Who or What is God?

Before any meaningful discussion can take place regarding the subject of religion and the requirements it imposes upon those who have faith, trust in its validity, and who seek to pattern their lives according to its principles and laws, there must first be established an agreement by all persons or parties involved as to the nature and identity of the Deity upon which their faith, trust, and pattern of life is predicated.

The question inevitably arises. “Do we all mean the same thing and is our conception of God the same for every person so involved?”

There was a time in the not too distant past when the controversial statement that “God is dead!” was both shocking, disconcerting, and thought provoking and yet, in the minds of those who heavily favoured this belief, religion had so disintegrated and was so clothed in the garment of imitation, distortion, ritual, myth and superstition that to accept its tenets was an offense to the intellect of any reasonable person and, hence, the hostile, antagonistic, and defiant assertion that any God Who permitted such moral and ethical incongruities to continue must either not exist or had long since died and was no longer in control of anything.

It is evident, therefore, that all parties to any discussion of religion must, of necessity, be in complete harmony and in full agreement as to exactly what is meant by use of the word “God”.

By “God” is meant That which created the entire universe both visible and invisible and all of the laws by which it operates and to which it is irresistibly subject. Humankind is included in this definition, however, humankind is the only species on earth that operates in both worlds simultaneously, that is to say, we progress and are subject to the laws of both the visible and invisible universe. We are both physical and spiritual at the same time. The body and soul are partners and co-habit but are distinct and separate entities. One is temporary and perishable whilst the other is immortal and capable of journeying throughout the infinite immensity of all the worlds of God.

It is self-evident that we did not create ourselves. As a matter of fact we cannot create anything. To create, by definition, means to be able to bring something into existence out of nothingness. This we cannot do. We simply discover that which is already there and then act creatively in applying it to our advantage. Only God can create. We discover what He created and then we creatively use it for our own purposes, however, at no time can we take credit for having created that which we discover. This then is what is meant by the term God regardless of the religion that expresses it and this is the foundation upon which any discussion of religion must necessarily rest.

God is an absolute – the only absolute. Everything other than God was created by Him, is less than Him, is limited and, hence, by comparison imperfect. God possesses each and every quality to an absolute degree, an accomplishment that we can neither grasp nor ever duplicate. Humankind possesses each and every quality of God but each to a limited degree. The limited and imperfect can never grasp or embrace the absolute but can, nevertheless, know that an absolute exists because of the evidence that abounds attesting to its existence. This is knowledge without understanding an example of which would be a large cannon in a valley lobbing shells over an intervening mountain that separates it from another valley on the opposite side. The people in the valley opposite the cannon certainly know that the cannon exists because of the indisputable evidence thereof but, nonetheless, cannot see the cannon or know its type, size, etc. We know that gravity exists but we cannot see it. We can see and feel its effect which is the proof of its existence but it is invisible to the naked eye or to any instrument so far devised. To deny its existence because we cannot see it is ludicrous.

The entire universe both visible and invisible or whether in the microcosm or macrocosm is evidence of the existence of God and it is an axiom of our intellect that we neither created any of it nor do we understand but an infinitesimal fraction of it. God exists everywhere in all things and at all times and nothing exists that does not express at least one attribute of God nor bear testimony within it to the creative action of God.

Because God is an absolute, the only absolute, He is perfect in every way without limitations or imperfections and is incapable of making mistakes. God does things right the first time every time and never has need to correct something that went wrong. God created the universe, hence, the universe is perfect and is unfolding as it should and God has no need to intervene in a creation that is already perfect. What we often perceive as God is nothing less than a self-regulating universe with built in safeguards designed to protect its design and to ensure that no actions or circumstances can deflect it from its pre-ordained destiny. Nothing whatsoever whether in nature or in humankind can frustrate the will of God. What God has purposed shall come to be and no power whether in the heavens or on earth can resist or alter His purpose.

God possesses all qualities to an absolute degree and, therefore, cannot express Himself in a limited way. When we call God the Creator it is implicit in this title that He creates infinitely and, by His own nature, cannot ever stop creating. He is infinite and so is His creation. As long as God exists so too will His creation and so too will He continue to create and inasmuch as He is infinite and indestructible so too is His creation the duration of which will never end. The form may change or terminate but the process will continue forever.

Perhaps one of the most important factors to be considered when discussing religion is always to remember that we did not create God but, rather, that He created us and He created us in His image and likeness. Too often religion becomes distorted and an affront to the heart and mind when humankind creates God in a human image with all its imperfections, limitations, and shortcomings. God can only be measured against Himself and can never be compared to anything except Himself and, since God is unknowable, incomprehensible, infinite and perfect, none of which attributes can be applied to humankind, then it irresistibly follows that when God is presented to us with even the least trace of human characteristics and is attired in the robe of human anger, violence, or vengeful malevolence, we must reject such an image or portrait as the feeble flailings of a misguided and misinformed mind. If God is All-Loving then it is impossible for Him to be hateful. If He is All-Forgiving then it is impossible for Him to be vengeful and cruel. These are qualities that are more readily perceived in humankind and in a physical universe but are anathema to any legitimate concept of God. Hate, cruelty, vengeance, violence, and an unforgiving heart are distinctly human qualities and have no legitimate place in any religion and are simply the fabrications of a deluded mind that seeks to drag God down to a wretched human level and thereby attempt to give sanction to unholy and irreligious practices.

To sum up this topic on what is meant by the term “God” is to exhort the participants in any religious discussion to be vigilant and diligent in remembering, and to bring that memory to bear on any issue under discussion, that God is All-Loving, All-Merciful, All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful and when all of these attributes cannot be applied to the image presented by any alleged spokesperson or messenger of God then we must seriously question the validity of their authority or capability to represent God in particular or religion in general.