In response to further questions on part 1 asked on the Study Circle forum.

————————

I guess I mustn’t have explained it as well as I had hoped.

I do not believe GOD (the Universe/Creator) is interventionist.

Man is interventionist, and he creates a concept of God (Man’s God) for himself to explain the unknown and to attribute blame and thanks for what he does not understand.

I believe each of these Gods (Man’s Gods) are reflections only of mans concept of GOD (the Universe/Creator) which he uses as a focus for his energies.

God and GOD may have some similarities, but they are as alike as a fish and the sun. It is better for the man to look at the fish, because he has little hope of influencing the sun.

Peter

————————

In my personal belief, God is a facet of GOD. GOD is the universe (matter, energy, thought patterns etc) but somehow more than the universe, incorporating not just every quark but the dimension of time itself.

I’m not in any way saying this is the correct view, but it is my view.

Contact with the divine is still possible, simply because I am part of it, GOD is not only the universe, but is within me also. In recognising this I also see what influences my life, the people, the objects, the circumstances, and recognise many of them as divine in their own way. I see what made these things form and act in a way that has an impact on my personal existence, much of the time I see how I can interact with them to vary their impact. When I refer to the ‘tapestry’ or the ‘thread’ or ‘weave’ of things, this is what I mean. By seeing many of these threads and understanding them, not in a scientific way, but in a spiritual way, I have many mystical experiences whereby I can influence my universe, my tiny part in the scheme of things. There are of course lesser experiences, seeing dew form on a leaf, and understanding its purpose; watching a spider weave it’s web, and seeing both the simplicity and the complexity, and then the complexity that makes this necessary; but these only barely compare to seeing the weave of the great tapestry and understanding how to manipulate one thread to the benefit of all concerned.

My concept of GOD is complex, even I do not try to understand it fully. GOD is the nucleus of a molecule and the electrons around it, but also the space between, and the space between atoms, all of them to the furthest reaches of time and space, and the energy which binds them together, but pushes them apart at the same time. It is inclusive of science, faith, physics and magic, of everything, every thought and every time. GOD is the canvas and the tapestry, the weave and the spaces between. Prayer is just one way to influence the threads of the tapestry, and mans concept of God/s is a way to focus that energy.

GOD just IS, we are part of GOD therefore we influence GOD through our own actions. We are GOD’s greatest tool to influence the lives of human kind.

Keep in mind, my concept of GOD can only really be my version of God, which complicates things more I know, but who am I to dictate the nature of GOD?

One thing that I like on the level of human interaction is the way that this concept accepts all religions and faiths as valid, each God is mans understanding and representation of GOD, and therefore equally valid. It accepts mans past Gods, and our future ones. It accepts science, magic, mysticism and blind faith as all being of value in the scheme of things (the tapestry). It accepts that life is good, and that sometimes life is absolute crap, and enables us to make adjustments along the way.

We all adjust our own tapestry, sometimes it’s saying “I love you”, sometimes it’s scuttling a boat. Some parts of the tapestry are neat and ordered, others, (Haiti, South Africa, the world economy) are messy and need a lot of work.

Peter