-2-
(Current Problems With The Image Of God)
One
of the single, most important, aspects of religious belief is its Ultimate Concern;
that is, the core from which it proceeds. In the monotheistic faiths, this core
is God! The perception of this Supreme Entity has a profound psychological and
sociological influence upon individuals as well as the societies they build.
When God is the Ultimate Concern, the Image we have of Him, influences: who we
are, how we live and how we interact with one another. It is for this reason
that responsible theology will always try to avoid assigning human attributes
to an Entity to which human attributes cannot be applied.
While
it is true that we need Images of God that we can relate to, we must be careful
in these Images that we do not declare what God is; for God is transcendent of
what is! Individuals need to accept and realize that the Image of God that we
perceive can be nothing more than a symbolic representation of God, for in the
world of our physical existence there is nothing comparable to the complexity,
diversity, and intellect of a Divine Being. The closest one might come to
visualizing God in Her totality would be in viewing the night cosmos in all its immense splendor and pondering that this is nothing
but a minute reflection of the Divine Itself.
Before
going on with the current problems, it needs to be acknowledged that there can
be positive affects by any religion upon the people it serves. One need also
look at the empires which have tried to thrive on godlessness and we most often
find that they are no better, in fact are more often far worse, than most of
the believing societies. God can be a powerful motivator by which a people can
move forward in a responsible and loving manner. On the other hand, God can be
divisive, fueling oppression and persecution, depending upon
the Image people have of Him.
In
postulating these assumptions, we believe that God has made Himself
self-evident in our human nature and that there is a natural and inner
awareness of the Divine existence. It could be speculated that human beings are
aware, at an instinctual level that God does in fact exist. This would explain
why human beings spend so much time searching for a belief, becoming completely
convinced when they finally do find something they can believe in.
In
a sense, the idea of God seems absolutely essential for many of us. The problem
is, that in seeking this Divine influence in our lives, we are prone to make Her more of what we feel He should be than accepting the
transcendence of what She is. This is where individuals, theology, and religion
often run into trouble, in that, in their desire to believe they make the
assumption that they can speak for God. We will see later in this chapter why
such a notion is futile and often harmful.
We
can see the influence that religious beliefs, and their various Images of God,
have on a society by viewing various cultures and periods in history. The
affects of a God Who is feared, judgmental, and a deity, who demands worship
and appeasement, can be very negative in the actualizations among a people.
Such ideas can lead to blood sacrifice as they did in the Old Testament where
animals’ throats were slit, and the animal burned upon altars in an effort to
keep God from bringing forth Her wrath. In the
extreme, such belief structures can lead to human sacrifice, or holy wars, in
an effort to appease the Divine.
A
punitive Image of God often leads to intolerance of what may vary from the norm
in a society. Blame for any problems in the society are
often projected upon minority thinkers or groups who become scapegoats and
persecuted in the name of God. This punitive ideal also leads to intolerance of
question, suppression of truth, and often feeds ignorance and superstition. As
one examines history: when the religious beliefs are intolerable of question,
they can stagnate the growth of science and knowledge
to an alarming degree. Study medieval Christianity (if it had its way) we would
still think the earth was the center of the solar system! We are citing this as
just an example, for most religions can have a stagnating effect upon people;
especially, when they are based on a judgmental God who is dogmatic with her
law. As Thomas Paine most eloquently expresses, "Belief in a cruel God
makes a cruel man."
The
real key to our belief in God and its truth should be in what is accomplished with
the belief - its affect upon the people - its accomplishments for individuals;
all, balanced with the accomplishments for the whole. We could almost say this
is the litmus test we can use to determine if our faith in God has substance or
is self-serving. Religious ideals need a fine balance so that they do not
promote self-centeredness, but at the same time, they must serve the whole
without oppressing the individuals in the society. Guilt and fear can be very
counter productive in religious beliefs, especially, at the individual level.
If
we truly believe that God is the Creator and that all men are created equal,
and, that God plays no favorites judging all men the same, we must concede that
every human being has equal opportunity to know the Divine. The only way that
this is possible is if the revelations of God are universal in their scope;
and, such is only attainable when revelation is seen for a symbolic message
rather than literal truths.
This
then is one of the first dangers the responsible theologian and religious
leaders should be aware of. Literal interpretation of scriptures, or any of our
man declared inspirations, needs to be avoided, as that approach, tends to
limit a Divine which cannot be limited.
As
an example: East verses West in the argument over life after death. The East claiming reincarnation; and, the West with its portrait of
an eternal Heaven or Hell and final resurrection of the body. But if we
examine both of these belief systems resolving the difference in a manner that
makes God's revelation to all peoples equal and fair, the solution becomes
apparent in symbol. Neither explanation is a literal description of what cannot
be described, but rather, a metaphor to convey the idea that life goes on in a
transcendent manner.
We
shall deal with these issues in their entirety later in this work. For now, we
are simply trying to illustrate how we shall approach our Image of God in this
chapter, for it is important to realize that the Image can determines what kind
of people we are. It must be emphasized here, that when we seek to establish an
Image of God based in symbol, we can go a long way in overcoming religious
animosity towards one another. Love, harmony, tolerance, responsibility and
brotherhood are the things that serve God and Her creation. In other words, it
becomes the actualization of our belief that serves God and not the belief
itself.
This
leads to another of the problems with many of our present religious structures.
Too often, they have turned belief into the reality; God into a Word; and,
replaced personal responsibility toward the whole in the hands of the Almighty.
As
an example: the abuses of our natural world could be explained in part by our
belief in this worlds end and the idea that life is
merely a test to be replaced by something better. Much of Christianity (more so
than some other religions), because of its world to come doctrines, needs to
accept some of the blame for our environmental concerns. The
reason being that their implications often tend to remove the Creator from the
creation. They paint this picture of God being in heaven and man being
on earth. They often have declare theologically that
man has dominion over the earth; which is logically, an absolute falsehood, for
ultimately we are totally dependent on this reality for our lives and survival.
Religions often confuse the concept of self-determination with dominion.
Because God has given us free choice, they interpret that to mean, God has made
us superior over all! This is not a psychologically healthy premise,
especially, when one seeks to justify their own exploitation of the resources
around them.
And
beyond environmental problems, there is a lot of talk these days about the
violent and selfish nature of our societies. Blame is cast upon parents, peers,
television, books, movies and music. But only a few psychologists, and yet even
fewer clergymen, are examining our Image of God as a possible contributing
factor to this very troubling age we live in.
As
already stated, the things we believe about God: influences who
we are, our attitudes about others, and our treatment of our world. This
becomes especially true if we believe mankind is in God's Image, as He is
portrayed in our Judaic-Christian societies.
The
problem begins when, in our effort to keep humanity in God's Image, we begin to
mold God in man's image. This is one of the reasons we must be so careful in
examining our scriptures. If we look to the Bible itself we can see an ever
dangerous Image of God that in many ways actually condones violence, suffering,
guilt, and even oppression. This Bible, often referred to as the "written
word of God," can be used to condone slavery, justify oppression, and
condemn people to death. We must never forget that people have been tortured,
burned, oppressed, and murdered by those who have laid claim to be the "keepers"
of God's Word or Truth. The Gospels themselves contain this very metaphor of
the Divine Word (Jesus) being rejected by those claiming to represent the
Divine (the temple clergy and the Jewish State).
Over
the years, theologies have compounded this by accenting the sufferings of
humanity; proclaiming, God redeemed mankind in a blood-feast we commemorate on
Good Friday. Many religions proclaim God's vengeance upon mankind for its
weakness and ignorance. Religions often glorify the blood spilling from the
lambs of the Old Testament by replacing them with the Lamb of God on the Cross.
In many ways, some of the Christian theologies beg the question: Is their God
any less cruel than their Devil? Such ideals also must be examined for their
psychological impact upon people.
Before
presenting any alternative views, we need to take a little closer look at some
of the present concepts, and the possible psychological influence they may
directly or indirectly have upon our thinking. One needs
to keep in mind that children are particularly vulnerable to suggestion and
implication, particularly when they are religious in nature.
A
good place to start is by asking ourselves: 'if the temperament and actions we
often attribute to God, were assigned to another human
being such as a political leader, what would we think of him or her?
As
already implied, THE LITERAL IMAGE is perhaps one of the most dangerous
theological approaches. It is not only because of its contradictions and its
lack of scientific harmony, but because it sometimes can be used to present an
Image of God that makes Him an ego-maniac at best, at worst, a monster to be
feared. The literal interpretation seems to put law and worship above love and
mercy. Individuals have to fear for the transgression that might offend God;
over, what they might be doing to show their our love.
And it doesn't take any psychologist to see the mean spirit and intolerance
that often accompanies literalists or fundamentalists, and such is not unique
to Christianity.
The
literal Image of God also assumes that what was written by men is the
infallible word of the Almighty. In a sense, the Bible, or some other sacred
work, becomes a handbook to deal with problems that couldn't even be dreamed of
at the time of its writing. (Our dealings with Scripture and Revelation will
cover this in much more depth.) The Bible also becomes the portrait of God, as
if it were written as an autobiography by God's own hand. Buy in reality, it is nothing more than the perceptions of men who
were often driven by fear of natural forces or a lack of understanding of human
cruelty and greed.
We
need to ask ourselves questions when we are confronted with some of the more violent
Images our Sacred Works might imply in a literal interpretation. For example:
can we really believe that God, the Creator, could be so angered that She would punish the whole human race for a simple act of
disobedience by the first humans? When we hear the story of
Can
we really say it was truly the word of God when we read in the Bible that
stubborn or rebellious children should be put to death (Deut.
For
most of us such things are uncivilized as well as unchristian, but these things
are in the book which literalists' often assert as the Written Word of God! He
might have changed His Mind over the years, but if this book were the word of
God at one time this would have had to been Her law at
that time.
We
are often outraged by the violence we see in our society, in our entertainment.
But what about the violence in our so- called written word of
God, the wars, plagues, death and destruction. The cruelty towards
animals, towards human beings; can these things really be of the God of Love?
What about the Image of Jesus tortured, bleeding and nailed to a cross to earn
our salvation - what kind of a message does this send to children?
We
know from psychological studies, that abusive violent parents often produce
abusive violent children who carry on the tradition to the next generation. If
violent parents can inflict this type of psychological damage, what is the
psychological implication of a God that is punitive, that is to be feared, that
is violent in Her retribution? A God which demanded
the blood sacrifice of His Son for the appeasement of our sin! Most well
adjusted adults don't ponder this too much; but, think back to when you were a
child and ask yourself if you ever lived in fear of God punishing you for some
simple transgression? Was that fear and terror real?
Psychology
has also realized the dangers of sending children mixed messages, or
proclaiming platitudes that we do not live up to in our example. Think about
the mixed messages contained in the Bible and proclaimed from some of the
pulpits. We preach a God of Love, Mercy, Justice, and Forgiveness, then
proclaim His wrath, punishment, and judgment on anyone who doesn't live up to
certain religious expectations. We preach a God of Love who has created an
instrument of eternal torture and suffering which is in a concept hell. And
according to much of the present theology, our God of Mercy demanded the
suffering, torture and death of His Son for the offense of a man eating a piece
of fruit he was forbidden to eat. Religiously, humankind's hope and salvation
are interwoven with the slaughter of Christ on
As
if this were not enough, some theologies reason that God has given the Devil,
the second most powerful supernatural being, dominion over the earth for a
thousand years. People are often told that they are weak willed human beings,
prone towards evil - whose only chance of salvation is in a faith and belief
that a man of love was crucified for us and redeemed them.
Think
about the contradictions here for a second. God commands us not to kill one
another but makes our salvation dependent upon us killing an innocent human
being or, Divine incarnation if you prefer. The God of Love and Mercy plans and
ordains our salvation in a violent and bloodthirsty barbaric act which humans
must carry out. The God who was offended by one-man eating forbidden fruit is
appeased by the violence of men in the slaughter and execution of His Son! The
God, who has condemned human sacrifice according to our Judaic/Christian belief
structure, fulfills his own plan of salvation in an act She
has forbidden?
The
Christian world commemorates the slaughter of its God every Good Friday, proclaiming
such their salvation. What is the psychological implication of such a belief?
Instead of using Good Friday to see the potential cruelty of human nature and
its resistance to love, we use it to proclaim our salvation. Christ becomes the
martyr who died for us; instead of, the model of goodness who died because of
our rejection of the message of love.
Many
religious attitudes about sex are another area, which can often lead to
contradiction, and this too stems from a confusing portrait we paint of God.
Sex is one of our strongest drives which can be used to share in creating; can
be used as an expression of love; or participated in as a pleasure shared
between two people. But somehow, chiefly because of the influence of men like
Paul and Augustine, we view sex as evil and something to be ashamed of except
in the very narrow definition that religion sanctions. In our Western culture,
we are so hung up about sex that we find it easy to tolerate murder and crime
as evening entertainment, but we would never tolerate an overt act of
copulation in that same entertainment. Of course, this is not to advocate such
entertainment, but simply trying to convey the reality that we are less
outraged by murder than we are about our natural sex drive.
Yet,
on the flip side, much of our society revolves around the very sex that we call
evil. It is implied and used to sell products. We whisper dirty jokes at
parties and in the office. Many of us are forever searching for the opportunity
to have it. Perhaps if our religions viewed sex as the beautiful gift it is,
recognizing that nature intended more than one use of it, we might have a much
healthier attitude toward it. Having God play peeping Tom in our bedrooms
waiting for us to make the wrong sexual move is not a healthy psychological
approach. Psychologists' offices are full of people who are sexually
dysfunctional because of the religious guilt that has been placed upon them.
This is another topic, which will be dealt with at much more length later in
this work.
As
it is hoped one comes to see as this text evolves, one need not do away with
all the symbols of that are so profound in our religious lives. Instead, we
need to use them in a way that makes us more responsible for our own actions in
this life; rather than, as projections to get us into the next. The
Inspirations do play a role in God's revelation to us. But, we, in order to
avoid our own personal responsibility toward God, are using them in a manner
that is self-serving rather than God serving. They are often used to project
away personal responsibility, rather than, encouraging it.
If
religion is to serve God (and the only way it can do that is by serving men and
God's creation), it must be useful in the everyday reality of our world. When
it begins to fail in this area, religion turns destructive, feeding the very
evils it intended to destroy. To cite an example: for the first four centuries
of its existence, the Christian Church was oppressed and persecuted by those
who rejected its claims. Yet, when its power was supreme, it was every bit as
oppressive, intolerant and persecutive as any of its
former persecutors.
If
religion is to survive today, and help us to grow spiritually, it must open its
mind to seek new interpretations for many of its doctrines and ideals.
Symbolism is the key to this. But before we can even approach any new ideas
about our belief structures, we need to reexamine our ideas about God Herself.
If we approach God as some kind of tyrant who resents our questioning and desire
to learn more, we are doomed before we even begin. As we move forward to
postulate some of our ideas we will seek to draw upon things, which will help
us, become more tolerant of our diversity - which is a part of God! We need,
not only an Image of God which might make some sense in our world, but one with
a psychology that will help us better understand ourselves - one which helps us
to be more responsible to the creation which sustains us. Our Image of God
should encourage us to seek more knowledge that enables us to better our state.
It should be an image that leads us toward a sense of love and compassion,
which would empower us to begin solving some of the problems of our world by
recognizing that what we do to each other is what we do to God. We need to stop
waiting for God to do for us the things She has
empowered us to do for ourselves.
We
need to face the fact that it is true that God has already redeemed us from
evil, but understand that redemption as an is in the
empowerment of humanity to overcome evil for itself. Jesus' death is not our
salvation; it is his life, with the example he left, which is the true
salvation. "Pick up your cross and bear it," were his words -
which simply mean, that we are all Messiahs in our own unique way! Perhaps it is
time for Christianity to focus upon the emulation of Christ more than the
worship of him. In a strange way, such emulation would be greater homage than
any ritual, song or words of faith we could express. The ideals of Jesus are
the reality of God among men!
And
God among us is what religion should be about.
When you can see Catholic killing Protestant as happened in
The
Image of God postulated in this text is not going to solve the riddle of God,
nor, is it trying to declare what God is. Simply put, we are trying to present
a more meaningful and rational approach toward God for our world; one that is
psychologically sound and might produce a greater responsibility to the
individual for the successes and failures which happen in this world. No human
being can understand God in His realm - for such is beyond us! Our faith in God
has to empower us in this life, and for such to do so, it must go beyond our
words manifesting itself in the everyday realities of
Peoples lives.
Granted,
this ideal might already be present in some religions. But, many of the
faithful who are proclaiming their belief in God today,
are: mean spirited, self righteous, intolerant, judgmental and disrespectful of
those who may disagree with their religious truth or moral positions. Religious
ideals that lead to such behavior are neither beneficial to society, nor would
it appear, that they in any way serve the Almighty. To have a faith in God and
a world to come should not cause us to give up on this world. A fulfilling
religious faith will enable us to see God's presence and participation in the
everyday events of this creation. To see God in our fellow man and in the
creation we share this planet with, could be the catalyst we need to improve
our very problematic human condition. Ponder these words of Jesus and ask
yourself just what it is he means by wealth:
If then you have not proved trustworthy with the wealth of this
world, who will trust you with a wealth that is real?
{Luke 16:11)
NEXT CHAPTER 3-The
Divine Paradox
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