Forgiving of sin
- By no means clearing the guilty
- Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation (This last one seems harsh but it's more reflective of the Law; cause and effect.)
Seeing God in any other way will yield a dogmatic doctrine with Swiss cheese-like holes in it. Seeing God as stated above will open up pathways to understanding which are infinite and peaceful.
Before I wrap this up, I'd like to touch on the Word and the Law as a product of Love and Wisdom. When we, as humans, are in harmony with God -- in harmony with Love, Wisdom, the Word and the Law -- our actions/traits are, what Paul the Apostle called in Galatians 5:22-23 the "fruit of the Spirit."
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.i
Likewise, we can even head over to that well-tread set of verses everyone reads at weddings (a holy union, like Love + Wisdom). I Corinthians 13:4-7:
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
In essence, a person who truly has God in his/her heart, has the following traits:
- Treats people with a pure love
- Has joy
- Is at peace and brings peace to his/her environment
- Is able to withstand the faults and shortcomings of others with patience
- Is kind
- Looks for goodness in self and others and acts in that goodness
- Is faithful
- Is gentle
- Has self-control
- Not jealous or envious
- Not prideful or self-aggrandizing
- Not rude
- Not selfish
- Calm and doesn't get offended
- Does not allow evil thoughts to dominate his mind
- Isn't happy to see people do wrong or failj
- Seeks after truth as the treasure it is and is ecstatic when it is found
- Is tough enough to not let life pound him/her down
- Because he/she has sought and found truth, allows himself/herself to believe in these truths; has a stance
- Looks to the bright side of life
- Realizes that all bad things will pass and we the power to not only deal with such things, but to learn from them and move forward
God, is the highest essence of all these things, the source of all these things, the spiritual well of all these things. To view God as some figurehead idol representing a wrathful old man is not just ill-conceived, it's harmful. It's taking all these wonderful things and throwing them out the window and saying, "The only love there is, is the love I may or may not feel and that's life. So if I don't feel love (or respect, patience, desire, or whatever), it simply isn't there or is an illusion." From there, it's a step to arrogance, envy, anger, pride, selfishness, lack of empathy, and all manner of nastiness.
God is the good stuff.
a I'll go into the masculine and feminine natures some other time. Just know that when I use those terms, "masculine" and "feminine", I don't exclusively mean "male" and "female." That said, I do feel that, in general, men are better off being masculine and women are better off being feminine. Those terms carry weight and are beautiful in their complementary traits. But again, I'll go into that at a later time.
b It's no wonder that humans have pictured God as an old man with a long white beard; the old grey sage. Throughout history, men have worked in "jobs" which involved risk. I write "jobs" as such because being a farmer/mason/blacksmith/soldier at the ready/etc. wasn't as much a job as we see it these days, but more of a thing a person did. Regardless, throughout history the vast majority of providers and protectors have been men. If a woman lost her man, another man or the community may care for her. With that in mind, if a man made it to old-man-with-long-white-beard status, he would be considered wise for navigating a dangerous and harsh world and would be approached for advice on how to do the same. At least, that's my take on it.
c There's no doubt that the Sumerian account of the Anunnaki is strangely closer to what we understand God to be than the Santa Claus/Zeus/Odin understanding. I'm ever willing to discuss the Anunnaki, mostly because I'm a conspiracy theorist and I like looking into reptilians and such. In a strange way, the reptilian Anunnaki image fits into the creation story in the Bible. That said, if one believes we are who we are due to Anunnaki intervention, how does that explain where the Anunnaki came from. I'm sure there are YouTube videos on that as well, I simply haven't gotten to them just yet. Perhaps that's something for a later post.
d If you have been living under a rock or are just out on Rumspringa, you may not know of the movie "The Matrix." I've linked it up so that you can do some casual research. In any case, the premise is that we are living in a simulated reality, a video game of sorts. And while I state that I don't believe God is the programmer of such a video game, I have to admit that this too is more closer to what we understand God to be than the Santa Claus/Zeus/Odin understanding. If I believe God is a creator and that He lives outside of this reality while dabbling in it every so often, that does fit the description of a programmer and the program, especially AI (which I touched on in the previous post). Also, the idea of a simulated reality is nothing new. It goes back as long as we have been able to question our reality.
e Don't worry. I'll get to Psalm 82, namaste, subconscious mind, etc. at a later date. All I'm saying here is that no one person is the dictator of the universe and supreme ruler over others.
f This is a straw man argument at best and, in my experience, is used by legalistic folks who believe that obedience to the rules/dictates/dogma of any given denomination is greater than obedience to God's Word. And no, I don't believe that God's Word = the Bible necessarily. The Bible is the best representation we have of God's Word, not the Word in its entirety.
g I never considered Stevie Winwood's "Higher Love" (lyrics by Will Jennings) to be about God until a bit later in life. In fact, I didn't even like Stevie Winwood. It wasn't until I got older that his music began to resonate. In any case, I found an item online about the meaning of this song. I thought it was cool. Click here if you are so curious.
h Here's another analogy to explain it: a computer program. I'm no programmer, but I know that there are two major parts to code: the language and the code. The Word is the coding language and the Law is the code itself. I refrained from putting this in the main body of text but couldn't help but add it here. And yes, I realize I'm back on that whole Matrix train again.
i That "law" is not the Law that I mentioned, but more along the lines of humanistic law. I like to see it as "limit," meaning that there is no limit to these wonderful acts.
j Just say "No" to Schadenfreude.
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