Beware of an Anthropomorphic God!
by T. SHER SINGH
One of the many traps that language holds for us humans is the knee-jerk tendency to anthropomorphizing - ascribe human-like qualities - to things and concepts which are actually not human or human-like.
Thus, we talk about "Our nation wants our sacrifice!" - "We need to defend our flag!" - "Nature will make us pay for this good weather!"
It gets worse when we turn to our respective concepts of "God".
"God will be angry ..."
"God wants us to ..."
"We are God's chosen ones ..."
"God is on our side ..."
"We are God's soldiers ..."
This ascribing of human attributes to the God we have created ("in our own image") then turns dangerous when we take our own distortions of the language and then begin to act on them.
But let's assume that we are correct in our vision of an anthropomorphic God.
And if we do, then we should be ready to accept that God is not stupid. And that he also has a sense of humor ... and that it might even be finely honed!
Remember the Titanic?
When it was first launched and ready to sail, the British Press hailed it as Man's greatest achievement. One English newspaper headline screamed: "EVEN GOD CANNOT SINK THIS SHIP!"
Well, God did. Right on it's maiden voyage, so that there was no doubt left in the British mind as to who was in charge!
We need to remember loud and clear that if we insist on believing that God is saddled with human-like emotions and likes and dislikes, then he can also think for himself and, from time to time, want to flex his muscles.
So, if we want to believe that we are the Pure Ones, then he might have had good reason to inflict Indro the Evil Witch of the East on us!
If some of us want to believe that it was God that made America great, then surely we should be prepared to accept that it was the same God that saw it fit to inflict George W. Bush ... and, oh yes, Sarah Palin! ... on America!
If God made Canada a White Man's Country - as some good souls still believe - then remember, he was saying something when he threw Brian Mulroney and Mike Harris, Vander Zalm and Preston Manning, at you.
If it was God that spoke to some of us and declared us his chosen people and promised us exclusive suzerainty over a particular piece of land, then we should quickly try and figure out why he created Hitler in our midst.
Let's not forgive the miserable Indians of the subcontinent! God must have his reasons, in his infinite wisdom, for having given them, and confined them to, incredible India!
And God isn't retired yet ... surely, like us, he is no longer expected to observe a retirement age. Here's his latest antic ... and I rely on CNN and other news agencies on this one:
Some fellas in Ohio, U.S.A. decided that God must have not been very serious when he said "Thou shalt not worship graven images!" and decided to build a colossal statue of Jesus ... right outside the front door of the evangelical "Solid Rock" church along the Interstate 75 Highway in Monroe, just North of Cincinnati.
Height - 62 feet.
Width - 40 feet.
Weight - 16,000 lbs.
"The sculpture ... showed the figure of Jesus from the torso up ... "
They built it as strong as the Titanic. That is, "over a steel framework anchored in concrete." It took well over "8000 man-hours in development and installation".
The six-story statue was then christened "King of Kings", and given the nickname of "Touchdown Jesus" - 'because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown in American football.'
Some have described it as the largest statue of Jesus in America.
Well, I don't know why but God seems to have his own thoughts on this ‘graven image‘.
On Monday, June 14, 2010, lightning struck the statue. And burnt it to the ground.
No, it wasn't burnt down by an arsonist, as some Sikh places of worship have in different parts of America recently.
This time, authorities have confirmed, it was an "act of God".
That's frightening. Truly.
All I can say, most humbly, is that if we are sure that God gets happy and sad, pleased and angry, that he takes sides in football games and wars - and the World Cup! Notice how often the players on each team turn to the heavens and invoke God? - that he favours the Republicans in America and the Hindu fundamentalist nuts in India ... then we better get a little bit more careful in how we behave.
Maybe, we should all be a little bit more wary of the infinite wisdom of that very God!
June 17, 2010
http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?id=1601&cat=12
by T. SHER SINGH
One of the many traps that language holds for us humans is the knee-jerk tendency to anthropomorphizing - ascribe human-like qualities - to things and concepts which are actually not human or human-like.
Thus, we talk about "Our nation wants our sacrifice!" - "We need to defend our flag!" - "Nature will make us pay for this good weather!"
It gets worse when we turn to our respective concepts of "God".
"God will be angry ..."
"God wants us to ..."
"We are God's chosen ones ..."
"God is on our side ..."
"We are God's soldiers ..."
This ascribing of human attributes to the God we have created ("in our own image") then turns dangerous when we take our own distortions of the language and then begin to act on them.
But let's assume that we are correct in our vision of an anthropomorphic God.
And if we do, then we should be ready to accept that God is not stupid. And that he also has a sense of humor ... and that it might even be finely honed!
Remember the Titanic?
When it was first launched and ready to sail, the British Press hailed it as Man's greatest achievement. One English newspaper headline screamed: "EVEN GOD CANNOT SINK THIS SHIP!"
Well, God did. Right on it's maiden voyage, so that there was no doubt left in the British mind as to who was in charge!
We need to remember loud and clear that if we insist on believing that God is saddled with human-like emotions and likes and dislikes, then he can also think for himself and, from time to time, want to flex his muscles.
So, if we want to believe that we are the Pure Ones, then he might have had good reason to inflict Indro the Evil Witch of the East on us!
If some of us want to believe that it was God that made America great, then surely we should be prepared to accept that it was the same God that saw it fit to inflict George W. Bush ... and, oh yes, Sarah Palin! ... on America!
If God made Canada a White Man's Country - as some good souls still believe - then remember, he was saying something when he threw Brian Mulroney and Mike Harris, Vander Zalm and Preston Manning, at you.
If it was God that spoke to some of us and declared us his chosen people and promised us exclusive suzerainty over a particular piece of land, then we should quickly try and figure out why he created Hitler in our midst.
Let's not forgive the miserable Indians of the subcontinent! God must have his reasons, in his infinite wisdom, for having given them, and confined them to, incredible India!
And God isn't retired yet ... surely, like us, he is no longer expected to observe a retirement age. Here's his latest antic ... and I rely on CNN and other news agencies on this one:
Some fellas in Ohio, U.S.A. decided that God must have not been very serious when he said "Thou shalt not worship graven images!" and decided to build a colossal statue of Jesus ... right outside the front door of the evangelical "Solid Rock" church along the Interstate 75 Highway in Monroe, just North of Cincinnati.
Height - 62 feet.
Width - 40 feet.
Weight - 16,000 lbs.
"The sculpture ... showed the figure of Jesus from the torso up ... "
They built it as strong as the Titanic. That is, "over a steel framework anchored in concrete." It took well over "8000 man-hours in development and installation".
The six-story statue was then christened "King of Kings", and given the nickname of "Touchdown Jesus" - 'because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown in American football.'
Some have described it as the largest statue of Jesus in America.
Well, I don't know why but God seems to have his own thoughts on this ‘graven image‘.
On Monday, June 14, 2010, lightning struck the statue. And burnt it to the ground.
No, it wasn't burnt down by an arsonist, as some Sikh places of worship have in different parts of America recently.
This time, authorities have confirmed, it was an "act of God".
That's frightening. Truly.
All I can say, most humbly, is that if we are sure that God gets happy and sad, pleased and angry, that he takes sides in football games and wars - and the World Cup! Notice how often the players on each team turn to the heavens and invoke God? - that he favours the Republicans in America and the Hindu fundamentalist nuts in India ... then we better get a little bit more careful in how we behave.
Maybe, we should all be a little bit more wary of the infinite wisdom of that very God!
June 17, 2010
http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?id=1601&cat=12
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