Let's Talk More About God

God is central to any discussion of spirituality and religion.  Let's talk about how Science of Mind views God and His/Her relationship to humanity.   A belief in a higher power, call it God, Allah, the Great Soul, Rama, Yahweh, the Universe, Spirit or whatever you wish it is a universal idea.  It all amounts to a great Mind, a great Soul that is the cause of all that exists, the thinker before the first human drew breath, the architect of the Universe.  Every human society ever studied has a belief in a power greater than themselves.  We are no exception.

Many of us raised in the Judeo- Christian tradition have been taught "the Parent God".  The Parent not only gives you life, he remains involved in your life forever and ever, much as a human parent does.  All of us who have children know that even after our children grow up we still worry, sometimes give advice and even meddle a bit.  So it is with the great "Parent in the Sky".  This concept of God not only cares, meddles and has a plan for our lives ( much like many parents we know) but He punishes and rewards, just like any earthly parent.  The problem with a parent God is that He has never existed and never will.

This is a 4th Century view of God and is totally out of sync with the reality of the 21st Century.  In the 4th Century CE when the basic ideas of Christianity were codified and the Bible, more or less as we know it, was compiled from thousands of Christian writings or Gospels; mankind understood that the stars were the windows of Heaven used by the angels to keep watch over humanity.  Below raged the furnace of Hell where transgressors of God's Law were sent for all eternity.  The Sun revolved around the Earth, therefore could be stopped by God when it suited His convenience.  Oh, and everyone knew the Earth was flat!

We have come a long way since the 4th Century.  We know that above us are clouds and air and if we go high enough, the vastness of Space.  We know that under our feet is a round earth spinning at 186,000 miles per hour and under our feet the mantel of the earth and a molten core of magma.   We are 100% certain that the Earth revolves around the Sun and therefore the Sun can never stop in the sky no matter what God may wish it to do.

Does this mean we must agree with atheists such as Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens that there is no God; that all this was the result of a Cosmic Dice Roll, a unique bit of random chance and that there really is no sense, no intelligence or order in the Universe?  Did the symmetry and beauty of DNA just fall together like so many random spare parts?  Must we give up God because our science has progressed beyond 4th Century legends?   No we do not have to banish God, we may have science, intellect and God too!!

What is in error is not God but in our concept of Him or Her.  We need a 21st Century concept of a Creator God who creates all that exists but is not our parent.  Our parents are our parents.  God is our Creator.  A creator, such as an author or artist cares deeply for its creations, indeed spends years of their lives creating their masterpieces.  But once the creation is finished, they release it into posterity and let it go.  An author cares not who buys their book, as long as it is bought.  A painter cares not for where their work is hung as long as it is enjoyed.  God loves us unconditionally but does not interfere in our lives or punish and reward.  God has done His work in giving us life and a lovely planet with all we need to sustain us that allows us to live and grow.  God has given us all the gifts necessary for us to live the happy, fulfilled and abundant life that is our birthright.

So why don't we live that way; in abundance, health, joy and peace?   Because we do not understand how the Universe works and what our role is.  You see we have been given free will, intelligence, and imagination which are the 3 Keys to the Kingdom of God.  What we do with them is OUR business, we are the captains of our fate and the masters of our soul.   God has given us the land, made all the materials, delivered them to the job site and now it is our job to draw up the plans, build the house and take occupancy.  Instead we say, "if God means for it to happen, it will appear".  Nonsense!   God really cares nothing for where you live, what home you choose, or what car you drive.  Those choices are in your realm.  You have been empowered to create your life just as God creates you and the Cosmos.  You are not a robot or automaton, you are a living expression of the Most High God.  You are made of the very stuff of God; no sheep or weak worms of the dust here!

The day we believe in abundance, health and happiness, the world will experience it.  The day we accept responsibility for our lives as our creations, we are free!

Why are you here if God cares not how you live or what you do with your life?  Doesn't God love you?  Oh, my yes!   God loves you unconditionally which is why He empowers you to live the life your heart and soul impels you to live.  Unlike some earthly parents, God does not give you choices then punish you for exercising them.  God never punishes or rewards.  But God has established Divine Law, both Spiritual and Physical, to run and govern the Universe; which is really the body of God.

A Law is predictable, always works, and can be depended upon.  Gravity is a Physical Law of God and it always works, no matter what.  Electricity is another.  With a positive and negative pole and an energy source, you will always be able to generate electricity, not sometimes but every time.  So it is with God's Spiritual Laws, such as the Mother Law of the Universe - Cause and Effect or as we in Science of Mind often call it "The Law of Mind Action".   What you put into Cause shall surely return to you pressed down and overflowing as effect.  Since you create your life experience with your thoughts, empowered by your words and choices, watch your thinking, speaking and what you choose.  As mother undoubtedly told you: "you make your bed, you must then lie in it".  So true, your thoughts and words impregnate your reality each and every day.

This is why God neither punishes or rewards because the Law is what governs the Universe, not the emotions of God - He has none.  God is impartial and impersonal in the sense that He does not judge.  Neither should we!   What is inside of you is reflected as your reality.  It is that simple and no one is immune from this basic law of life.

More next time when we discuss the operation of The Law.

May God be in consciously be at your Center each moment of the day!

Rev. Dore' Jacques Patlian