As I sat contemplating the arguments that have raged in America over Barack Obama’s religious beliefs, I began to wonder what it is that that causes us all to take at least some interest in God? Generally, we either believe or we don’t. Those who do are in most cases aligned with a particular religion, sect or group; those who don’t in general often still harbour some appreciation for the mystical. And as for those who might call themselves atheists, most cannot help a feeling of being a part of something much greater when looking out at a stunning view or watching a gorgeous sunset, or even looking into a beautiful flower.
And yet as far back as records go, God has played a part in the lives of humanity. What has of course varied is how we perceive him. And right there of course is a point in question – is it a him or a her? Or neither? And what does God look like?
I remember thinking God looked a bit like Neptune. He was this rather tall ageing masculine European figure with a long white beard and a deep voice sitting on a throne with a very benevolent look on his face. In 1980 when I travelled across Africa, I visited a church in Sudan where huge wall murals depicted God, Christ and each of the apostles as tall elegant black men. In Hinduism they have many Gods, all different, but they all have one thing in common – they are Asian.
The point I am making is that as none of us really know what God looks like, we generally depict him in the most comfortable format we can find, i.e. like ourselves. This seems a perfectly sensible thing to do in the circumstances, but it was also an ideal way for our early religious leaders to present the creator. After all if God was depicted as a tree, it might not have been quite as easy to encourage worship. And of course, it worked. I think George Bernard Shaw hit the nail squarely on the head when he said “the average Britisher believes that God is an Englishman”.
But who or what then is God? Well first of all, there cannot logically be lots of Gods who each created a portion of everything and who claim a portion of humanity, all sitting around a table discussing their different Kingdoms and claiming souls with shouts of glee every time a child is born. That makes no sense at all. It seems obvious that there can only be one God, one creator, and I would go further. God is not a person and nor is he/she an object. God is a force of energy, an intelligence that exists in everything. Thus we are all in some way, a part of God. Perhaps the best way to describe this is to imagine yourself at the seaside. Look out over the sea and imagine how much seawater there is across the globe. Then imagine that God is the sea. Now lean down, dip a glass into the sea, and lift out a glass of seawater. What you have in your hand is a metaphor of yourself. A glass of God. It is not as big as God and it is not as strong as God but it is a part of God. It is the same energy. We, and everything else we have ever been aware of (and much much more) is what God is – the force of energy that both created, and is, everything.
