The Gods Around Us
Wisdom 13:1-9
Are there gods everywhere, in everything, or do we see God in everything?
For all people who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know the one who exists, nor did they recognize the artisan while paying heed to his works; but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world. If through delight in the beauty of these things people assumed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them. And if people were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much more powerful is the one who formed them. For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator. Yet these people are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him. For while they live among his works, they keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful. Yet again, not even they are to be excused; for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things? - Wisdom 13:1-9
Like the Ancient Greeks, Polytheists believed that many gods controlled this world.
The Wisdom literature of Solomon strives to change that view, saying that all things were designed by one God. Beauty in the world is God's creation.
But there are many who believe that God exists in everything. This is called pantheism, where God is everywhere and in everything.
There is some logic to this concept, since God created everything out of nothing. Wouldn't God have to form it all from God's self?
The Bible doesn't report it that way in the two Creation stories in Genesis. God existed before everything, and we really don't know where God came from.
While this is a problem for some, it is an excellent topic of discussion in religious and philosophical groups alike. Jesus solved the "God Within Us" problem by giving us the Holy Spirit (God) to dwell within and among us, like a super interconnected network of spiritual energy.
I like the image of all of us being connected to one another through God's Spirit, but what about all the rest of Creation?
In many ways the cultures that respected all life and all matter as if they were gods themselves may have gotten closer to the intent of the Creator.
Some animals and plants live a really long time, and some reproduce by dividing, ensuring that some of it is always alive.
So, we could look at all that is beautiful in this world and see those things as gifts from a loving God who wanted us to have a nice home in a beautiful garden, or we can see each of those amazing creations as unique loved children of God.
If you think about it, only humanity fell away from God's love, or so it says in the Genesis story of the garden. So, we are the ones searching for our way back to God, not the trees and the oceans and the living creatures, other than the serpent, I guess.
Whether we choose to believe that God exists in all Creation or not, it wouldn't hurt to act like God does. Wisdom has it that we should see God's hand in it all, so why not see it as an extension of God?
Imagine how much easier it would be to follow Jesus' command to love one another.
Love God, love creation, including each other.
More to come...