A Boy and his God
Current mood: cynical
This is a relatively new ideal for me, so if something does not make sense to you, I apologize. Please criticize as you see fit.
For millenia, people have been trying to define the transcendent being known concisely and popularly as "YHWH", or "God", as the Christians eventually named him. Though he has appeared in a number of different religions under a variety of names, terms, and definitions since his original creation (some would say discovery) by the Biblical man Abraham, most later God-spurned religions have usually confined to one common characteristic: humanity.
Yes, ever since man became familiar with the concept of God, he has tried to make God seem more like someone he might live among or befriend. He has often refused to look upon God as exactly what he is (or is supposed to be): the fabric of existence itself. Though the early Jewish tribes saw God as a force of nature who was not to be messed with, people began to become dissatisfied with such a being who would not provide a fatherly/motherly feeling of security for them. They did not want to fall on their knees at the mercy of a being who was just and would punish and reward each human action accordingly; they wanted HIM, not IT. This change in paradigm is most obviously displayed in the songs written by King David, compiled in an book known as "Psalms" (which later became "canon"). In his lyricism, David described God as someone who was more or less just like a man, albeit a very powerful man who controlled the cosmos. However, this still hadn't truly bridged the gap between man's adversity to the almighty judicial rule of God, but people began to view God in a different light. Such an event was destined to come, and come it did.
Several centuries after the rule of David, a young man from Galilee traversed the lands of the Roman-ruled Israel to preach new ways of interpreting the existing Judaic teachings. One of the most significant results of these teachings was of people viewing God to be one whom they could personally relate to, someone who was essentially like them. Thus, once Jesus had passed on and left his disciples to their own devices, the paradigm shifted once more to allow God into the hearts and homes of people all across the world until the latter day, in which many can see the presence of a "human" God all around the Catholic/Christian church (and this view is also held by many who disregard Christianity).
But enough of the historical part. Now, how do you view God? Does he appear as a friend, or as a foe? Well, in my opinion, he is NEITHER.
As I said in the beginning, the Jews were afraid of the concept of God, and rightly so, for they had seen some frightening things occur in their history (the great deluge, AKA "the flood", the "divine" slaughter of many neighboring tribes, slavery in Egypt, etc. Thus, many people strived to change this view, and they succeeded.
But what is our purpose for making God "one of us"? Why does he have to be "our buddy" or "our homeboy"? Who knows. God has never showed himself to us, and I believe that the reason why is because God simply does not exist for us to see him. Truly, I think that God is in the earth itself. He is not some guy sitting on a golden throne in a cloud-borne paradise. Think of how he appeared to his followers; as a piece of burning foliage to Moses, as a pillar of cloud and fire to the Jews; simply, in phenomenons of NATURE. We are too quick to see God as a powerful and potent HUMAN and miss the ultimate transcendence that he displays: in a NATURAL setting. Humans have changed drastically over the course of time due to a "higher moral standard" and an increasing "intelligence quotient", but one thing that has remained consistent throughout time is NATURE. And that, I think, makes God seem much more real and easier to believe in. Not a God that wants to please me as I fulfill his "purpose", but a God who is displayed through the ultimate miracle: the universe.
