August 17, 2007
Slightly more than two years ago, I watched a movie with a friend. It's title - "Kingdom of Heaven", staring Orlando Bloom and Eva Green. It's a story with war and historical settings. Perhaps you might be familiar with these terms - Jerusalem; Crusades; Muslims... These clues are obvious if you read your history textbooks well.
It was such a long time ago since I had watched that movie. The only quote from that show, which stayed with me was this: "...what God desires, is here [points to the forehead] and here [points to the heart]." The reason why this quote had a very huge impression on me was because of its profound meaning, which I would be explaining later, based on my perception and opinion.
God desires the mind and the heart. To God, your mind matters. What you are thinking or constantly rehearsing in your mind is important to God. To Him, your heart matters also. Recently, I've discovered the truth - My truth, the way I see it. And the way I see it, has set me free - body, mind and conscience. Here's my answer: God is the center of all morality, principles, and human values. God is not a man.
God is a spirit. And spirits are unnatural beings that could only exist when a person places one's belief in them. To the one who believes, the spirit takes its form. To those who doesn't, nothing happens, yet, anything can still happen. Whether God exists or not, it doesn't matter, for if a person has God in his or her heart, God definitely exists. In short, what works for one man, will not work for another.
God is a symbol of all good, morality, illumination, love, and positivity. Without using the explanation of theology, I just have one answer for this: Christianity consists of two absolute powers - God and Satan. In another words, there are both good and evil in this world. God represents "good" while the devil, "evil". The bible is made up of symbolic meanings and representations which probably not many people are able to decipher them all.
But here's the big picture: God is goodness. And when man existed after Him, man possessed the goodness after the likeness of God Himself. I don't believe in the story of Adam and Eve. But I believe that "Adam", as mentioned in the Bible, is the symbolic meaning that represents ALL human race on earth. "Eve" is the helper, the role model and symbol of every woman. Although the process of creation is still unknown, it is very clear that it was the
breath of life that gave existence to every organism on earth. What is it? I would really like to know more.
When man existed, God is his guidance. Here's my discovery: If man existed after God, and if God is the symbol of morality and goodness, then surely, goodness precedes man. That means, immaterial substances actually existed way before man or matter. What do I mean by immaterial? They are things which are not matter. In another words, they are substances not seen and not measured. What are these? Love, hope, and goodness. Also, not forgetting hate, despair, and evil. Everyone wants to do good and everyone hates evil. No one likes to die and everybody certainly longs to live. This is the result of human goodness. It is a seed already planted in everyone of us way before the beginning of matter. It is through our decisions and reckless exposure over time that has perverted our minds and perceptions upon things of the good and evil. Thus, such perversion has since diluted the absolutes within the human world, causing much ambiguity.
When
Adam disobeyed
God, he faced a terrible consequence of being separated from the goodness and guidance of
God. Here, it means that when man betrayed his own morality or conscience, he will be guilty, shameful and perverted. For example, if you kill somebody with your own hands, when your conscience knows that taking a life of another person is morally wrong, then you have betrayed yourself. Though it may seem easy to get over the murderous event at first, what will settle beneath your conscience over time, is shame and guilt (exactly what "Adam" felt when he "ate" the forbidden fruit). As a result, these suppressed consciousness of your sin would take a grip on you. You fall deeper and deeper into sin. Such is the process of being drifted away from the
Garden of Eden (the symbol of righteousness and purity). In time, your perceptions of life and of the world would be blinded by shame and guilt, causing flawed discernments. Even though man still have the power to take dominion over the world, his ways are now corrupted. Now, being undiscerning between right and wrong, man formed various belief systems that gave birth to philosophy. This was what happened and is happening to man ("Adam", that is).
A very important lesson I've learned from Christianity is not about being the best disciple of Christ. It is not about being an active believer in church, or anywhere in the marketplace. It is definitely not being pseudo-religious, pharisee-like or super cynical. It is certainly NOT a religion. It is a relationship with a Spirit that will only exist in the lives those who embrace it in their hearts. It is a relationship with a Symbol that represents morality and goodness. It is a relationship with a Standard that goes ways beyond the sands of time. This standard of morality precedes our existence and is the implanted goodness that is now a part of our human nature. To master it, one has to abide by it.
God is therefore a Standard. That standard is not just based solely on the Holy Bible, it also includes moral law and ethics.
The Holy Bible is never a complete source for answers. Revelations are not from the minds of the religious, but are discovered by works, constant seeking and persistence. Possibilities are found everywhere, not just in the Holy Bible (God works in many ways).
So, in conclusion, man embrace good and detest evil. But when man sin against the Standard, good seems evil and evil seems good. The birth of relativity begins when man discovered shades of gray between different circumstances. The fact that there is light, doesn't make the entire room bright, but rather, the room could be dim for all we know. The fact that one has the life, doesn't make him alive, but rather, he could be dead in the inside. Perhaps, he could have lost his character.
Being redeemed in the mind and the heart is very important. In the Bible, it is said that this is what God always wanted - for us to be restored in our mindset and behaviour according to the original Standard. Indeed, moral law and ethics have set themselves before us. It is hence our decision to abide by it, based on our conscience (the conscience is the soul).
In sum:
1. God is Spirit - He will be true to those who embraces him within their minds and hearts.
2. God is a Symbol - He represents morality and human goodness.
3. Adam is a Symbol of all human race. He represents us.
4. God is a Standard - If God is the center of moral values and human goodness, then morality and character excellence is the Standard we all must have.
5. To be a sinner or a law breaker, is to betray your own conscience. Conscience is the human soul, which cannot live up to its standard without the assurance of God's (moral) existence.
6. To fall short of the Standard, is to become ambiguous in all thoughts, discernments and perceptions, leading to the birth of philosophies.
7. It is through the birth of philosophies and school of thoughts that gave rise to a way of life, known as relativism. Shades of gray have since become very prominent in the way we perceive life and circumstances.
8. If God is dead, so is morality, goodness, way of life, and hope. God is the overall body that forms the seed of human goodness.
9. The Bible is not everything. It is what we seek for ourselves. Answers to our doubts are just out there for us to ponder, question, receive, and acknowledge.
10. What makes us human? Our freedom to choose, our naturally implanted seed of goodness, and the way we feel.
******* God's existence isn't as important as how we live our lives according to higher moral standards, that is,
God's standard *******
I will talk more about that kind of standard in my next entry. Do stay tune.
