The Search for God Page 4.2.5
Up until this point I have used the term “communication” from God. While this seems reasonable, most people think of religion when they think about God. Are the two ideas interchangeable?
Are communication and religion the same thing?
Religion
Well, we clearly see they are different words and have different definitions. Religions are often viewed as practices that groups of people perform inside institutions that say God spoke.
What am I driving at here? I remember a time in college when my roommate and I had a discussion—one of many. We were discussing how the King James Bible came to be and how it was corrupted by the church.
We had both heard that somewhere and debated whether that statement was true or not. We complained about how we thought religious people tried to manipulate others, on and on.
Our assumption was that communication from God had been obscured by religion. Do the practices people perform reflect what God said or have the religious practices been embellished by humankind? How do we know?
I didn’t know the answer to this question. There are so many religions. I think the important question here is,
- Would communication from God lie outside an established religion?
- When we go to study religions, are we somehow missing some communication from God?
- Would every communication from God result in the establishment of a religion?
Speculation
This requires speculation. We have established that God would most likely require written communication. He would suggest telling others and passing the information to future generations, and most likely, he would introduce himself which would include something like, “I am the Creator of the universe.”
The result would most likely be some awe and reverence. In addition, God’s introduction to individual humans would include some amazing feats, which people are sure to tell others, so the level of reverence and wonder would be high.
So unless God specifically says, “Do not worship me,” some reverent religion would most likely form. These people have been changed, they believe the communication, and they are amazed. Look at the level of “worship” people display toward music, tv, or movie stars.
Look at the reverence toward modern-day gurus who offer enlightenment. I can only imagine the level of worship people would attempt for God. So while some communication might lie outside religious institutions or religious texts, most likely godly communication would reside in religion.
So while religious practices might go beyond religious texts, the written word from God is what we are after. So, soon we will have to examine religious texts for the attributes of God.
What Next?
- What is the crucial concept?
- The communication feats required to convince humans that the eternal God spoke would most likely result in religious formation.
- Why is that significant?
- We can limit our evaluation of godly communication to religions.
- If you agree, the next steps.
- If you disagree, please consider reading.
References and Links
- Merriam-Webster – Communication
- Blue Letter Bible – The Attributes of God