Google on the words panentheism and unitheism--terms which I began using in the 1980's onward.
http://www.google.ca/search?q=unitheism+panentheism&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq...http://www.unitheist.org
Unitheism is the name I use for a concept of theology which I will discuss later. First, I will outline the theology in which I was raised.
I was raised as a monotheist (theist for short)--a word I first heard about in Sunday school. For as long as I can remember I have been uncomfortable with the idea that there is a one all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present and supernatural human-like god, called God. But here is what we were taught in the Church-owned school and Sunday Schools:
We were taught to believe in God as a kingly, lordly and loving heavenly father. He (this masculine pronoun was always used) deliberately designed and created the universe, as it is described in the book of Genesis, and that he did it in six days. Sure he also created all the planets, stars and galaxies, but he took a special interest in our home, the planet we call mother earth. God created everything on earth, including the elements, the minerals, the plants, fish, animals and human beings.
When I got old enough to question the stories we children were told about Santa I began to question the stories we were told about God; that he is a god up and out there; that he knows all about everything and everyone--past, present and future; that he is keeping an eye on everything that is happening at all times, and that he already knows where we will be and what it will be like in the future.
We were also taught that God is a god of goodness and love and wants us to be loving and good; that if we are not good we will be punished. We were warned God is also a god of justice; that if we sinned, he will punish us for our sins--that is, the bad we deliberately do, and the good we fail to do. However, because he is loving and just, if we repent and do good, because he is merciful and loving, he will forgive us our sins and eventually take us to heaven when we die. Some teachers tried to scare student by telling us that "God know when and how we will die."
When I was quite young I became aware that not all religions taught the same things about God and the Bible. This caused me to wonder ask all kinds of questions. And I asked myself: Why would any real god leave us in any doubt about such an important issue as eternal salvation?
By the time I had finished high school I had gone beyond the above kind of monotheism. At 17 I went off to university
Eventually, when I became convinced that the universe must be one great god-like unit with which all that is, including people, is connected. Because of this kind of thinking I concocted the term 'unitheism'. Later still, I found out that at least one other person--now a friend--came up with the same idea and asked me to write for his site--
Except for when I quote others, I came to the decision that I could no longer, comfortably, use the noun God. Therefore, I chose to use the acronym G0D--with a zero, or a Ø, a null, instead of an O. The following verse came to mind:
Goodness, Order and Design
2006
===000===
I think of GØD as goodness,
As order and design,
Which lives in perfect harmony
Within this soul of mine.
GØD's not some distant person
Who lives in heaven, apart,
GØD is the One who dwells within
The open, willing heart.
GØD dwells within each one of us,
And when we give the nod,
We all become, with every breath,
Extensions of that GØD.
=========00000=========
UNITHEISM is a theology--that is, a knowledge-based concept of G0D--which actually inspires me to act on the idea that, with GOD, all good things--physically, mentally and spiritually--are possible. If the word 'GOD' offends you, use one of your own invention.The bottom line is: what you would like life to be like. It is your choice. See www.unitheist.org a site set up by Warren Farr and endorsed by me.
My interest in UNITHEISM--which says that GOD is one with us and we are one with GOD--therefore, is not just academic. It is about exploring the practical values connected with this concept, which will help us, and our suffering world, find the joy-filled and "abundant life" of which Jesus, and others before and after him, spoke.
Using the acronym FREUDE--the German for joy--let me see If I can make myself clear.
By the way, Beethoven's Ode to Joy--part of his great Ninth Symphony, begins with the words, "Freude, freude ..." In my opinion, without GOD there is no joy. There is only fear, resistance, envy, uncertainty, depression and the ego, the ultimate enemy of our peace of mind.
===================================
First the bad news about the enemy:
- F stands for ego-based fears and feelings (Sad and happy). The un-observed ego is in a constant state of fear--fear of failure and that we are missing out on finding the fun of life.
- R stands for ego-based resistance. Our pride tends to cause us to resist doing the things we need, and ought, to do for ourselves and others.
- E stands for envy--coveting things we think we can't have unless with take them from others, including our family, friends, our community and the world. It is the root of all crime, including war, terrorism and the like.
- U stands for the ego-based feeling of uncertainty. It arises out of the unobserved mind. It is the feeling of unease that we get when we feel unaware of what is truly real. When we reach a pure state of consciousness we will no longer feel unaware.
- D stands for the ego-based feeling of despair, the loss of hope. It is a very destructive emotion, leading to the depths of depression--the common cold of mental diseases.
- E stands for the ego, the enemy within--the ego-based mind, the thinker, the psyche--which is out to destroy our peace of mind.
Like fire, the ego can be a great servant, but a mean and destructive master, especially when we allow it to run our lives. Left to its own devices this man-made self, this unobserved mind, will stand between us and keep us separate from the real self, others and all that is good--GOD-like.
Egotism is a dreadful mental disease. As already indicated, it is the mother of envy, the mother of all counter-productive conflicts--crimes of passion, wars, terrorism, financial crashes, you name it ...
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NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS.
When our GOD-given imagination is applied FREUDE can become real joy.
Can you imagine the following?
By making the following simple choice--and that is all that it takes, a choice--one can take, "the road less traveled by" and like the poet said: "make all the difference".
Right now, I make the choice with you: "Beginning now, I choose to live in a state of conscious awareness of all my physical and mental--that is, somatic and psychosomatic--feelings.
I choose to connect with GOD--By the way, atheists, agnostics and others, choose your own word (nature, life, whatever) here--the Source of all knowledge, wisdom, power and Love.
When I make this choice this, my body and mind (soma and the psyche) will then become loving servants--no longer the enemy.
