Ground of Our Being
Okay, got coffee now where was I? Oh, yes, the three similarities in world religions. Perhaps I should clarify for I don't want to give the impression that it is the religious ideas that are similar but rather the general principles under which we operate in our search for that which we call God—by whatever name or title.
Ancient worshipers understood there to be an energy or force at the very core of creation that was responsible for holding everything together and empowering nature’s ability to regenerate itself. The seasons of the year, the birthing of off-spring, and the precise repetition in the movement of the stars, moon, and sun were a witness of that invisible force which kept creation in constant renewal.
As language became more sophisticated the recording of these expressions moved from drawings on cave walls to what we in our bias would say are a more intellectual discussion depicted in the art of writing.
The major religions of the world hold a variety of interpretations expressing that this source of all existence is beyond “Being”, transcends anything that we know or can be known, cannot be entirely described, or defined. The logical of this affirmation is that we who are ‘beings’ can only know that which is in existence. Therefore, that which is beyond existence we can only catch a fleeting glimpse of as its nature is revealed in the things that are created. Some would surely protest that this last statement is saying more than what is possible.
In the first stories of Genesis in the writings of Judaism there is the depiction of this God beyond creation who brings order from the chaos by using the mere force of words. From an unidentifiable place the power of the words, “let there be….,” creates and it is the force of these words that keeps the world from falling back into chaos and darkness. Then follows a second creation story in which there is a different manifestation of that which is divine portrayed as a being that personally gets involved in shaping and breathing life into the clay that becomes humanity. Later this God who walks daily in the garden will become less visible and less personable.
Religious expression is part of our human experience and yet we struggle to balance our awareness of what can and cannot be known. What is important for us to make note of are the rituals by which humanity has always sought to connect with this energy that is at the core of our existence. Throughout history people have searched out those places where the awareness of this sacred energy is most vividly felt. Along with these sacred places where we are closest to that which is beyond being is an understanding that we can in some way be touched by that energy when making ourselves available through a variety of methods that have proven successful in prior generations or which become new to us through changing experiences.
To say it as briefly as I can, that which some choose to give the name "God" is beyond “being”, transcends all that is known, and cannot be fully known, yet some small part may be experienced in places and rituals that open us to the possibility of that presence in creation.
Coffee’s cold, let’s warm it up before tackling the second similarity.
Well said.
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