quotation from:
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 14:11:46 -0800
From: Marie Foster <mfos@ieway.com>
Subject: Re: virus: God
> One of the major questions it raises is how would mankind
> be affected if there was no possibility of doubt about the
> existance of god. If you did have that cup of god to put
> under a microscope and in your study you did find out that
> the stuff you had was proof positive... How would this
> knowledge change us as a species?
This is a interesting question, no doubt... but as I've
been saying to my dad, I don't think any situation
exists in which there is *NO* doubt -- humans are simply
not capable of achieving that level of knowledge -- indeed,
that level of knowledge may be unattainable by ANY being,
God included.
Certainties are a world of make believe -- an abstract
place where the "is" of identity takes over and clouds
our collective minds with superstitious junk...
But not to evade the question entirely, I do have a
response -- if we eventually find evidence of a god,
evidence of a nature which makes god's existence
fairly certain (say as certain as gravity, for example)
I think we'll be in for a shock -- because if anything
is certain, I think that we can be very certain God
will be nothing like we imagined. It's clear to me
that God is not personal -- there is no "person" of
God (let alone three!), and God does not have freewill
as we think of it.
No wait -- I'm not making any sense.
How would it change us? Again, it depends on what
God turns out to be. If God really is the tyrant
of the Bible, we're all in deep shit -- I fear this
more than anything else. Any being who requires us
to worship him is, in my opinion, unworthy of worship.
I think that any God we do discover will be quite
different from our ideas about God -- I keep
remembering the Prime Directive of Star Trek --
what if God is simply obeying the Prime Directive
and keeping us in the dark for our own good?
What if, someday soon, OUR "first contact" is
undertaken, and we have the choice to become members
of the "federation" of God's people? Will we choose
to do so? These are all issues that we humans
should think about -- not just in abstract terms,
either -- for I'm sure that someday, we will
face, if not God, then at least other intelligent
species of our caliber.
Back to the question, though -- how would evidence
of God change us? You know what -- I don't think
it would. This is kind of a depressing view,
but I think that any mere "cup" full of God couldn't
change the world, or it's people.
"If God lived on earth, people would break
his windows." -- Jewish proverb
Sure, it might change the individuals involved
in the discovery, but do you really think that
humanity would be different after it's all said
and done?
No -- God's mere existence is not enough to change
things. God himself must IMPLEMENT the changes.
I just finished reading a book entitled "An Historian's
Review of the Gospels" by Michael Grant -- where
a professional historian, skilled in the analysis
of historical documents, takes a look at the gospels
and the other evidence for Jesus, in an attempt
to find "the real Jesus".
Very enlightening read.
His main thesis was that Jesus was convinced that
HE HIMSELF was ushering in the Kingdom of God -- that
it was happening in his very lifetime, by his very
actions, and that everything else in life was
irrelevant compared to this revelation. Towards
the end of the Gospels, even Jesus sees that his
mission has failed -- the Jews have not listened,
his words have fallen on ears which did not hear.
But rather than give up his kingdom, Jesus gives
up his life FOR the kingdom -- rather than face
defeat for his entire life, Jesus takes solstice in
the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. His haunting
question "who do the people say I am?" takes on
an all new meaning now -- for it is Jesus asking
if people understand his mission, his preaching
about the coming of the kingdom of God. Anyway,
the point is this: Jesus was trying to make people
aware of the coming of the kingdom of God, (and
hence of God as well) -- and PEOPLE DID NOT LISTEN!
The main thing I drew out of the book -- and I
do recommend it to others -- is that we really
do have to prepare ourselves for the future,
for the coming kingdom of humanity -- the global
village, as it were. We can't be afraid to look
deep into our selves, and see what needs to be
changed (repent, as Jesus said), to really decide
what we want to become. I think that we are all
our own little Jesus -- each person is helping
to bring about their own kingdom of God.
It's my opinion that Christianity went wrong right
after Jesus died, in thinking that Jesus "saved"
us from our sins. This is not right -- in fact,
it stands on its head what Jesus said -- he maintained
that that we each must prepare ourselves for the
coming kingdom, we each must act to help bring it
on.
What was the topic again? Oh yea -- God among us.
Again, I see similarities everywhere -- Joan Osborne
said:
"would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would
have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and
the saints and all the prophets"???
What if God was one of us?
I haven't answered the question.
ERiC