http://punctum-saliens.org/2007/05/30/holding-god-accountable/ Leaping Point: Take a flying leap and see where you land Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:48:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://punctum-saliens.org/2007/05/30/holding-god-accountable/comment-page-1/#comment-1103 Ken Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:06:12 +0000 http://ifyouregonnadothatyougotta.org/2007/05/30/holding-god-accountable/#comment-1103 The real mistake is that we confuse God with our symbol for God. The Christian God of the Old and New Testaments, the Muslim God, the Jewish God are all symbols for --- pointers to --- God. If we didn't have these symbols we could not relate in any way to God because God is so far above, beyond, below, outside us. But mistaking the symbol for the thing means that we start thinking about the symbol and dissecting the symbol and trying to understand the symbol. But that doesn't get us any closer to the thing. The symbol "works" when we let the symbol be what it is and not try to massage the symbol into what we think it should be. Symbols work on the unconscious but we try to make them conscious and thus destroy their power. The real mistake is that we confuse God with our symbol for God. The Christian God of the Old and New Testaments, the Muslim God, the Jewish God are all symbols for — pointers to — God. If we didn’t have these symbols we could not relate in any way to God because God is so far above, beyond, below, outside us. But mistaking the symbol for the thing means that we start thinking about the symbol and dissecting the symbol and trying to understand the symbol. But that doesn’t get us any closer to the thing. The symbol “works” when we let the symbol be what it is and not try to massage the symbol into what we think it should be. Symbols work on the unconscious but we try to make them conscious and thus destroy their power.

]]> http://punctum-saliens.org/2007/05/30/holding-god-accountable/comment-page-1/#comment-1039 Valerie Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:02:55 +0000 http://ifyouregonnadothatyougotta.org/2007/05/30/holding-god-accountable/#comment-1039 It seems we hold God accountable because we defined who God is in the first place. We made Him (even giving him one of our genders!) in OUR image and likeness so we think we can question "his motives"! We don't have the foggiest notion of Who,What,Where God is. It seems to me utter arrogance on humanity's part to be discussing God like we knew anything of what he wants, what he expects, what his motives are. It even feels irreverent to be referring to "him" like we could wrap our minds around the ineffable. It seems we hold God accountable because we defined who God is in the first place. We made Him (even giving him one of our genders!) in OUR image and likeness so we think we can question “his motives”! We don’t have the foggiest notion of Who,What,Where God is. It seems to me utter arrogance on humanity’s part to be discussing God like we knew anything of what he wants, what he expects, what his motives are. It even feels irreverent to be referring to “him” like we could wrap our minds around the ineffable.

]]>