Do you believe in God?

It always amazes me when people ask the question, "Do you believe in God?" The amazing thing is that when this question is asked, the querent usually is not actually asking what they are really trying to determine. What they really mean is, "Do you believe in the same God in which I believe? Is your image of God the same image as mine?"

Any hesitation to give an emphatically positive answer is usually met with a sad shake of the head and the presupposition that — conveniently enough — some demon is "clouding your vision," preventing you from seeing things their way (which, of course, is the only "proper" way). Then, the querent usually states that they will pray for you, presumptuously, without ever asking permission to do so.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "evangelism" as:

1. the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ
2. miltant or crusading zeal

The same dictionary defines "militant" as:

1. engaged in warfare or combat
2. aggressively active (as in a cause)

Warfare? Combat? Agression? Why does any religion or spiritual path have to be "aggressive?" If their message is actually the Truth, then everyone will clearly see that it is Truth, and no aggression need be involved. Aggression is only necessary when there is resistance and doubt. Warfare, combat, and aggression are tools that help you to force others into submitting to your desires.

Truth is spread through Peace. Lies are spread though aggression.

And speaking of the narrow-minded "my way or the highway" mentality, why does any religion or spiritual path purport to have a limited view of the Divine? Isn't that really a contradiction in terms? Looking again to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, we find the definition of "God" as:

1. the supreme or ultimate reality, as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe

Wow! How can mere, mortal mankind wrap Something as vast and humanly incomprehensible as "God" into one tidy "this is it!" package?

The Hindu religion believes in one God, called "Atman." They further believe that "Atman" is so incomprehensible that there are literally thousands of "faces" which this Being has chosen to show Itself down through the ages. Some of these faces are masculine, such as that of Brahma or Vishnu, and some of these faces are feminine, such as Parvati or Laxmi. But the Hindus do not worship many gods — only that one, Atman, for everything is Atman, deep down inside.

I, too, believe that "God" can manifest in different ways — as "YHWH" to the Jewish people, as "Allah" to the Muslims, as "God" to the Christians, as "Ra" to the ancient Egyptians, as "Gaia" to some of the Pagans, and as a vague "spirit of Universal Consciousness" to us Buddhists.

Do I believe in God?
YES!

Do I believe in your image of God?
Probably not. Any way that the Divine has manifested to you is perfectly valid, but it might not necessarily be the same image with which the Divine has manifested Presence to me.

I spread this writing in the spirit of PEACE and loving-kindness towards ALL viewpoints that do not aggressively try to extinguish another. In Peace, so mote it be.

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com