by Lang Zaam

Created on: March 20, 2010   Last Updated: April 07, 2010

God is in our imagination, an image of God is created in the mind when growing up, and my image of God is my image alone, wherever He is.

My Mom was a devout protestant, she was because of her parents, I am sure, and my Father had little time to worry about it. Of course I overheard them discussing the bible, at times, and that sounded like having differences of opinion.

 I went through religious based schooling up to grade 6, and I vividly remember being accused and berated for questioning behavior. Well, I was questioning because I was trying to understand while growing up. It did not make much sense for me to accept that God was a talking, instruction giving individual. Genesis of the bible was a thought provoking story of wherever God was. The image then was of a very old balding man with a long beard, wire rimmed spectacles and a pissed off look.  God was a stern looking guy to stay away from.

Fifty five years ago, drafted in the army and having time to read and think and especially thinking what to do with my life after the army. I thought of God as life on the planet, I thought of God with the wonders of nature, I thought and read history and how others, in the past, coped with the understanding of God. Jesus Christ stated that God was like his Father. Jesus told the people to see themselves as children of the same God. Then reading about philosophers trying to deal with the meaning of life. Fifty five years ago I had to convince myself not to hate God because I might regret it later. The best was to put the image of God on hold. If God has somehow something to do with life, health and happiness, it was better to be cautious, responsible and alert.

I saw no harm in assuming that God was not a person that could instruct but on the other hand the ten commandments made sense. Obeying the laws made sense as well because disobeying was understood to cost money. After the army, disobeying my boss was at times tempting too but refraining was the better way if I wanted to keep my job. Disagreeing with my boss would either mean to resolve the issue amiably or leave, and leaving I did on two occasions. Living with God was the easy part. Enjoying life to the fullest, to love my wife and children, to totally accept my situation for what it is, to feel blessed with what I have and to feel grateful for what life has offered me, including the beauty and the beast of living.

Where is God is still the question, you may ask. That he is everywhere is an answer unacceptable to Atheists. An Atheist denies his existence without giving an alternative. A Theist believes the Holy Book and a Deist takes the good seriously and the incongruity of the written word with a grain of salt, so to speak.

The God question is absolutely clear in my mind, and for me it is: "ALL INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE TO COME INTO BEING". Wherever is life there is God. Evolution is pretty well a scientific fact so life on earth is, thus far, exclusive and billions of years evolving. God worked its magic of creation from early primitive life forms to the Dinosaurs and we were not even there yet.  The good question remaining is, how and when this process of nature got its beginning. Individual human lifespan, compared to that of nature, will not likely find an answer to that question any time soon. God bless you.

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