My Philosophy- Spiritual

My Philosophy V Spiritual

I am going to use a source for my next philosophical statements. I like Zig Ziglar, master motivator, and I’m going to use his “Wheel of Life”

https://www.ziglar.com/articles/the-wheel-of-life/

Writing on my Spiritual philosophy is a challenge. As a child, I heard part of what is called the “doxology” “as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen”.

I tried to grasp a world “without end”. Everything I knew had a beginning and an end. Humans, living things were born, lived and died, even trees were born, lived and died. Mountains were formed (born), lived, and eventually were eroded. I grasped the concept that suggested that what are now mountains may have been sea-beds at one time until earthquakes or movement of tectonic plates pushed them up - and some eons in the future would not be mountains. Even our sun, according to the experts will someday die out.

So, how could there be a ‘world without end’? As I learned math and found infinity - infinity - never ended. Who can understand infinity? Taking the Judeo/Christian view “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth”. Now, whether the literal sense of creation or a figurative sense, I never really cared. There was something, someone - out there - way beyond my understanding that always was and always will be. Nothing that I really, physically know is infinite - but there was something beyond me - that was infinite. That was “God” to me.

Humans have tried to define ‘God’. We even have that “God created humans in His image”. I’m not sure if God has a gender - is he a He? Or is she a ‘She”? And, does it really matter.

I like the story/analog from the book “The Shack” where a man encounters God and God is a black woman, Jesus is an effeminate male, and the Holy Spirit is almost viewable. I don’t know. But, way (way-way) beyond my limited human capabilities, there is an infinite, ever-alive-for-ever being (or thing, or even just a thought).

I fell into the convention that beyond me - light-years beyond me, infinite eons beyond me was something that I agree can be called “God”. Intelligent design? Why not?

In Math, I heard the concept of infinity raised to the infinity power. Now that is awesome!! They called that Omega. Christians get the concept of Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end - except there is NO beginning and NO end.

I was raised in a Christian home and very easily feel at home with Christian concepts. To me, that fits into the “Judeo/Christian” concept. Jesus, if you will, was the long-promised Jewish Messiah. But Jesus was a radical beyond radicals. He ‘ran’ with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, the blind, the lepers, the maimed. He didn’t condemn the woman caught in adultery (and that story bothers me - where was the man - adultery requires two people). He said “Father, forgive them” as he was being killed.

I have been all around the Christian denominations - Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Baptist, Evangelical Christian, in Mega-churches and house churches, and twenty-years ago became a Catholic Christian. I’m comfortable where I am at. I feel God’s presence and I feel His (Her) call upon me. My whole philosophy is loosely based on Judeo/Christian principles.

I’ve already written about forgiving, about ‘do unto others as you would have them do to you’. In a few days, I’m going to write about love, hate, volunteering, passion, encouragement, servicing and loving humanity.

I just can’t quite conceive the concept of many gods. “Hear O Israel, the Lord, thy God is ONE”. One ultimate everlasting, eternal, world without end!!.

Jesus said we are to “Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our minds, all our strength, and all our soul.” and then we are to: “Love our neighbor as ourselves”. So, very deep inside me, and part of my true core is “eternal love”. On a scale of 0 to one million, I am (maybe) 0.0000001. How can I, as such a finite being really understand the infinite? I can’t.

What if I have slightly different views on God? And, what if I am a transgender woman? Who knows? Can a pious God-seeking Jew, Muslim, Hindi Atheist, or Buddhist obtain Heaven? I don’t know and, guess what, I AM NOT THE JUDGE. Who gets into heaven and even what heaven is or is not, is NOT my call!!! I can only live my life as I see fit and as I see that fitting into what I sense God is doing in me and how I can walk with Him/Her. I like Micah 6:8 "What does God require of you but to love justice, show mercy and walk humbly with God".

I think of the repentant thief on the cross. That man was (a) not baptized, (b) didn’t have any instructions in faith, (c) was a sinner, and yet, Jesus said: “today you will be with me in Paradise”. God is omnipotent - if God says that a dog or cat can be in heaven, it is His (Her?) call!!!

SO, to finish … I believe in an infinite (or infinite raised to the infinity power) Supreme Being that always has been and always will be - and that is WAY beyond my powers of understanding. And, that concept permeates my whole being.

How about you? Do you wrestle with these concepts?

Karen