On God
When it comes to the actual existence of God, I have put a lot of thought into things; I am a logical person and blind faith just doesn’t cut it. I’ve pondered questions like why should I believe in God when others can lead decent lives as atheists? What makes me think there is any sort of God? If I do believe in God, what kind of form is it/he/she? How does it ‘reveal’ itself or ‘interact’ with the world and myself? What would it mean in my life?
I believe God exists because there is love and beauty in the world. Even if beauty is subjective and love is just an innate chemical reaction in our brains, the fact that we can experience these things emotionally means to me that something deeper is involved.
Traditional views of God don’t make any sense to me. Why would such a concept be male, have emotions (such as anger), or be separate from all things? Would God not be an incomprehensively integral part of everything and every action everywhere? How could this concept be any other way? Besides, if this Spirit really is the ‘Father’ of Jesus, ‘the only Son of God,’ then what does that leave for possible intelligent beings on planets far gone from here who would have no possible way of knowing about Jesus?
If God made way for Life, then I believe God in its ubiquitous nature is ensuring that Life is lived fully and gracefully, which is why we have leadings and callings. God is helping us to Live fully. I don’t understand everything about these conclusions I have come to; in fact, they’re not really conclusions, they’re beliefs, concepts, notions, leadings. Such a journey is continuous and on-going.
I believe God exists because there is love and beauty in the world. Even if beauty is subjective and love is just an innate chemical reaction in our brains, the fact that we can experience these things emotionally means to me that something deeper is involved.
Traditional views of God don’t make any sense to me. Why would such a concept be male, have emotions (such as anger), or be separate from all things? Would God not be an incomprehensively integral part of everything and every action everywhere? How could this concept be any other way? Besides, if this Spirit really is the ‘Father’ of Jesus, ‘the only Son of God,’ then what does that leave for possible intelligent beings on planets far gone from here who would have no possible way of knowing about Jesus?
If God made way for Life, then I believe God in its ubiquitous nature is ensuring that Life is lived fully and gracefully, which is why we have leadings and callings. God is helping us to Live fully. I don’t understand everything about these conclusions I have come to; in fact, they’re not really conclusions, they’re beliefs, concepts, notions, leadings. Such a journey is continuous and on-going.
posted by Claire at 1:28 AM
2 Comments:
I remember one of my first "Aha" moments about God. I had read somewhere that God does not command us to be unhappy.
Somehow I drew the conclusion that if this is so—which I believed—then it must be okay for me to live my life so that I am happy. Which meant doing things drastically different in my religious and spiritual life.
Now I am not only happy, I am also aware of my experience that God may not be all-powerful, but God is and has been, for me, all-compassionate.
Blessings,
Liz, The Good Raised Up
I had a similar "Aha" moment a little over a year and a half ago, but at the time I wasn't focused on it in a spiritual manner.
For a couple years I had been mostly unhappy and overly attention-needy, what I reflect upon as angsty. It seemed that my group of friends at school and I were all like this in some way or another, so it was a hard way of being to get out of. I had come to a point where I thought that being happy was some rare occurrence - not only did I think this, but I unconsciously imposed this upon myself.
Then I got in and switched to the boarding school which I currently attend (which is for jrs and srs in high school from NC only) and had a quick and sudden revelation. I looked around, realized that I did not know how to get attention from these people I did not yet know, and concluded that since I didn't know how to get attention, there was no reason to be depressed or unhappy. Suddenly, I had realized that the only reason I had been perpetually unhappy was because I did not let myself be happy. From that point on for the rest of the school year, I seemed to be a happier person each week. It was an incredible experience.
As you realized yourself in a spiritual way, it is okay to let myself be happy. Though I did not see it as a spiritual experience at the time, I have now come believe that the Spirit moves whether we recognize it or not.
Thank you for relating your "Aha" moment - I'm glad to see that my experience is shared, even if it was shared in a somewhat different manner.
Post a Comment
<< Home