Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The Triple O

“[Human-beings] rarely…manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.” – Robert Heinlein

“For in God we live and move and have our being…” – Acts 17.28

God is not an American.
God is not white.
God is not male (regardless of how many people refer to God as “Father”).
God is not Christian.
God is not human.
God is, at least, not only these things.

The Energy of life certainly expresses as Americans, and as Europeans, Canadians, Africans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. The Substance of existence manifests as people of all races (and as animals, plants, minerals, gases, etc). The All-in-all is obviously present in men and in women. Ultimate Reality, the Mystery of life is truly omnipresent which means It exists in and as all that is, seen and unseen. How did we ever convince ourselves that God preferred our group over all others? How did we ever delude ourselves into believing that our religion, our book, our prejudices, our values, our preferences were shared, initiated, condoned and commanded by God??!! How did we become so arrogant (or is it naïve) as to assume that we somehow held the patent on God?

God is the name we use for what can’t be named; it isn’t limited to any one clan, tribe, country, sexual orientation, gender, or religion. God is what is…Eternal Isness expressing in, through and as everything. God is Every Thing and No Thing. God is all that is and is more than the sum of Its parts. God is within all life and all life is within God. Creative Intelligence, Perfect Love, Wisdom, Web of Existence, and Infinite Potentiality…these point toward what is ultimately Real. Quantum physics, process philosophy, transpersonal psychology, metaphysics, religion, poetry…these are just a few of the disciplines that have explored this Reality that is known by many names while being limited by none of them. We can continue to call It “God,” and we can enjoy our journey deeper and deeper into this divine Mystery, but let us never assume that it is ours alone or that it has privileged us over our neighbors (or even our enemies). Whatever else God is, God must surely be all-inclusive.

As a child, I was taught something that I now believe to be true: God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. Omnipresent means that “there is no spot where God is not.” God isn’t limited to any one religion or culture. Omniscient means that God is all-knowing, all Intelligence (not just what is known or believed by one group). And Omnipotent means that God is all power and is therefore in no way limited by the prejudices, beliefs, superstitions, or rituals of a certain group. God is big enough to include all life, to express in and as all life, and to love all life. Let’s finally have a God bigger than ourselves and our preconceived ideas…Let’s allow God to be omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. We’ve always said it; let’s finally believe it.

(c) Durrell Watkins, 2007

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