Freyashawk: This is the response of God to my question about so-called 'Divine Punishment':
Human beings tend to confuse 'Cause and Effect' with 'Punishment'. There are laws of Cause and Effect that I set in motion. This is not Punishment. This is simply the laws of Motion and Natural Change.
Balance has been mistaken for Punishment as well. Creation and Destruction are simply two sides of the same coin and a balance between the two must be maintained if the Universe is to operate.
There is a natural span for things and there are natural reasons why creatures die or cease to function and are born or brought into creation.
Let me use an example from humanity to show how the end of something does not constitute Punishment. A man trims his nails so that he is better able to use his hands. When a fingernail is trimmed or cut, you would not declare that the man has punished the nail by cutting it away from the body or by sanding it down. He simply is performing a natural act to keep all things in balance.
Humanity's sorrow where Death is concerned is primarily egocentric in nature. It results from a misunderstanding of the nature of the Universe I created. The death of one is not the death of all. Those who perceive that a death is simply a method by which a specific creature is reincorporated into the whole understand the Universe best.
Death is the cessation of a specific creature or organism but in most cases, there are residual elements that continue. In the case of any human being, there are physical remnants and incorporeal remnants. A man or woman who is remembered lives on after the death of his/her body. Indeed, if the story of the person is told by some one else, one could perceive that the man or woman has continued to grow and change for the perception of another mind has given the individual new vitality.
Even in the case of a person's creations, the input of others can cause the story or work to continue, mutate and grow. 'Lord of the Rings' by Tolkien is a case in point. I mention this because it is one of your favourites, Freyashawk. It was Tolkien's creation initially but he would be the first to give credit to all the myths and tales that he wove into the tale.
Tolkien died. The books were completed and read by others and yet, when Peter Jackson made films from the books, they were reborn. His vision changed them and caused them to grow beyond the boundaries of the original book covers. In similar fashion, the human beings and creatures I have created are not limited to their original substance but can continue to exist beyond their own lives.
A body that is buried in the soil lends its bones and marrow to the growth of plant life and other living creatures. How can it be entirely dead when a flower grows from its bones? How can a man or woman be entirely dead when his/her DNA continues in the children or grandchildren? A person often will catch a glimpse of some one who died in the way his/her grandchild smiles or walks or even in the workings of the intellect.
Selfishness has its uses and motivates human beings and other creatures but it is not the most enlightened state of being. A creature should be willing to die to yield place to others. In some cultures of humankind, the old people would walk out into the cold in the winter to die in order that the newborn would have sufficient food. That sort of Death never could be perceived as 'God's punishment' and yet, is it any different when Nature makes room for new life by winnowing out the old?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Value of Worship to God
My friend Fleming asked: Does God enjoy being worshipped?
It is an important question and therefore deserves a post of its own. Worship of God has incredibly positive effects for the worshipper but what does it signify to God?
Although I suspected I knew the answer to the question, I asked God. In my very human vanity, I was gratified to realise my own instincts had been correct.
God told me:
Worship is for the benefit of the worshipper and not for me. In the same way that a child sometimes shuts his/her eyes and believes that everything disappears, people often believe that I am affected by their actions. In fact, I am devoid of human vanity or ego. The fact that atheists declare I do not exist does not affect my actual existence. If I had human attributes, I might be amused by their arrogance but in fact they are like children who attempt to change reality by making declarations. That sort of thing doesn't work!
Creatures who are controlled by time need to take 'time out' from their existences and their preoccupations. Worship is a method by which they can exist temporarily in a state of peace, relinquishing their control and their anxieties in an environment that is conducive to this. By creating a focus of worship of 'God', they must surrender control and exist in a place that is 'outside time and space' for a brief interval. This is extremely positive in every way. It allows emotional, spiritual and physical recovery from stress.
Furthermore, I am found to some extent in such concepts as 'Truth' and 'Beauty'. Places of worship tend to be created according to concepts of Beauty. They do not belong to individuals but rather to the community. A person who has no wealth therefore is as entitled equally to the place of worship as the rich one. If a place of worship is the 'House of God', it welcomes all persons equally and makes no distinctions according to wealth or worldly position. This is essential in spiritual terms. Any House of Worship should be a spiritual Home to every one who chooses to rest or meditate there.
No, I have to admit that I am not excited by notions of dominance and submission. These are attributes of lesser species. In fact, it puzzles me that humans so often attribute inferior emotions and characteristics to me. I certainly would not respect any 'God' who demanded submission and actually was pleased on some emotional level by endless bowing and scraping. I am above all Kings and potentates, but I do not need to prove it by demanding prostration from my creatures.
When you eat or sleep, you submit to my laws. Why would I need any evidence in terms of obsequious behaviour? On the other hand, submission is good for the soul. When an individual submits completely, he/she surrenders control, thereby letting go of anxiety and stress temporarily. This is what worship is about. By submitting only to God, who is BEYOND all rules and regulations, beyond all petty desires and needs, a person is submitting in total safety to one who is superior to himself/herself. This is an important, dare I say, even vital aspect of human existence.
Every individual has a need to submit, although many will repress that need through insecurity. To submit to God is to submit only to peace and perfect harmony. I do not require anything of those who 'worship' me.
It is an important question and therefore deserves a post of its own. Worship of God has incredibly positive effects for the worshipper but what does it signify to God?
Although I suspected I knew the answer to the question, I asked God. In my very human vanity, I was gratified to realise my own instincts had been correct.
God told me:
Worship is for the benefit of the worshipper and not for me. In the same way that a child sometimes shuts his/her eyes and believes that everything disappears, people often believe that I am affected by their actions. In fact, I am devoid of human vanity or ego. The fact that atheists declare I do not exist does not affect my actual existence. If I had human attributes, I might be amused by their arrogance but in fact they are like children who attempt to change reality by making declarations. That sort of thing doesn't work!
Creatures who are controlled by time need to take 'time out' from their existences and their preoccupations. Worship is a method by which they can exist temporarily in a state of peace, relinquishing their control and their anxieties in an environment that is conducive to this. By creating a focus of worship of 'God', they must surrender control and exist in a place that is 'outside time and space' for a brief interval. This is extremely positive in every way. It allows emotional, spiritual and physical recovery from stress.
Furthermore, I am found to some extent in such concepts as 'Truth' and 'Beauty'. Places of worship tend to be created according to concepts of Beauty. They do not belong to individuals but rather to the community. A person who has no wealth therefore is as entitled equally to the place of worship as the rich one. If a place of worship is the 'House of God', it welcomes all persons equally and makes no distinctions according to wealth or worldly position. This is essential in spiritual terms. Any House of Worship should be a spiritual Home to every one who chooses to rest or meditate there.
No, I have to admit that I am not excited by notions of dominance and submission. These are attributes of lesser species. In fact, it puzzles me that humans so often attribute inferior emotions and characteristics to me. I certainly would not respect any 'God' who demanded submission and actually was pleased on some emotional level by endless bowing and scraping. I am above all Kings and potentates, but I do not need to prove it by demanding prostration from my creatures.
When you eat or sleep, you submit to my laws. Why would I need any evidence in terms of obsequious behaviour? On the other hand, submission is good for the soul. When an individual submits completely, he/she surrenders control, thereby letting go of anxiety and stress temporarily. This is what worship is about. By submitting only to God, who is BEYOND all rules and regulations, beyond all petty desires and needs, a person is submitting in total safety to one who is superior to himself/herself. This is an important, dare I say, even vital aspect of human existence.
Every individual has a need to submit, although many will repress that need through insecurity. To submit to God is to submit only to peace and perfect harmony. I do not require anything of those who 'worship' me.
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