I am still trying to process the disappointment of losing my May 24 post due to my own ineptitude, but I am also realizing that the Zeitgeist will not permit my initial impulse to “suspend” our quest for the Truth about God.
The United Church of Canada published a religious education curriculum that I used for years under the title, The Whole People of God. I like the inclusion of all humans being of one God. Monumental challenges serve to skew such a vision into impossibilities. The issue of death made paramount by the global pandemic has now been amplified by the murder of George Floyd. We started out by agreeing that all living things die. That is what defines Life. There is one form of death, however, so vile, so heinous, so evil that it absolutely defies everything we are saying is true: homicide. Take a look at the Wikipedia article and learn about humankind’s original and greatest sin, the sin that allows us to question whether God even exists.
Let’s continue…
16 Jun 2020
The United Church of Canada published a religious education curriculum that I used for years under the title, The Whole People of God. I like the inclusion of all humans being of one God. Monumental challenges serve to skew such a vision into impossibilities. The issue of death made paramount by the global pandemic has now been amplified by the murder of George Floyd. We started out by agreeing that all living things die. That is what defines Life. There is one form of death, however, so vile, so heinous, so evil that it absolutely defies everything we are saying is true: homicide. Take a look at the Wikipedia article and learn about humankind’s original and greatest sin, the sin that allows us to question whether God even exists.
Let’s continue…
16 Jun 2020
I just asked Google, “How does evil exist?” Google responded with about 183,000,000 results in 0.45 seconds. This tells me that the question is viable. It also serves as evidence that a myriad of worldviews exists. It also tells me that I am free to offer my own explanation which is what I call an electrical model for, not of, God. Within the Wikipedia article are listed the scientific properties of electricity. You will see that electric current is the result of opposing positive and negative charges. I find these properties of electricity to help construct a model for God:
Electricity preexists humans
Electricity is a singular phenomenon containing positive and negative charges which create a current;
Electrical current can be controlled by creating open and closed circuits;
We are familiar with our ability to use a circuit by opening and closing the current with a switch;
In our current world, it is possible to access an electric current by plugging into an electrical outlet.
This is about as far as we need to go with this analogy if it helps us to understand our concept of God better. With this model, God is not anthropomorphic, but a singularity accessible from the beginning of time to all Life. I find that the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang is complementary to this concept with its emphasis on a singular whole. A far more complex model, music, is another brilliant example of the infinite diversity contained within the whole. If we overlay a moral compass I find this to be a viable means of discovering our conscience, another subject that empirical science isn’t yet equipped to deal with. If my concept of our God-self is true, then this is my clue for where to look for my connection. Finally, this model can open our minds to the possibility of a whole God encompassing Good and Evil as a singularity, and the possibility of obtaining a new, unorthodox worldview focused on how we human beings move toward a more personal relationship with God, the creator of Life on Earth, and each other.
