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Monday, March 22, 2010

PanDeism Part One: On God and Revelation

ON GOD

God is the creator of the universe.  Everything we see has been created, albeit through the processes of cosmological, chemical and biological evolution, by God.  We can see that in the complexity of the universe.
But where is God now?  Most Religions teach of a God that sits in “heaven” casting judgment on his creation in either the form of eternal damnation or plagues, sickness and death on earth.  My philosophy teaches no such God.  I believe that God, at the exact moment of creation, became one with that which he created.  God, therefore, is all that we see and all that we see is God.  From the rocks on the ground to the next person you will see. You, yourself, are God.

This explanation of God makes more sense than the God of theism (A god who loves us, but refuses to lift a finger to help us), the God of Classical Deism (A creator God who ignores his creation completely), and the Pantheist God (a Divine being who has always been one with the universe and is therefore unnecessary since creation doesn’t need him/her/it). God is, as of right now, an unconscious part of the universe.
I get asked often: Why would God do that?  My answer is simple: For knowledge.  A God cannot be perfect in knowledge, unless he has been a part of everything imaginable.  A Religion who claims a transcendent God is all knowing is a religion of lies.  How can a God know the thoughts and emotions of a poor beggar on the street, unless he was that poor beggar?  How can God know what it’s like to be part of a small tribe driven from their homelands by a bigger aggressor without being a part of that tribe?  God has become one with the universe so he can know all that is possible to know.


ON REVELATION 

Unlike revealed religions (like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Etc) I do not believe that God has revealed himself through man specifically.  I do not believe God has dictated writings through mankind to teach us of him.  Our only message from God about his existence is the universe itself. This type of revelation is known as “general revelation”- The idea that a God has reveled Him/her/itself to us through the creation.
 A God who is personal enough to dictate a direct message to humanity would understand the failings of Humanity, one being power.  Those of us who are the only ones to know the secret to unlocking the written word of God (I.e. The pope, Mega church ministers, etc) are the ones who will hold the most influence and power over mankind.  Those with that power, as history has shown us, will be willing and able to change this so called “Word of God” to fit their own selfish agenda.  A God who is supposedly all knowing would understand this.  This is why special revelation fails as a true way to know the mind of God.
The mind of God is, of course, an important thing to try and understand.  As Albert Einstein once wrote, “I want to know the mind of God, the rest is just details”.  I do not believe that God has left us without a way to look into his mind. To study a work of art is to study the mind of an artist.  Little details hidden in artwork that most people take for granted can tell us much about an artist.  The same concept goes with the mind of God.  As we study God’s art (the universe) we find bits and pieces of information that reveal small amounts of God’s mind.  This is why I encourage people of all ages, classes, and religions to study the universe.  The more we can understand it, the more of God we know.

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