Re-inventing God
If I am to buy into the school of thought that the god I know to be the one true god is the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (The Abrahamic God Concept), I will be forced to believe in the history of a people as the history of the world.
By subscribing to that faith too, I will have to ignore the obvious bias in that history towards a people, and acknowledge the fact that for 4000 or so years, god was a Jew. I will also have to ignore the varying times in the history of other groups,and nations that miracles have occurred, attributed to their god or gods; thus totally rubbishing the existence of other gods or a god outside the Jewish sect.
Further more, I will have to concede that all actions as recorded as being done under the instructions of or with the consent of the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are absolute righteous deeds. Therefore mass murder in the name of ones god, slavery, forced circumcision, chauvinism and total disregard for other cultures and beliefs will be lauded as righteous.
By this time, I would have conceded so many things I know by instinct are wrong that it will take an inhuman leap of faith to be a believer in the Abrahamic god. Maybe that is what is required of all "believers", faith that overshadows reason.
In re-inventing God, we have to look at the defining moments in the history of all religions, identify a commonality and agree that this is a god or the God that we will all accept. Theologians will agree that the godhead or that which makes one a god is purely based on what the masses believe and thus will define God as that which we believe to be good, pure and righteous above all, most holy and sacred, the source of all things, the end of all things.
In all religions that preach a one true god, there is a commonality which I can exploit. For instance, in the Abrahamic religions, we note a point where the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob appears to the prophet Moses. During this encounter, God reveals himself by a name, the tetragrammaton YWHW which translates into "I am that I am" or "I will be what I am" or "I will be what I will be". In this instance, a god likens himself to everything and nothing. His purpose is layed out in His name. His will is also layed out in His name. Assuming this unique name is unique to only the Abrahamic religions (Scholars believe otherwise. YWHW or Yaweh was worshiped in some other parts of the world before and during the Moses encounter as part of a pantheon together with Baal, Asherah and others), or that this was even the first god of the Israelites(EL was said to be a god of the Canaanites, and the god of Abraham. Also part of a pantheon. This is made more likely by the fact that the word Israel has roots in EL), we could then begin to make inferences on the chosen name of that god.
"I am that I am" becomes a universal godhead when we appreciate the power of the verb "to be". The tetragrammaton can be expressed in an infinite number of ways as the action verb "to be" in its core leaves open infinite possibilities and connotations. For instance, "I am God Almighty" becomes possible, so is "I am God the Creator, the Healer, the God of gods". So even in a monotheistic perspective, the presence of other gods is acknowledged even though subtly in the name YWHW. YWHW also suggests through varying degrees the nature of the Abrahamic god or gods. We could infer from for instance the history of the Isrealites' journey from Egypt that YWHW was adorned with a new name upon each miracle that occured. So "God the healer" was evident when the people were healed, "God the Protector" when the people were saved from perils, etc. The action verb "to be" still in the picture, it becomes evident that YWHW also means "I will be what you need me to be" or "I will be what you wish me to be".
Looking at this holistically, we realize that YWHW is evident in all religions, creeds and acts. Even among atheists and agnostics, a believe in a belief system justifies the existence of YWHW. Be it a belief in the scientific method, rational and logical thinking, or plain old santa clause, the "I am" factor is evident. In polytheist religion, the different YWHWs make up a pantheon. The Roman pantheon for instance have different gods in charge of different situations and elements while the Abrahamic equivalent will be the different attributes of a single godhead.
So, in the 21st century, with access to immeasurable knowledge, and the ever-growing cosmopolitan nature of our lives, is there a need to re-invent God. I hope so. We need to understand that the concept of God transcends religion and creed. In fact, by the present definition of God, we have limited the capacity of the godhead. We have eliminated the infinite possibilities associated with YWHW. Understanding the tetragrammaton in its fullest will ideally be the first step in appreciating the varying cultures, religions and belief systems of the world. God becomes what you need, what you wish for, and what you aspire to be.
By subscribing to that faith too, I will have to ignore the obvious bias in that history towards a people, and acknowledge the fact that for 4000 or so years, god was a Jew. I will also have to ignore the varying times in the history of other groups,and nations that miracles have occurred, attributed to their god or gods; thus totally rubbishing the existence of other gods or a god outside the Jewish sect.
Further more, I will have to concede that all actions as recorded as being done under the instructions of or with the consent of the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are absolute righteous deeds. Therefore mass murder in the name of ones god, slavery, forced circumcision, chauvinism and total disregard for other cultures and beliefs will be lauded as righteous.
By this time, I would have conceded so many things I know by instinct are wrong that it will take an inhuman leap of faith to be a believer in the Abrahamic god. Maybe that is what is required of all "believers", faith that overshadows reason.
In re-inventing God, we have to look at the defining moments in the history of all religions, identify a commonality and agree that this is a god or the God that we will all accept. Theologians will agree that the godhead or that which makes one a god is purely based on what the masses believe and thus will define God as that which we believe to be good, pure and righteous above all, most holy and sacred, the source of all things, the end of all things.
In all religions that preach a one true god, there is a commonality which I can exploit. For instance, in the Abrahamic religions, we note a point where the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob appears to the prophet Moses. During this encounter, God reveals himself by a name, the tetragrammaton YWHW which translates into "I am that I am" or "I will be what I am" or "I will be what I will be". In this instance, a god likens himself to everything and nothing. His purpose is layed out in His name. His will is also layed out in His name. Assuming this unique name is unique to only the Abrahamic religions (Scholars believe otherwise. YWHW or Yaweh was worshiped in some other parts of the world before and during the Moses encounter as part of a pantheon together with Baal, Asherah and others), or that this was even the first god of the Israelites(EL was said to be a god of the Canaanites, and the god of Abraham. Also part of a pantheon. This is made more likely by the fact that the word Israel has roots in EL), we could then begin to make inferences on the chosen name of that god.
"I am that I am" becomes a universal godhead when we appreciate the power of the verb "to be". The tetragrammaton can be expressed in an infinite number of ways as the action verb "to be" in its core leaves open infinite possibilities and connotations. For instance, "I am God Almighty" becomes possible, so is "I am God the Creator, the Healer, the God of gods". So even in a monotheistic perspective, the presence of other gods is acknowledged even though subtly in the name YWHW. YWHW also suggests through varying degrees the nature of the Abrahamic god or gods. We could infer from for instance the history of the Isrealites' journey from Egypt that YWHW was adorned with a new name upon each miracle that occured. So "God the healer" was evident when the people were healed, "God the Protector" when the people were saved from perils, etc. The action verb "to be" still in the picture, it becomes evident that YWHW also means "I will be what you need me to be" or "I will be what you wish me to be".
Looking at this holistically, we realize that YWHW is evident in all religions, creeds and acts. Even among atheists and agnostics, a believe in a belief system justifies the existence of YWHW. Be it a belief in the scientific method, rational and logical thinking, or plain old santa clause, the "I am" factor is evident. In polytheist religion, the different YWHWs make up a pantheon. The Roman pantheon for instance have different gods in charge of different situations and elements while the Abrahamic equivalent will be the different attributes of a single godhead.
So, in the 21st century, with access to immeasurable knowledge, and the ever-growing cosmopolitan nature of our lives, is there a need to re-invent God. I hope so. We need to understand that the concept of God transcends religion and creed. In fact, by the present definition of God, we have limited the capacity of the godhead. We have eliminated the infinite possibilities associated with YWHW. Understanding the tetragrammaton in its fullest will ideally be the first step in appreciating the varying cultures, religions and belief systems of the world. God becomes what you need, what you wish for, and what you aspire to be.
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