Confusing God with the dad you got

bad_dad

 

It’s amazing the gut level response of people with problems against God, and those who believe in him, who fail to see how much their over-reaction gives them away.

God isn’t a man in the sky. He isn’t a “he”. “He” doesn’t pee on people, he doesn’t zap people, stand around glaring, or torching people. He doesn’t sleep through disasters, get kicks from evil acts, or remain aloof when humans encounter poverty, disease, or suffering. It’s a bit more complex.

This view is quite common, but also quite infantile as view of the spiritual of reality. However, we all begin somewhere. Essentially, the problem of understanding something–like the spiritual nature of existence, and a supreme Creator,–which is beyond the scope of eyesight, earshot, etc. and our full comprehension, involves first letting go of the physical assumptions we cling to. We continually thrust these suppositions on how the world MUST be and work, from our  human-ego standpoint.

No, one cannot “prove God” with weights and measures. One can’t prove ideals either, but hardly anyone is ridiculous enough to toss those away. Is anyone going to toss out ultimate Justice? What about Truth? Or Beauty? Or Goodness? Or Hope? Are they just fiction? Well, we can’t really prove them. If we take them away, a black hole is created, right in the middle of us, and what we hold dear. It’s nihilism. It assures its adherents that there is no point to existing, and many of its true loyalists end up killing themselves. Its not exactly a philosophy for bettering the world, and making it a happier and more beneficial place.

But just look around. One can’t waste the gift of life like that. Yes, it’s short, and pain and turmoil are found in many spots, but there is beauty and joy to be found as well. There is goodness, and one can do good. There is redemption, and hope. There are people to love and help. And, in the end, God, in a sense, “looks” like the dad everyone wished they had, as we carry out love in Spirit. But, yet “he’s” Other and not really like a human after all.

Reader response invitation…

Did you have a good dad, a good enough dad, or a crap-tastic one?


How to: Change Dead Ends

no way out?
no way out?
Does your life feel like this image sometimes? Maybe now? Here is a road that is signaling both a Dead End, but also a No-U-Turn sign too. It’s a tough spot to be in, and we’ve all been there. That sinking feeling washes over us, and we start to think, “It might not get better.”

Maybe you’ve thought, “Is this all there is?” What do we do to resolve feelings or circumstances that seem just like the situation illustrated above?

Reframing. Reframing is pulling one’s self out of a situation, mentally, long enough to find a new perspective that changes how one will cope and adjust to the circumstance at hand. When it seems dire, one can always find a new way to see it. It’s a decision of the mind, not the feelings. Later, we find that our feelings will follow.

It’s like the story of the two children who were sent to clean rooms entirely filled with awful manure. One saw the mess, and all at once sank into despair, the other got to work happily, why? She said, “With all this poop, there has to be a pony around here somewhere!”

But what about a Dead End, No-U-Turn situation? Can something like reframing really help, when it seems that desperate? What then? Then, you tear down the signs. You challenge the very premise. Should the signs really be there? Who put up the signs? Was it you? Your parents? Someone else? Society? Was that proper, and should they come down? Who says it’s a true Dead End? Who says No-U-Turns?

Look for new options, unseen possibilities, and new ways to find hope, renewal, and paths to a better place. Treasure hunt for them. It may take time, help from others, concentration/prayer, sweat, and tears, but that’s how a person makes a game-changing move. That’s how you change the road on which you travel, and the scenery you are seeing.

How have you changed your scenery?
What would you like to change right now?

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God as "Other" (read: non human)

Lately I’ve been surprised to more deeply understand just how much everybody projects their humanness onto God. But God, though possessing certain human traits, is fully “Other”. “He” is not human. Many of the problems we take up with God, I think have to do with the humanness we have applied to him.

I personally have applied that “he” is a policeman God, manipulative, and bossy-wanting to be powerful. It seems the opposite is true. Those are very human traits I have experienced (been victim of) and applied to God.

What about you?

(experience/belief) posing a question…

While reading recently, I came up with an interesting thought. I was going to try to create a poll to seek answers from readers, but I thought taking comments would be more interesting, if people are willing to leave them.

Do you believe in God more than you experience God? (explain)