Humanity has worked very hard to manifest its beliefs around its perceptions of who/what is God/Source.
Beliefs may include we are separate to the Creator; we cannot communicate with God directly and need an intermediary; God is vengeful and judgmental and will punish us in some way for any wrongdoing we commit.
On the flip side, many believe that our Creator and all his works are perfect; God is a loving God and cares for his/her children; God is within us and knows all.
Then there are the folks who do not believe God even exists.
I want to ask you, where did these beliefs come from? Do you know this Creator Being well enough to see whether they are vengeful, judgmental, unsupported and not there for you when you need them?
Do you know this being well enough to know your Creator is perfect, all-powerful and infinite in all things?
I subscribe to the idea that all souls are equally loved by God – it doesn’t matter your religion, color, gender, creed, etc. God is All Love and no matter how far you fall, it makes no difference to your relationship. Our creator does not seek to punish those who make mistakes. The God who punishes or seeks penance is the make believe of Man.
I believe our Creator is not separate from us. God, the eternal creator self, dwells within us. God’s love and energy surrounds us, sits within us and is the core of our being. In fact, we wouldn’t exist without it.
What are your beliefs?
I’ll paste from an article I wrote on the subject last year – explaining the Islamic point of view. Apologies if this is too long. You’re welcome to skip 🙂
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Islam views God as being the Creator of all things – completely self-sufficient, independent of His creation, and in no way part of His creation. As for an actual location, God tells us – in the Quran – He is above the heavens:
“Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not cause the earth to sink with you, and then it should quake? Or do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not send against you a violent whirlwind?…” [Noble Quran 67:16-17]
This position is backed up by many other Quranic verses which describe the “exaltedness” or “highness” of God – His being high and above creation. For example:
“… and He is the Most High, the Most Great.” [Noble Quran 2:255]
Other verses describe how things come down from Him, and go up to Him:
“Verily! We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree)” [Noble Quran 97:1]
“… To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it …” [Noble Quran 35:10]
Along with the evidence from the Quran, various incidents in the Prophetic Sunnah further support this position. For example, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to raise his hands towards heaven when he asked of the Almighty. And in one of his final sermons, he pointed up to the sky when asking God to bear witness that he had conveyed God’s message to his people.
In one of his supplications, he said: “…You are the Most High and there is nothing above You…”
On another occasion, he was trying to find out what a particular woman believed about God, so Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked her where God was. She answered that “He is above the heavens”, while also accepting of him as the prophet of the Almighty. This was enough for him to declare her as a believer, and he also affirmed that she was correct in her understanding of “where” God was.
So, God Is Far From Us?
While God is above all of creation, He tells us in various verses of the Quran that He is close to us:
“Have you not seen that Allah knows whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth? There is no secret counsel of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be.” [Noble Quran 58:7]
“And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.” [Noble Quran 50:16]
This seems to contradict to the idea that God is entirely separate from His creation, but Islamic scholars explain that this nearness doesn’t mean that God lives in, or is mixed with, creation. Instead, it means that God is with us by His utterly complete knowledge: He knows everything we say (and don’t say); all our thoughts; and everything we feel. He also knows – down to the smallest detail – our entire path of life – past, present, and future. In this way, God’s immense level of knowledge makes Him incredibly close to us.
On a human level, we just need to look at modern surveillance technology to understand that one doesn’t need to be physically close to another person in order to know a lot about them. With today’s technology we have unprecedented abilities to keep track of humans and their possessions. For example:
CCTV cameras watch the streets and malls for security purposes.
We use GPS location services to find our phones when they’ve been stolen.
On the Internet, cookies and other tracking techniques are embedded into web browsers to build a virtual profile of who we are and what our interests are.
In all of these cases, the one observing is not physically close to the one being observed. But, amazing as these are, they are mere human examples of how much knowledge can be gathered remotely. When it comes to God, the knowledge He possesses about us is far beyond anything a human or machine could ever find out.
If God Knows Us, How Do We Know God?
Islam teaches us that, in this life, we cannot truly know God’s exact essence. We have limited human capability and in the grander scheme of the universe – we really don’t have much knowledge. So in this world, we cannot know what God looks like, how He exists, and His nature.
However, to some degree, we can still try to understand God by learning what He has told us about Himself by way of His names and attributes. There are many examples of this in the Quran. In particular:
“Say (O Muhammad), He is Allah, the One God, the Self-Sufficient, who has not begotten, nor has been begotten, and none is like Him.” [Noble Quran: 112: 1-4]
and
“He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” [Noble Quran 59:22-24]
Along with statements like these, God also tends to end verses of the Quran by describing Himself with various names and qualities. For example, He described Himself as being Forbearing and Forgiving, Exalted in Might, Knowing, and full of kindness to His devotees.
Through learning these names and attributes, and what they mean, we come to know our Creator. As a result, we become naturally attached to Him – feeling close to Him, worshipping Him, and calling on Him for all our needs and wants.
God is Above, Yet Always Near
Human history shows that we’ve come up with many theories about God’s physical location. And while arguments range from one extreme to the other, Islam clarifies this question by bringing together the two opposing views: God is indeed far from us – “above” – while at the same time being incredibly close to us – in knowledge, in complete control, and always responsive to the needs of all of creation.
My beliefs have changed throughout the years. As I’ve grown older and little wiser I have been able to take a step back and view the path I have chosen. But there are times when I wonder if I choose the path or did someone guide me to it?
Great post. God is in every being on earth. It is inside, lies deeper in the pristine shell
this I feel is an excellent topic for discussion and a very interesting question. As a Buddhist I guess I am an analytical, quizzical type of person who works very much on logic. For this reason, I have to say I don’t believe in God as creator however I do have the greatest respect and acknowledgement of those who do. The main reason why I don’t believe in God as creator, is because from a Buddhist perspective everything has a root cause. You’ve probably heard of cause and affect? Well if anyone can find any situation, material things or objects or ideas that do not have a root cause, then I will willingly believe in God as creator. But my dilemma is this…….. First I need to know how people see God, is God a person or an energy? I believe there are many different ways people view God, some refer to God as the father, indicating he is human. Others say he is all around us and inside us therefore omnipotent and omnipresent. But if this is the case – and I am only asking for my own curiosity. If God is a person, who created everyone in his image and the universe, where was he when he created himself? He must have existed somewhere, therefore he could not have created the universe. Now more interestingly, if he is indeed an energy – then where did the energy exist when it created itself because it would have to exist somewhere in order to be. Please understand this is only my take on it, and I am sure there will be hundreds more. I really enjoyed thinking about this because it broadens our understanding of the world and our thought processes. Thank you so much for sharing and for asking our views on this topic 🙏😊
Whewee! I think they have whole-semester classes in philosophy and religion centered on the very question you posed. And there’s so much to it, including the evolution of societies that moved from polytheism to monotheism and, “they” are saying, to non-theism.
I grew up Catholic. Now I am agnostic, albeit highly spiritual. It’s possible to connect to the universe, to absolute love and it comes down to energy. Everything is energy and if we can tune into the universal frequency (which many say is Om), we can become the highest version of ourselves.
But then again, there are many paths and I don’t think any one is more correct than another. Just different. And if your path leads you to connect to your Source, then by all means, continue. If not, try a different path. 🙂
Lovely thoughts. Happy Friday to you!
My beliefs are similar. I don’t like to call whatever it is “god,” necessarily. I believe we are all connected. One energy, expressed similarly and differently.
Beautiful. That got a reaction, didn’t it!!
Great post!
God is beyond conceptualisation, beyond explanation. Whatever I think and believe is not God.
We cannot be separate from the Divine. 🙂
Interesting question. I believe we are all god in that we all are creators, creators of thought, actions, lovingkindness, the arts…. As being a part of god and being connected to all that is/are god, I feel a great responsibility and desire to make a place where these creations can thrive. (Did I answer the question? 🙂 )
Yes you did. And thank you. 🙏
you and I have a lot in common. I believe as you do-and I have “known” this as a very young child. We went to Church every Sunday, and I remember thinking they have don’t know! For fear and hell were a big part of each service. This was the perfect thing to start my day-thank you! love Michele
Great article and for me everything and everyone is God and there is only Oneness in Unity. Our God cannot be the Devil or some nonsense we have learnt from ages he is always Bliss and Love and we are Eternally in that space.
I stand with you and this is beautifully written and expressed. So many false ideas and ideals are forced onto us every day, and sometimes I believe it is partially in an effort to control us. Thank you so much for sharing this. Hugs
interesting article that ended with a puzzling question. my beliefs about God:
1. God set the laws of karma in place at inception of creation: what you sow is what you reap, irrespective of personality. that’s why the devil is down where he is, and angels like Michael, are up where they are. in spite of the laws of karma, God is not vengeful; neither does he willingly seek vengeance; rather he’s willing to help. reaping what you sow, is in proportion to your intentions: your motives: why and how you do things.
2. God’s laws pass judgments and hands over rewards, good or bad, in accordance to what each person has sown, intentionally or unintentionally, knowingly or unknowingly.
3. i agree with you that all souls are equally loved by God – it doesn’t matter your religion, color, gender, creed, etc. No matter how many times we fall, knowingly or not, intentionally or unintentionally, God will always ready to help us out of any rot if we feel remorse and are truly ready to make a turn. also, I believe God is All Love, and the way each person falls, especially if it’s intentional, would affect their relationship with him.
4. God will assist you more if you do not make mistakes intentionally (if we say mistakes are intentional). if you make mistakes intentionally, you will face the full wrath of karma. God would just stay aside and watch, as he’s no respector of persons; ask Lucifer-the-bright-and-shining-star who was turned to Satan. however, God is the father who would watch you fall but still do all he can to get you on your feet, even with karma taking its root
5. God is of a much higher spiritual/divine level than man, but I believe our he is not separate from us. he dwells in us and all forms of life. he watches over everything, even the birds in the trees. just like without a puppet master, the strings attached to a puppet wouldn’t move and make it lively and energetic
It is only us who can separate ourselves from being part of God and we do this through attack blame and judgement thoughts. I love the Course in Miracles for this reason. If you study the evolution of consciousness the split to a sky god creator above and separate to nature and man came about as part of heroic ego development. We are still trying to heal from this lie and severing. We are trying to make our way back to oneness. That is just my believe and we unite when we overcome fear and choose love and non duality.
I believe God is our Loving, Eternal, Heavenly Father
Like you i believe we are all immortal souls. And i believe God is the father of all souls. He loves and wants to uplift us from the traps of negativity and return to our original state of peace, purity, love, wisdom and joy. As we take rebirth we start to lose our original states little by little. These are replaced with anger, lust, ego, attachment and greed. It these negative qualities that cause us to hurt one another and thus create negative karmic accounts. Then we have to reap what we sow. There God is not the law of Karma, he is our father and nor revengeful. He doesnt come into rebirth cycles so he can uplift us. It is our karma that we reap, when we do good we get good, when we do bad we reap bad..it is the law of Karma not God. God loves us his hand and arms are open to love us but we are lost in our anger, greed, selfishness and it is easier to blame God and call him revengeful then take responsibility for our actions, thoughts, feelings all if which are karma..
God our father loves us
In my humble opinion
We are responsible for our karma, and how we deal with the tests of life.
Great post perfect for sunday contemplation.