Finding God 101, Part One

 Sometimes it’s good to go back to basics. And what could be more basic than the identity of God? Many people use the name of God, but not everyone is speaking the same language. The Mormon, Muslim, and Christian Science member all mean something different when they employ the name of God. Not everyone who says that they believe in God, actually believes in a personal being that sent His Son to incarnate on the earth as a Man to pay for the sins of mankind. Clarification is necessary when approaching seemingly familiar terms when conversing with someone. Terms like God, faith, church, etc., mean different things to different people. It boils down to who they sat at the feet of, and what was taught to them.

Words are containers, and the contents define the word’s meaning. In this instance, the word God means something different–slightly or extremely–to the person using it depending on background and tutelage. The Roman Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, Hindu or Unity student will define God differently. Some well-meaning ecumenical souls will attempt to resolve this issue by saying, “All religions have a different view of God, because they are viewing Him from a different angle.” In short, God is revealed in many ways through many mediums throughout time, and no one religion, philosophy or faith has the totality of His expressed person; there is no monopoly, but every view is legitimate. Like the numerous blind men examining the proverbial elephant, they all touch a different part of the animal and come away with a different perspective, but none are expressly wrong. Some may have a deeper view, but not necessarily a better view.

However, the name of God defines His personhood, and that makes it individual. More to the point, there can only be one God, defined one way, with specific attributes. As every person in the USA is defined not just by their physical appearance but their full name, social security, date of birth, former schooling, employment, marriage status, etc., so must be God. The personal, intimate things that reveal Him for who He is (and who He is not) are what make Him uniquely God in a world of pretenders that make similar claims. Some religions do not claim to know God, or even claim there is no God, which of course is still an identification method negatively employed. But what of those who do claim to know God?

The Baha’i faith eschews other religions in favor of the one founded by Mirza Ali Muhammad, who was martyred for his belief in 1850. While Baha’i claims to revere other holy books (including the Bible) the revelations of the Baha’i faith supersede all previous ones. Baha’i do not believe in the vicarious atonement of Christ or His resurrection, though delicate word games are used to avoid it. They believe in personal sacrifice over vicarious atonement. Moreover, they do not accept that God revealed His person expressly and singularly in Jesus Christ; according that distinction to Baha’u’llah, Mirza’s successor. God expressed Himself in every religious leader from Moses to Mohammed to Krishna, but Baha’u’llah was the finale.

The Unity School of Christianity, to hit closer to home, was founded by Phineas Quimby and Myrtle Fillmore. Fillmore taught that God is an impersonal principle, not a being or individual. It is written in “What Unity Teaches” that Jesus demonstrated potential perfection better than the rest of humankind, although all of humankind could theoretically do the same. In short, Jesus was not the unique God-man sent to earth by the Father to pay for man’s sins. In fact, Unity does not accept sin or evil as being real, but an illusion that must be cast aside. The God principle Unity embraces is a form of pantheism, as the church explains that God undergirds and is really the substance of everything that exists, even rocks and plants. Unity teaches their belief that Christ claimed to be David reincarnated, since Jesus said He was the son of David. Reincarnation, not resurrection, is what Unity subscribes to.

I could go on, but I hope these two examples suffice to illustrate my point. One would expect God to express Himself but one way. A sane person articulates their identity to another in terms easily understood for the sake of permitting the recipient to get to know them. The Bible is God’s conversation to mankind. It is a clear, chronological record of the Creator’s interactions with His creatures. The Bible reveals numerous things about God incongruent with every religion, cult, and philosophy in the world. He is an intimate Creator being, all powerful, all wise, and omnipresent. He is love, but He is also just. He is merciful and longsuffering. He is revealed in Scripture as three persons in one being, Father, Son and Holy Spirit who we collectively and simply name God. The Father sent the Son to be the world’s Savior. Everyone that believes that Christ died for your sin, and that He rose again from the dead to demonstrate His triumph over sin and death is justified. This God is just; sin must be punished, and sin is real. God is merciful; He provided a means by the vicarious death of His Son to reconcile humanity back to Himself. He is love, a personal and intimate expression that a principle cannot perform. Neither could (or would) the god of Islam or the cults, who want their practitioners uncertain of their eternal destinies, with their conscience, thoughts, and free will bound in the fortunes of the religious leadership that declares what God does or does not say.