In
every culture on earth human beings have sought to know God.
It has been a natural impulse since the beginning of human
existence. People have sought to define God in order to define
themselves. The names and forms of God have always been in
terms they could understand, based upon their needs, their
aspirations, and their fears. God has usually been defined
by the natural phenomena and human qualities most demonstrative
of Godlike power. In defining God, societies have developed
guidelines for relating with nature and with other human
beings. It has been in defining God and one's relationship
to God that culture and civilization have been created.
The
very earliest definitions were achieved by elementary "scientific"
reasoning. Science is making assumptions based upon observations.
Thus, when early beings saw superhuman phenomena they ascribed
them to God. People can breathe, but God makes the wind. People
can create fire, but God makes lightning burst from the heavens
and lava boil from the earth. Woman brings forth and nourishes
children, but God brings forth and nourishes all things. In
addition, certain behaviors or relationships with nature and
others were deemed "Godlike."
Behaviors which enhanced survival and happiness or which punished
wrongdoing were also characteristics of God. These behaviors
were deemed desirable and became the basis for social values
and norms. One can "know" God depending upon the
perceptive faculties one uses to perceive. Thus, there are
different ways to "know"
God, and hence many forms or perceptions of "God" were
created.
The
search for God is the search for the invisible causes beyond
visible phenomena. Pure science is a branch of this search.
Science has created instruments to view microscopic worlds
and to view galactic worlds. It has invented sensitive tools
to register electrical and magnetic energy waves. Science
continues to push beyond the limits of human knowledge.
Because
scriptures have been written, many followers of religion
have stopped their search for God. Religious worship for
many has become an isolated compartment of life, delegated
to time slots and to special days. In a way, religion is
treated like medicine. If you use the right formulas, you
get the right pill to save your soul. Take only as prescribed.
Others have become obsessed by a religious viewpoint and
have thereby limited the potential of their human perfection.
In limiting human potential they have limited the concept
of God.
Neither
science nor religion have succeeded in solving the moral
and material problems in the world. Neither have succeeded
in creating more brotherhood, cooperation, or hope. By rejecting
spirit on one hand and matter on the other, science and religion
respectively have thrust human consciousness into a limbo
isolating it from the spiritual balance of life. The threats
to culture and civilization in current world events, barbaric
behavior (often in the name of religion), horrible weapons
(often the pride of scientific "genius"), and the
neglect and harm to the environment indicate that many in
the fields of science and religion no longer search for "God."
The
search for God is the search for one's true Self, or one's
purpose in life. Many instinctively feel that they are more
than just an isolated bundle of matter and that they must
discover themselves in order to be a service to society and
be fulfilled.
(Continued
in Part 2, May)