One of my weaknesses is I believe you interpret life the same way I do. I think you think like I think.

Extrapolate this concept to a much grander scale…to the scale of infinity, where we meet God. Somewhere in the grand, human process, we went there, came back and then continued with our day-to-day lives. As we went about our ordinary lives we developed religious and spiritual beliefs in a limited, human state of consciousness. One of these is our definition of God. Most western religions claim to be based on the Bible, which is a source that generates an image of a very human-like God. This result is not surprising with words like, “God created man in his own image.”

Throughout history, we have assigned a “personage” to God which has many human characteristics; we see God in human terms and give him a human likeness. We gave God ears (He listens to us); we gave Him a mouth and larynx (God talks to us); we gave Him feelings like dissatisfied, displeased, and unhappy if we do something outside His rules.

I think God is not a person…especially not in the way that’s been spawned in our minds.

In several books I’ve read recently, God lets us know that he is nothing like we think. In The Shack, he deliberately takes on the appearance of a woman, and then proceeds to call himself “Papa.” In Conversations With God, he very directly states, “I am not what you think.” And although it was not their intention, the authors of Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness gave us the preliminary framework we can use to begin to grasp a possible nature of God. All of these accounts show an image of God that is very unlike anything I have encountered.

For now, I don’t think I am capable of expanding my consciousness to the point of infinity, so I’ll take small steps. I first choose to walk away from my earlier belief that God is human-like. Next, I choose to believe that God is nothing like I imagine. Then I choose to allow God to take any shape He prefers. After all…He is God.

Then again, what do I know? I’m just an ordinary guy with a weakness, who thinks you think like I think.

Curiously,
David Wine

“Who is God” has been done before, but I want to take my turn.

The question and its cousin “Is there a God?” are actually small-minded questions. A slightly larger, and perhaps more meaningful question might be, “How is God” or maybe “Why is God?”

I wrote about Him when he showed up in two of my dreams in my short story A Forever Place. In the book I call Him “The Presence:”

I sense Someone slightly behind me and to the right—Something I know I will not “see” with my eyes, yet is vastly familiar and very different from the “God in a Box” I learned as a child.

Later in the dreams The Presence reveals that He is far beyond my intellectual grasp. He shows that He has a sense of humor, is insatiably curious and takes care to reveal knowledge at a pace I can keep up with (almost).

I spent some time researching “Who Is God” and found a wide assortment of opinions and sentiments ranging from non-emotional denial all the way to angry, pulpit-pounding of the “Fire & Brimstoners.” I found attempts to “prove” God exists using scientific analysis, as well as the not-so-compelling, emotional argument that God exists “because I know He does; I just know it!”

This question is usually discussed along a defined set of religious beliefs. When answering the question, religious enthusiasts quote biblical scripture and atheists use “logic” (supported or not). In my research, I found definitions for monotheism (belief in the existence of one deity or oneness of A God) and pantheism (the concept that the universe and God are equivalent). But at the end of my research I was still faced with the most important question: What do I believe?

My answer to that question is truly the one that matters most for me, just as your answer matters most to you.

I won’t be so arrogant as to tell you what you should believe. Also, I’m not going to be a fanatic on your computer monitor or try to coerce you to believe my way. However, I do challenge you to be willing to change your mind when new information comes along. Insist on adjusting your God-concept as you evolve and learn.

Returning to the original question: Who is God? I think this is a small-minded question so I propose a bigger one: God Is?

My conclusion: Yes, God Is.

How else would I describe God?

Inquisitively,

David Wine