The God We Need

In my previous entry here (America in Crisis 7/16/17) I began with the statement: “We need God”, and went on to say: “not as interpreted by specific religions”.  That is not to suggest institutional religions are without value, for institutions are a necessary part of civilization.  All institutions are human constructs, bringing frameworks of order to society.  “Religion” is the name given to the larger category of ways that focus on how we are to relate to God.  Each specific religion has designated ways to worship involving rules and demands.

God does not demand, God only invites—as Jesus demonstrated.  God is beyond human comprehension, yet so often religions assume to know the unknowable.  A ‘god concept’ symbolizes our unknowing; a formless nameless way that leaves institutional demands behind and is focused on those qualities we believe to be ‘of God’ as we understand God to be.  We have come to believe God’s qualities to be Truth, Justice, Compassion, Mercy, Love and all goodness.  That is the God we need.

In a prior entry here (God Search 6/28/17) I wrote of humankind’s insatiable desire for ‘something more’.  We need hope we need purpose and meaning.  A god concept carries the highest values we wish to embody.  We need reminding of them.  Without a means of calling those values to mind, they recede from our awareness.  As a nation we have retreated not only from religion, but also from our fundamental values.  In stepping back from involving God in our daily lives we’ve lost sight of truth, honesty, compassion and goodness.

Our last election process was an embarrassment of insults, lies and slanderous innuendoes—for the most part we didn’t raise objections, we just shrugged and looked the other way. 

We’ve made a collective mistake in backing away from God and we are suffering the consequence by now finding our government in turmoil.

Honesty, integrity and sincerity should be the first consideration when selecting a president.  Without taking into account principles of Truth and Justice to guide us, we chose as candidate and then elected a monumentally unqualified man to lead the country—the one who shouted the loudest!  The issue is not about the party he belongs to but about the character of the individual.  His dishonesty, lack of integrity and excess egotism were on display throughout the campaign and yet he was elected.

This crisis is not just about our government it is about our souls.

From my first blog entry of 8/19/13 here are the final lines from my poem

                                                                ‘Un-named God’

- - -

But you are the un-named God

The soul-giver

I know you by your absence

When we turn from you

We dispossess our souls

soon to discover

             we are the hollow men.

Without you we cannot save ourselves

                                             from ourselves.

  Only in your presence do we partake of the mystery,

                                        Only in your presence do we reach beyond ourselves,
                                        Only in your presence do we find fulfillment .