Something I wrote about 7 years ago and just ran across.
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Hope you enjoy it...at any rate, feel free to give
feedback and share it.
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Who or what is God?
By Rev. “Stone” Mason
One of the great paradoxes of religion and spiritual
searching is that we worship a divine being (sometimes
many) in accordance to what we believe, and yet, most
of us still have questions and wonder about who or
what is the divine being(s) we worship.
It isn’t so much an issue that we doubt or don’t
believe, or we simply wouldn’t worship THAT deity.
The problem is one of human nature…namely the need to
comprehend, have answers, and recognize the form of a
thing or being we know of but have never seen.
Think of a small child. What is their favorite and
most common question? Why….why….why….and, why,
etcetera ad nauseum! A recent study indicates that
the average 4-6 year old asks over 400 questions a
day! Why should we as adults be any different
(although less inquisitive)?
The question of identifying the deity we believe in is
often the single missing piece that would convince us
of the reality of our spiritual self and the value of
embracing it.
But, we simply don’t have the evidence. No pictures,
no TV interviews, no big corporate building with a
corner office, no way to identify and recognize (in
strictly human terms) our concept of the divine as an
entity!
So, we choose a system of faith or a religion that
provides the most comfort and acceptability to our
spiritual needs. We accept that “version” of deity as
the right and proper divine personality. But, is the
image provided accurate? Is this REALLY God? Or, is
it simply the representative image and description
that a particular faith or religion provides and just
happens to be acceptable to us?
Look at the major religions now and throughout
history. Examine their deity from every angle,
disregarding the particulars of their worship, focus
only on the deity they honor. In particular, look at
the monotheistic systems.
God, Yahweh, Allah, and others…worshipped by millions
who, truthfully, have not idea who or what IT is! Now
that is blind faith. But, being spiritually blind
tends to make on susceptible to getting lost, as most
of us know all too well!
Upon examination of these singular deities, you’ll
find many similarities and differences among them. Do
a comparison of each and you’ll find that the
differences are based solely upon the human input into
that religious system. The men who created and head
those systems have defined their deity in accordance
to their personal interpretations, the needs and wants
of the local peoples, and other very local factors.
Although the name of deity given in these systems is
different and unique in each case, the similar
qualities you’ve found present common factors. Strip
away the name, title, image, and description in human
terms, of each one and you will see that they are all
similar enough to lend credence to the idea that all
of them are the same deity.
A single divine source, described in human terms in
more ways than can be recalled in history. That is
the first step in fathoming who or what is god.
Some of the common factors among religious systems in
presenting their divine would include, but not be
limited to, the following. Omnipresent, omnipotent,
all seeing, all knowing, merciful yet firm, grants
favor and issues punishment, oversees birth and death,
rules the afterlife, and is the one true divine
source.
This small list of characteristics applies to nearly
every single deity promoted, pursued, and worshipped
in monotheistic systems around the world, both
historically and currently.
So, given these common characteristics around the
globe, we can begin to decipher, to some small degree,
an understanding of that single divine source,
commonly held as the one true god by people
everywhere, but recognized by different names.
Take these commonalities and build your own image,
give it your own title or name, and make it personal
to you. This then, is the answer to the ageless
question of WHO OR WHAT IS GOD?
Copyright by Rev. “Stone” Mason, all rights reserved
I hope this makes people think, a bit. I might expand upon it and suggest that within polytheistic faiths you will often find forces within the world that are discussed but otherwise largely ignored, and relegated to background or origin studies. These forces, often without the more comfortable human-like personalities that leave the gods of the particular pantheon more memorably and more worshiped, will often coincide somewhat with the deities of monotheistic religions. At least once all of the trappings and traditions of men are stripped away.
Excellent! I especially love when mentioning that we often times turn to an organized system to tell us the answers of who or what God is, but it is by their own terms in the end. We so often look outside and around searching and seeking desperately grabbing onto something to climb up on in our faith...blind faith. We can not forget that seeking answers means we must look with OUR OWN eyes in a sense. We can't forget that we should look out and seek from the inside out and if we were to trust ourselves...we just might find that answers we seek can only make sense to us. well said!
