The nature of God is something that's been on my mind lately. I'm reading a book called Finding Darwin's God, by a professor of biology at Brown University, who happens to be a devout catholic, named Kenneth Miller. His book addresses the theory of evolution and the real challenges it presents to the western worldview of humanity, and also how the apparent conflict between evolution and creation can be solved. I'm not far into it, yet, but it already has me thinking. Lots of people, when they view the indifference of life, nature, and other human being toward one another, see no other explanation than that God must not exist, or must not be benevolent, else how could He allow such things to happen? If we are His children, why doesn't he care about us, or His other creatures, enough to protect us from such evils?
There are lots of other concerns that arise as we learn more about the natural world: like, if God created the universe, and his aim is to create living things, especially men, then why is there so much waste in the universe? Why have 99.9% of all species who have lived on earth gone extinct, and why do we share so much in common with other animals, especially primates, if we are special, and created in the image of God?
I'm not going to systematically try to answer all of these questions right now, I just wanted to put them out there, and, perhaps, through the course of this project, I'll get to them in time. For now, I just wanted to share some thoughts I have about the nature of God. Most of them are shared by many of you, I'm sure, but maybe some of my views will be unique, and worth reading.
I believe that God is a man. By "man," or "human," I don't necessarily mean a Homo sapien, but a being capable of self-knowledge and meaningful and abstract thought, also a being who has the power to act, and not only to be acted upon by external, physical, or chemical forces. I believe He is immortal and perfect: that He lived a mortal life, much like our own, but encountered a means, by the laws of nature, to overcome death. In addition to avoiding/conquering death, He has gained all knowledge and become Lord of the universe by gaining the trust of its elements as an able, just, and benevolent ruler.
I believe the relationship between God and the universe is similar to that between a gardener and his garden. Because God is, essentially, human, His greatest joy comes in helping other humans gain knowledge, and enjoy the blessings of eternal life and perfection which He enjoys. I believe He invests into our salvation.
I believe God subjects Himself to all the laws of nature, in order to keep the trust of its elements (His husbandry), but is able to manipulate them to His designs because of His superior knowledge of them. He uses natural processes to organize, not create, order in the universe, and make life possible. The emergence/creation of living things, especially intelligent living things, is His greatest joy, but it is costly, and difficult: thus, there is much "wasted" space and matter in the universe, and life is, relatively, scarce.
I believe that God is worthy of our worship. I believe that the church I belong to is true, and among the reasons I continue to believe, and be Mormon, is that I think it is more advantageous to believe and be part of this church, than to belong to another church, another faith all-together, or not to believe. I've studied other Christian religions, other world religions, and all of the pungent arguments of the agnostic and the atheist, and I still feel this way. I find that being Mormon is: good for my moral/ethical development, good for family bonds, provides a welfare system and social support network, provides opportunities to serve (and travel), gives me strong emotional stimulation, gives comfort and meaning in life, death, and suffering, hope for a better future and an eternal life with family, as well as redemption/salvation, hope for a chance to become like God, and it provides me with intellectual stimulation and inspiration. For example: I doubt I would be so interested in coming up with my own idea of utopia, or Zion, and trying to live by its principles, if I was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I firmly reject the idea of a pantheistic or mystic God, force, or intelligence. I believe He is a man, our Father: that He loves us, and that He wants to help us become like Him, as I love my own son, and want him to succeed and be happy.
There are lots of other concerns that arise as we learn more about the natural world: like, if God created the universe, and his aim is to create living things, especially men, then why is there so much waste in the universe? Why have 99.9% of all species who have lived on earth gone extinct, and why do we share so much in common with other animals, especially primates, if we are special, and created in the image of God?
I'm not going to systematically try to answer all of these questions right now, I just wanted to put them out there, and, perhaps, through the course of this project, I'll get to them in time. For now, I just wanted to share some thoughts I have about the nature of God. Most of them are shared by many of you, I'm sure, but maybe some of my views will be unique, and worth reading.
I believe that God is a man. By "man," or "human," I don't necessarily mean a Homo sapien, but a being capable of self-knowledge and meaningful and abstract thought, also a being who has the power to act, and not only to be acted upon by external, physical, or chemical forces. I believe He is immortal and perfect: that He lived a mortal life, much like our own, but encountered a means, by the laws of nature, to overcome death. In addition to avoiding/conquering death, He has gained all knowledge and become Lord of the universe by gaining the trust of its elements as an able, just, and benevolent ruler.
I believe the relationship between God and the universe is similar to that between a gardener and his garden. Because God is, essentially, human, His greatest joy comes in helping other humans gain knowledge, and enjoy the blessings of eternal life and perfection which He enjoys. I believe He invests into our salvation.
I believe God subjects Himself to all the laws of nature, in order to keep the trust of its elements (His husbandry), but is able to manipulate them to His designs because of His superior knowledge of them. He uses natural processes to organize, not create, order in the universe, and make life possible. The emergence/creation of living things, especially intelligent living things, is His greatest joy, but it is costly, and difficult: thus, there is much "wasted" space and matter in the universe, and life is, relatively, scarce.
I believe that God is worthy of our worship. I believe that the church I belong to is true, and among the reasons I continue to believe, and be Mormon, is that I think it is more advantageous to believe and be part of this church, than to belong to another church, another faith all-together, or not to believe. I've studied other Christian religions, other world religions, and all of the pungent arguments of the agnostic and the atheist, and I still feel this way. I find that being Mormon is: good for my moral/ethical development, good for family bonds, provides a welfare system and social support network, provides opportunities to serve (and travel), gives me strong emotional stimulation, gives comfort and meaning in life, death, and suffering, hope for a better future and an eternal life with family, as well as redemption/salvation, hope for a chance to become like God, and it provides me with intellectual stimulation and inspiration. For example: I doubt I would be so interested in coming up with my own idea of utopia, or Zion, and trying to live by its principles, if I was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I firmly reject the idea of a pantheistic or mystic God, force, or intelligence. I believe He is a man, our Father: that He loves us, and that He wants to help us become like Him, as I love my own son, and want him to succeed and be happy.
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