Nature As Our Teacher-Who Is God?

There was a Unitarian Christian minister and professor who once said that everyone believes in some type of God, whether they think of God as a big person in the sky, a power, or whatever. He said that when you found what they fought for, argued about, and died for, you had their God. In his view one´s God was the thing at the core of one´s life that brought about meaning and moved one to work in the universe as a living being. I think that I agree with him. Unfortunately most people will not admit this. Many theists who claim to believe in a God of love, but who don´t live loving lives won´t agree with this. If they are angry, prejudice, greedy or full of pride they want to remain that way and still have a loving God to pluck them from the fire if there is really a hell. Believing that their God, or driving force, might be their greed, anger or pride would mean idolatry, which is a real no no in most religions.

Atheists can´t believe this, because many of them feel that the idea of a God is foolishness. They feel that they are free thinkers, not carried away by the passions of theists and other religious people who believe in something that cannot be verified. When we look deeply into reality, however, and how the earth and the universe works, we often find that most of the things on which we concentrate and in which we believe as foundations of our society and life cannot be verified. They are things that we have agree to as real with no proof. They cannot accept that the very reality in which they live by faith is their God, and that there refusal to stop from living in a world constructed by the unverifiable ideas of humanity is equal to worshiping a God. This would take away their claim be living in a prejudice free reality.

Here we have the theist and the atheist both turning their heads from reality and agreeing to continue to live in a world of illusion because it is comfortable. It is frightening not to be able to predict one´s future or to feel that one has some type of control over one´s existence. Unfortunately no one does, and living a life of denial is not an option. When one puts aside one´s religiosity and one´s idea of God or no God, that is when one begins to think. One begins to ask questions. One begins to consider the meaning of it all. One´s mind expands as one experiences life for oneself. This will never happen, however, as long as we worship our false Gods. Being certain of a type of God or being certain that none exists are just different sides of the same coin. The God or no God is not a problem, the fundamental certainty is the problem.

In order to find true meaning it is important to begin to look at people and their Gods, or lack of Gods, and to compare those beliefs to their behavior. This includes looking at our beliefs and comparing them to our own behavior. If we find that people are spouting a philosophy that they aren´t living, or that we are, we must realize that we really don´t believe it. A human beings life is an expression of what he or she believes. If one speaks of nobility, or God, and one does not live a life reflecting that belief, it is because one doesn´t really believe it. The atheist who says nothing exists after death is often scared to die. The theist who says they will go to be with God and heaven after they die is scared of death. How can this be? Neither one believes what they say.

If we really want to see what people believe and we want to grow spiritually, we should begin to take the time to read the actions of various people. When you have read their actions and our own we will know their belief systems and our own without even having to ask. It is then up to us to journey with the group that we have been watching or not, and to either change our belief system, or learn to live by it. This sounds simple, but it actually takes a great deal of work. It takes inner work and the destruction of the ego. One must destroy the false identity that one has created for oneself and enter into one´s true identity. This identity is one of a supreme being who is beyond the throes of life and death. It is remember that we are ete
al beings made of energy, or spirit, that can never be destroyed. This, or course, is the larger view. As long as we are blinded by false dichotomy of God/No Go, we can never see the truth. When we know the truth and can see it, however, as scripture says, the truth will set us free.