http://www.sexandthesoul.com/OnGod/

COMMENTARIES ON GOD

Does God REALLY exist? Is there life after life? Gain new perspectives on the Universe and the meaning and existence of God, life and existence itself. THE GOD COMMENTARIES ARE FREE to all visitors!

THE NATURE OF GOD

Information presented here is free to the public. The "Introductory Information" is always present and doesn't change. The rest is altered or changed on a regular basis. Past information you may have missed is available, through your email, upon request. Merely identify the date of the information, and it will be forwarded to you. We have copies of all information, but information presented online more than 60 days before the request may not be forwarded to you.

Introductory Information

Mankind has probably wondered about deities and Gods since the beginning of human history. As a result, religions have evolved purporting to teach and to provide information about God. Many religions revolved around many gods. These religions, referred to as "polytheistic" religions, worshipped the various gods. "Monotheistic" religions eventually arose that only worshipped a single god. Yet, even in these religions, there was sometimes a debate as to whether the "One God" of one religion was more powerful than the "One God" of another! Implicitly hidden somewhere in this assertion is the idea that those involved in the discussion about God don't quite understand God, the Nature of God or what they are talking about.

A friend once told me, "I don't believe in God, but I'm scared to death of the devil". She added, "I realize that is a contradiction because either both exist or neither exist". At the time, I agreed with her, but within a year or so, I began to realize that she might have been wrong. It is quite possible that God exists but the devil does not! Since she didn't believe in God, she was, quite obviously, an atheist. I'm quite sure that she is not the only atheist who "Doesn't believe in God, but is scared to death of the devil!" Yet, she may be a rare person in that she realized and admitted how much of a contradiction her belief was, or is!

For the most part, atheists and agnostics are atheist or agnostic because the idea of God, as religions, philosophy and people in general typically present the idea is incredulous and far fetched. As a general rule, religions and the religious present God as some all-powerful, Superhuman Being with likes, dislikes, wants and desires who has the ability to do anything and who fails at nothing! Thus, atheists and agnostics are quite probably correct not to believe in the existence of such a person! But, does that in and of itself, mean that God doesn't exist! Perhaps God exists, but the general view of God is wrong and totally off base! There can be little doubt that our varying views of God are far off base. Some Christians believe, even insist that Jesus was and is God. Others disagree, but still view God to be some Superhuman Being. And, the generally accepted view in Christianity is that Jesus is "The only begotten Son of God". This, no doubt, is merely another erroneous misconception that arises from our general poor understanding as to God and the Nature of God. And, while Christians and Muslims believe in "One God", they sometimes bicker as to whether the God of Islam or the God of Christianity is the true God. Buddhists can chose whether or not to believe in God because Buddha himself did not speak nor teach of God. There is no indication that he was an atheist, but then again, there is no indication that he was not! Yet, other than his tendency to bypass the concept of God, his teachings are very similar, indeed, often identical to those Christ was to present 500 years later!

I have gone many, many years giving thought to the concept and idea of God. During those years, I have come to believe and accept that in general, religions have little information that can provide insight as to the nature and existence of God. In fact, it seems that the one place that can give insight as to the nature and existence of God is the one place where the idea of God is taboo! That is in science, particularly in physics, astronomy and cosmology! Thus, many times God is discussed on the site, the discussion will be accompanied by pictures of the Universe, courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Hubble Space Telescope! You can access many of the pictures yourself at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ and http://heritage.stsci.edu/gallery/galindex.html. JPL changes these images regularly.

Consistency in the use of terms is extremely important on this web site. As the books on the soul point out, Sigmund Freud and most psychologists and psychiatrists since him have never been consistent as regards the terms they use in psychology. For the most part, the reason for the inconsistencies are that psychologists using the terms don't fully understand, or agree on, the meaning of the terms they use. When used on this site, the term "God" (Capital 'G', or "GOD", all caps) refers to the Laws and Forces of Nature and everything that responds to those laws and forces, not to a Superhuman Being or a being of any kind! This definition is consistent with every religious implication about God EXCEPT God as a Superhuman Being! Furthermore, this definition makes sense! It does not stretch the imagination, and there is no question as to whether or not "the laws and forces of Nature" exist. Nor is there any doubt that these laws and forces are omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (exist everywhere) and omniscient (all knowing), three qualities thought to be characteristics of God. These characteristics do not, and cannot exist in any individual, no matter how great that individual may be. I accept the existence of Superhuman Beings, but I also accept that such beings are not "God". Rather, they are subject to God just like everyone else. They differ from other human beings in that "Superhuman Beings" have a greater knowledge of, and a greater connection to God. As such, their ability to use the forces and laws of Nature surpass that of the normal individual.

The Bible makes a distinction between, "God" (or "GOD") and "god". The term "god" appears to refer to the soul, in particular, to the human soul, whereas the terms "God" and "GOD" refer to the Laws and Forces of Nature, and everything (collectively, not individually) that responds to them. That means that you, me and everyone else are "gods", as the Bible indicates with the passage, "Ye are gods" (Genesis 3:22; John 10:35). Whether or not you accept these definitions as being correct, these are what the terms "God" and "god" refer to wherever you encounter them on the web site and in all books generated by the Institute.

Installment: The Great Expanse of the Universe

In general, adherents of a given religion follow the main holy book of their religion in order to understand about God and life. However, when it comes to observing the signs of Nature around them, they may learn a lot, but they generally fail to apply what they learn from Nature to their understanding of God or of life! Ironically, if God exists, and IT does, anything and everything we encounter in Nature is both a part of God and under the influence of God! Perhaps we can gain a better understanding about God, life and existence by having a better understanding of the world around us than we can gain by simply memorizing passages from any holy book! Why? Well, let's take a closer look!

If God is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent, no part of the cosmos could ever fail to be under the influence of God. Yet, if we limit ourselves to an understanding of the material in the holy books, we have also limited ourselves to events on earth! If one takes a close look at the world around them, at least three similar levels of the cosmos can be recognized. The level of the universe, the level of the living cell and the level of the atom! All have similar attributes. There is a central unit with smaller parts revolving around the center. They are guided and controlled by both internal and external forces, and all are subject to the same laws of Nature even though the may react to or express these forces and laws differently! This latter point, that is, the common guidance and control of all three levels of the cosmos, is the reason for viewing that one guiding factor to be "God". And, although we may wonder if a "Superhuman Being" acting as God actually exists, there can be no doubt that a single, Universal Force, perhaps a collective force, is responsible for everything we encounter and do!

Where is the key to understanding the "Central Force of Existence"? It is not buried in some holy book. Rather, it is expressed in the atmosphere that surrounds us, in the cells that compose us, in the atoms that combine to form those cells! The key to understanding God is not buried in some holy book but hidden in the events and things standing all around us, including the Great Expanse of the Universe! If you fail to recognize this, perhaps it's insightful to know that the "Great Man" of the Kabalah, a Jewish book of wisdom related to the writings of the Bible, is not a Super Human Being, but rather a composite of the entire world that surrounds us. This, "Composite Man", or "Great Man", is the "Mystical" equivalent of the Hebrew God, the Superhuman Being we generally refer to as "God". As such, God was never intended to be viewed as a "Superhuman Being". Rather, the personification of God was meant to imply a composite of all the natural forces around us. Yet, we have failed to recognize the symbol as a symbol, and we have chosen to take the symbol quite literally by creating a "Superhuman Being" who doesn't exist and viewing that Being as God! However, the "Great Man" was always meant to represent all the forces of Nature, and the laws that control those forces. Thus, the key to understanding God is not buried in some holy book, but rather laden in the cosmos, including all the world around us!

In our perceptions of God, we commonly make the mistake of personifying God rather than deifying man, that is, we make God like man rather than making man like God. Perhaps, we need to understand that, as part of God, mankind has the rights and potential to use any of God's power because much of that power is within his grasp! Make no mistake, since God is infinite and eternal, nobody can use all of God's power. No matter how much you take from an infinite source, there remains an unlimited amount left to take. Yet, even the infinitesimal power within the grasp of each person is so vast and significant that it is virtually limitless! And, just as the Kabalistic concept of "The Great Man" is merely a representation of God, the physical existence of each individual man-a physical body controlled by an unseen but real soul-is merely a representation of the ultimate, spiritual reality and existence of the individual soul. Perhaps it's time that each of us realize the God within us by accepting that each of us is god because each of us is a part of God! That is, individual gods within the One true God, gods within the Great Man. Perhaps that was the idea Christ attempted to express when he said, "I and the Father are one".

Many times, I have attempted to convey the idea to Christians that Christ's death has no meaning unless those who "follow" Christ realize that he was just an ordinary man. So often, Christians try to put Christ on a pedestal far above other men, a pedestal he did not desire. While he certainly deserves to be honored for the intimate knowledge he learned about God, Christians need to understand that placing him above other men only renders the rest of mankind's situation to be hopeless. If Christ was so great that only he could achieve what he achieved, that would mean that nobody else could achieve what Christians have come to call "Salvation". But, if Christ was a normal man and still managed to achieve "Salvation", that would mean that any normal man could do likewise. Thus, our salvation does not lie in Christ's death on the cross, and his sudden resurrection, but rather in his life and the fact that it was the normal life of a normal man! Furthermore, we need to have a better idea as to what the term "Salvation" means! If it means that people must accept the teachings of Christ, then much of the world is lost because even many Christians don't accept those teachings (because they don't understand them). And, many Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and others unknowingly accept them even though the may never have heard of Christ! What kind of God would preface man's immortality-the immortality of all mankind scattered throughout the Universe-on the chance acceptance of some obscure individual on some insignificant planet like earth? A loving, good and kind God would certainly have more compassion than that! Beings on planets around the star Alpha Centuri must have equally as good a chance of "Salvation" as even the lowliest human on earth. And, those humans on earth need not accidentally stumble on the "One right religion" for "Salvation". In fact, what does the term "Salvation" mean? If it means, "The quality of having immortal life", then each of us has already been saved because each soul is immortal. The soul of each plant and animal, no matter how low, is already saved! Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu-whatever a person's religion, or lack thereof-we are all saved. We are all loved by the One God, the Universal forces that constantly love, care for and guide each and everything thing-living and nonliving, animate and inanimate-that exists everywhere and everywhen throughout all creation!

No doubt, these concepts are strange and new to most people. The religious, no matter what their religion, may dismiss them because it doesn't fit within their chosen religious doctrine. Yet, the ideas just discussed embrace any and all religions as well as any and all adherents to any religion plus atheists and agnostics! I want these ideas open to the world so that anyone who chooses can ingest and digest them, and hopefully pass them on! Even if you don't agree with them, anyone who is open-minded will find them thought provoking and interesting. Perhaps these ideas will be too complex for many people, but those who understand them may someday find simple ways to express them to those who find them difficult. God truly loves us all. No matter what God you have chosen in the past, or choose today, the God described here really is the one true God. Perhaps God has been found at last! It exists everywhere and everywhen throughout the great expanse of the Universe! Isn't that the way God is supposed to be?