On God

Someone recently expressed to me his understanding of God as “a metaphor for human relationships.”

An identifiable definition for many living in a world that seems to suffer from loss of faith and an understandable separation from the rather dogmatic nature of The Church.

If God is only a metaphor for human relationships, God IS human relationships.  Simply redefined, God is reduced to a human thought or energy and no longer exists outside of our own fragile physicality. God does not exist without the mind or emotion of the human.  God is no longer a creator being, a dispenser of justice or puppeteer.

To this, one must ask, “What is the true nature and purpose of God?”

Was God created for humans?  Were humans created for God?  Or is there some truth rather somewhere in the middle?

We have sought the answers to these very questions for generations, struggling to find a place where everything fits into a neat scientific and spiritual package.  Many say these questions are not meant to be answered at all.  Regardless, we ask.

Religion tends to paint us a picture of God as the creator, judge, punisher and redeemer of man.  We are not told why we were created, simply that when the day comes, we will be judged and punished or forgiven for our sins against Him and others.  We are weak, and only by following the laws of The Church and accepting Jesus, will we gain access to Heaven and redemption.

We are often taught that God can begin and end a life at will, and we are not to question these decisions.  We are told stories in which God and Satan play with human lives (not unlike the Greek gods) and that if we are worthy of blessings, we may be blessed.

Basically, we have little choice or control over our lives as painted this way.  We are puppets on a mysterious string, which sometimes rains gold, sometimes manna and sometimes dirt upon us at its whim.

The New Age Movement provides even less clarity although with some vague similarities, describing God as energy, an emotion or sensation, or separately, as a being outside of ourselves who dispenses great favors to the deserving and ignores others seemingly at random.

According to many of these teachings, we are free from accountability, because God makes all decisions pertaining to our lives and they must be good and valid because God would not allow evil to exist or to interfere.  Some even go so far as to say there is no evil, no negativity that exists in the world at all.

Finally, we must take a look at human history.  Who complied the texts widely utilized and revered by The Church?  Better question still, for what reason?  As with all history, the things we are taught are documented by the ruling victorious.  Competing texts were frequently destroyed along with their scribes and authors.  Propaganda was then published to convince the subservient masses, proclaiming that the old teachings were somehow evil, dissenters were “handled” and a new doctrine was soon widely accepted.

There were many philosophical traditions, however, that kept the old teachings alive underground.  The Mystical Kabbalists, Knights Templars, Jesuits and Mystery Schools masked their teachings through games, stories and puzzles, slowly unveiling the deepest ancient teachings to only the most trusted students over time.  Thus, protecting the lineage, teachings and teachers from persecution or further corruption by the “state.”

Unfortunately, this also meant that the masses did not receive the benefit of these secrets.  Philosophy fractured into religious sects, which fractured even further within themselves and only pieces of the ancient spiritual wisdom remained available for the spiritual seeker.

In this time of great spiritual awakening and awareness, the ancient teachings have once again been introduced to the masses.  Many are ready to embrace these once secret teachings, feeling a deep resonance with them in the very core of the self.

Others will be more cautious, slowly unraveling centuries of programming and exploring small pieces of the secret teachings in quiet safety.

Through all of this, the question of the existence and nature of God is still at the forefront of our spiritual investigation and awakening.  And why shouldn’t it be?  Understanding the nature of God is to understand the nature of humans, our lineage, our purpose and our journey!  Certainly it is more than fire and brimstone or bunnies and butterflies alone . . .

Consider some of the sacred teachings as protected by the guardians of spiritual wisdom.

• God and humans co-created this physical experience
• God is an entity who exists outside of the human mind, emotions or body
• God exists within every cell of our bodies
• God is in all things that exist in this physical realm
• God does not interfere with our life-choices
• God expects us to be accountable for our actions, not to punish us, but so that we will experience, learn, grow and evolve
• God provides us with the opportunity to choose Light or Darkness with every breath we take, always holding the Light for us to return home
• God communicates to us through Angels, Masters, Nature and our own connected Spirits
• God is a male and God is a female working in harmony for creation
• God is our lineage

A far cry from a metaphor, these teachings describe God is an ever-present and watchful being also interwoven throughout the very fabric of our own beings.

If we can see the presence of God in all we encounter, in every interaction each day, we will be drawn to the Light and to the power of the ancient teachings.

If we recognize God as a creator being and ourselves as students participating in this incredible creation, we will embrace our personal accountability and seek to connect to that which is outside ourselves and our own limited perspective and understanding.

For God is vast.  And as long as we wear our fragile physical form, our only true connection to the vastness of our own spirits is through our connection to God.