A Critical Question About Our Concept of God
The answer sets the direction of our spiritual life
Although the ultimate Divinity cannot be named, all believers hold some ideas about what and who God is. The concept we form of God is critically influential in shaping our religious beliefs and ways of worship.
The monotheism revolution
The advent of monotheism was a revolution in the thinking process of Homo Sapiens. It was born of reflections on a variety of pagan traditions. These traditions were based on mythologies, including many gods with specific but limited powers.
We do not know exactly when this monotheistic unfolding occurred, but it was at least some 6,000 years ago.
The anthropomorphic God
The idea that there must be one overall power as the ultimate cause of all things was revolutionary but not well-received by everyone.
However, it was a rational idea that gave birth to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
From the beginning, early monotheists entertained the idea of God as a being with superpowers, living in the heavens but directly involved in all that takes place on Earth.
The early monotheists assumed that the supreme god had human traits similar to those of men and women, such as jealousy, anger, and resentment. The Old Testament amply demonstrates this anthropomorphic god, most often referred to as the “Lord God,” interfering in the lives of individuals and nations.
The God of Jesus
From Genesis to Revelation, we can witness an evolution in how the Hebrews perceived God. In particular, there is a great difference between the God of rewards and punishment in the early phases of the Old Testament, and the God of unconditional love presented and demonstrated by Jesus.
In God there is no darkness
The Old Testament Lord God would order the killings of thousands in Genesis and lead an army of Hebrews in war against other nations in Joshua. In contrast, the God of Jesus beholds no darkness (1 John 1:5) and no characteristic of resentment.
To illustrate, Jesus taught his followers not to resist assailants, and Jesus ordered Peter to lower his sword even though Peter was trying to protect him.
Being or Principle?
That is the question.
Although Jesus frequently referred to God as “Father,” this was an expression of affection and intimacy rather than implying that he considered God as a being with human traits.
In addition, even without human traits, the idea of a being evokes finite physical attributes and is, therefore, a limited entity that does not meet the divine characteristic of omnipresence.
In the burning bush episode, Moses has a revelation of God declaring Itself as “I am that I am.” For me, this declaration is the revelation of the existence of God as Consciousness. This was not the declaration of a being announcing Its existence.
In fact, it is more appropriate to speak of “is-ness” rather than “being-ness” when referring to the Divine.
Divine Is-ness
Divine is-ness is Love expressing Itself as Life and Consciousness. It is also omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient.
When Jesus spoke of God as Love, he was not talking about an emotion, an attribute, or a being, but of a principle.
I have found it useful to identify characteristics of principles and laws, such as mathematics or gravity, to remove the anthropomorphic aspects of the concept of God that are still so prevalent today.
It is easier for me to conceive of God as Principle.
For example, Mathematics does not get angry at whoever can’t solve a math problem. Gravity is no respecter of persons and treats a stone in the same way as it does a feather.
A principle like mathematics has no room for its opposite, namely, mathematical errors. A principle is faithful to itself.
When considering God as Consciousness, the concept of Principle also fits well.
Too pure to behold inequity!
Habakkuk, a so-called “minor prophet” of the Old Testament, had one of the most progressive revelations when he announced that God is “too pure to behold inequity” (Hab. 1:13).
This idea confirms that there is no negativity in God. There is nothing ungodlike or ungodly in God.
The purity of God is such that it cannot conceive of any opposite.
God’s realm is characterized by oneness that precludes duality. Duality is strictly and exclusively a human mental activity.
Therefore, tornadoes, earthquakes, cancer, and suffering are not creations or activities of God.
The implications are enormous
If the absence of duality in God is accepted as logical and truthful, the first implication is that the God of Jesus has no awareness of sins.
Clearly, this is not what the monotheistic religions want us to think.
The purpose of these religions is to scare their believers into submission.
Preventing sin and fighting evil are their very reason for being.
The word “sin” has a heavy connotation. It should be noted that it is the translation of a Greek word that means “missing the mark.” Originally, it was treated as a human error and not a cause for condemnation or even damnation.
God is unconditional Love
Many Christians are uncomfortable with their religion, particularly with the Lord God, who kills to punish sinners (in Genesis in particular) and leads humans into war (in Joshua in particular).
I am not asking anyone to replace their concept of God with the principles of mathematics or gravity. I am asking us to conceive what the principle of unconditional Love would be like.
For me, God as Love is easy to love and to follow. It also becomes easier to follow Jesus and to apply the principle of Love in all our relationships and actions.
Imagine what positive changes would take place in our society if an increasing number of believers truly embraced the God of Love and lived according to their awareness of God as pure unconditional Love.
Collective consciousness
What about the human experience of things like tornadoes, earthquakes, cancer, and suffering?
If these things are not of God, then by default, they must be of men and women.
More exactly, they are of the collective human consciousness that has, by and large, not accepted the spiritual teachings of the great spiritual masters of all times.
Love, Life, and Consciousness
The gift of Love by the God of Love is a gift of Itself.
But humans have not accepted this spiritual reality. As a result, we live with duality, which creates a false sense of separation from God.
Divine Love gives life and consciousness as an emanation of Itself. However, human life is subject to our dualistic bias, which changes the perfection of spiritual creation into what we perceive as our earthly reality, including tornadoes, earthquakes, cancer, and suffering.
In Truth, spiritual Truth, our life and consciousness are in God’s image. Therefore, in truth, our life and consciousness are eternal and complete.
Understanding and embracing this spiritual truth opens our awareness to the Grace of God, which provides for our needs on Earth, including our spiritual maturation.
Our physical death is a passage into another experience in consciousness, just as our Life on Earth is an experience that gives us an opportunity to rediscover our true spiritual identity as Children of the loving God.
Jon Canas
Debunking false creeds. Reclaiming the Soul of Christianity.
Site: https://bio.site/ChristicSoul
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My book: Religion, Politics, and Reclaiming the Soul of Christianity: A Spiritual Imperative for Our Time and Our Nation
