God Concept – a few more thoughts about the nature of God

Is God a concept or a being?  This seems to be the choice we are faced with today.  In so many shows and conversations where the fundamental thinking of people is revealed, it seems that people believe in a god of their own making.  The Bible states that God is love, but people try to reverse that and say that Love is god; that somehow our notions of love and goodness are the source of that which we call god, and that in essence, we are the source of god.  One of my former coworkers made a statement to me that revealed this paradigm to me.  He said, “I believe in the Christ concept.” to which I replied, “Christ is not a concept.  He is a person.” 

In the human discourse, it can be difficult to tell what people really believe.  They can say all the right phrases, and behave in all the acceptable ways, and yet at their core not really accept what the Bible clearly teaches.  The same book that says, “God is love.”, also says, “God created the heavens and the earth.”  A concept cannot exercise volition to create anything of it’s self.  Christ did not say that his teachings were the way the truth and the life, but that He was.  I don’t know about you, but I find no comfort in worshiping the lifeless idol of humanistic ideology.  My hope is anchored in the Holy of Holies with the creator of the universe who is before all and above all that we know or imagine.

Tied to this notion that god can be whatever we make him to be is another perplexing and illogical statement.  It goes something like, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe it.”  Huh?  I may believe that I can walk through walls, but I’ll bloody my nose trying no matter how much I believe it.  The idea that all paths lead to God does not square with the Bible in any way.  It doesn’t even make sense.  I could say that all roads lead to Walmart, and it might seem true, but it is not.  I know a great many roads that will not get you there.  In the same way, there are a great many roads that may seem to lead heavenward but really do not.  Jesus made an exclusive statement when he said, “No man comes to the Father but by me.”  It is only when we put our trust in the person of Jesus Christ and believe that God raised him from the dead that we can share in that same resurrection power.

Life as we know it cannot exist on Earth without the power of the sun, but the sun is just a huge ball of energy.  The true source of life is the person who created the sun, moon and stars in the first place.  He created the first man from the dust of the ground with his own hands and breathed life into him.  He is the source of life.  Without him life cannot exist – period.  Without God, we don't know what love is.

A trek from the trees to the stars

From my childhood, I remember many times I would slip outside in the evening at my grandparent’s farm and look up.  I would take in a long slow breath as if trying to inhale all the stars in the sky as I marveled at them twinkling overhead.  Now I live in Elmira with all the street lights and noise.  I rarely see even one star in the course of the year, but I remember how I felt.  I imagined what it would be like to travel among the stars.  Of course, I was a sucker for shows like Star Trek, and Lost in Space, movies like Star Wars and Battle Star Galactica. 

I remember debating the question of life on other planets with my friends at Penn York Camp.  Since I don’t know definitively about the existence of life beyond this earthen orb, I offer this observation – If God is big enough to create the whole world, he could create it all just for us.  On the other hand, if he created the whole world, he could certainly have created other inhabited worlds.  If he chose to create life elsewhere within this universe, there is no reason that he would be obligated to tell us.  We simply need to trust him.  

As for whether this world was created or just came to be autonomously, I have to believe the former.  I am a designer by trade.  I have created thousands of designs, and I have never seen a single design come into being spontaneously.  Certainly the complexity and beauty of this world must have been designed.  That is my deep held conviction and the foundation of all that I believe.  As for what I believe about the nature of God – He is as mighty and terrifying as anything we can imagine, and yet as loving and tender as the butterfly wings he created for us to enjoy.  I believe that the testimony of Matthew Mark, Luke and John is trustworthy, and that God revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ.  This is the only thing that makes sense to me.  Each person has to decide for themselves what and who they will believe.  As for me, the man who gave his life for me and then rose from the dead three days later is the one I choose to follow.

Some day, he will take me on a trek though the stars that he made to a city that he has prepared.  Until then, I can only imagine what such a trek might be like.

Feeding Leaves to Facebook

Debra suggested that I should feed my Arboreal Reflections blog to my facebook page.  So far my blog has been a bit of an experiment to see how this all works.  I posted some thoughts and some artwork, but I can't claim that it is "Must Read PC" or anything, and so far not nearly as witty as Bill's cloud chasing.  None the less, here it is for all who have nothing better to do...  enjoy.

I''d like to share a few of the songs I've written over the years. but I haven't figured that part out yet.  For now it is just words and pictures.

Pen & Ink

One of my favorite things to do when I can find the time is to sketch on paper either with pencil or ink.  There is something about the simplicity of form that I find relaxing.

 Sometimes I sketch things that I see in front of me...

 but more often, they are things that I imagine in my mind.  Many of them are illustrations of abstract or concrete ideas.

I like other artistic media as well, but painting can be messy and time consuming.  Photography may show too much detail.  Pastel chalks may not be crisp enough, but a few strokes of the pen may capture the idea quickly and accurately.

The floral brush and ink image on the right side of the blog has two chinese characters: "tien how" which mean "God is good"  I like the pictoral nature of the characters.  God is represented as supreme - above the mountains.  Good is represented as a mother holding her child.

In all my art and life I want to convey that God is good, and that He is supreme.  He is the one who gave us the ability to see and ponder the world around us, and ultimately to seek and find Him.  With a stroke of His pen we are written into the book of life when we accept His loving plan through Christ.  May this be so for you.

Creativity

I love being creative, and exploring the creative process.  I even tried my hand at writing a small book on the topic called "Aiding Computer-Ailing Design"  Here is an excerpt from the begining of that book:

Creativity 

         “Design”

For many, the words “design” and “designer” evoke the sense of free-form artistry.  We think of famous clothing designers and exciting concept cars.  There is almost a sense of intrigue and mystique.  But let’s get real!  Much design work that is required in today’s world is down right plebian.  Some sort of design is needed in order to start producing stuff to sell.  So, often design is thought of as an incidental step within the process of making money.

Yet, even for the most utilitarian of objects, design has a singularly important role to play.  In the context of this writing, I am making a distinction between design and engineering.  Though, in practice, the two disciplines are blended to various degrees.  Engineering’s primary focus is on the details of how to make everything work.  Design is more concerned with the overall form and function.

 

The truth is, with all other things being equal, design sells.  If a customer sees two items of equal utility and value, they will choose the one that looks better.  Sometimes customers will even choose the more attractive item despite its shortcomings.  Even though we know better, human beings tend to judge products by their appearance at least initially.  We may pick the beautiful apples at first until we discover that they don’t taste as good as the slightly less attractive variety.  Attention needs to be given to both the aesthetic appeal and the actual function.

The creative process extends well beyond the borders of design and can indeed apply to any human endeavor.  Being creative means coming up with something new.  A new shape, a new approach, and a different method of assembly are all results of creativity.

Fostering Creativity

It takes energy and initiative to be creative.  Creativity takes work.  Creativity also involves risk.  It is easier and safer to do things that have already been tried and proven.  The creative process also takes time and resources.  If you want creativity, it needs to be fostered.  Several conditions that must exist for creativity to flourish are open-mindedness, a ready access to information, a freedom to explore new ideas, and an understanding of how to evaluate and implement them.

Managing the Creative Process

Creativity is like the waves of the ocean.  They find their most powerful and beautiful expression when they meet the unyielding boundary of the shore.  Creativity is most useful when it is applied to a set structure of requirements and limitations.  Like bridling a horse, the trick is to reign in the process so that it is useful without tying it so tight it can’t breathe.

I will describe specific methods for managing the creative design process in the next section.  Some of the methods involve external methodologies, while others employ mental disciplines.  Anyone who is like me may be saying, “Enough already!  I don’t want to wade through a plethora of arcane and theoretical mumbo-jumbo.  Just get to the point.  Tell me how to do it.”

I wish it was that simple.  In truth, anything that can be listed down step-by-step probably doesn’t need a designer.  There are some types of items that are so simple they simply need a technician to input new numbers into a resizable design.  Yet in the arena of innovation and customization, each designer must think for themselves.

Structure 

     “Engineering & Management”

The design process must connect with the frameworks of engineering and management in order to be useful.  Engineering deals with the methods of design creation, while management deals with the resources applied to the process...

...Bla, bla, bla.  I actually managed to assemble thirty-eight pages under that title before I gave up.  Does anyone but me read stuff like that? 

    No matter - sometimes the very exercise of writing helps one to better understand their own thoughts.  I would venture to say that blogging is more about the writer than it is the reader. 

Every artistic endeavor that I have embarked on has caused me to hone my skills of observation.  Making music teaches me to listen.  Taking photos or drawing, or painting force me to look more carefully at the world around me.   Looking for creative solutions to problems causes me to pay closer attention to situations and persons around that problem, and so on.

    Creativity is a journey and a process.  I believe that our desire to be creative comes from our Heavenly Father, who made this marvelous an multifarious universe for us to enjoy.  It is natural that we would want to be creative too.  Expressing ourselves in creative ways is part of being, and feeling alive.  

    Join me in the journey, won't you?   Be creative!

Leaf Motif

Along the journey of life, I have now and again reached down to admire one of the many beautiful autumn leaves that carpet the ground along my path.  Here in this blog I will post a few of the leaves that I have kept pressed in various notebooks and such, tucked away and all but forgotten along with some new ones fresh from the forest floor of life.  Somehow it seems only right to me that I should share them with others that perhaps they too might be encouraged or inspired as I have been by these little leaves.

  If you will, take a walk with me though the leaves...

...