Knowing What We Know About God - Discussing an Article by Dr. Gerry Lower.

[excerpt]

"In Jefferson's Deist theology, God is an the human inside, embedded in our ideas, words, and actions. Belief in a vengeful, self-righteous, exclusionary god produces vengeful, self-righteous, exclusionary people under their own god. Belief in a fair and honest inclusionary God produces citizens of a democracy under one human God, "the will of the people, substantially declared" (Jefferson). Belief in Jefferson's God requires only that the people be knowledgeable, thoughtful and caring.

Insofar as "all the names we give to God come from an understanding of ourselves" (Meister Eckhart, http://www.matthewfox.org), then it follows that the people of the world need to reconsider their human self-understanding, whether they be religious and ethnic to a fault or whether they be knowledgeable and ethical human citizens of a global democracy. From such a human understanding comes a new human name for God."

Whether unspoken or not, the question "What Would Jesus Do?" remains unanswered amidst all the Christian rhetoric about morality as the basis for political participation.

We must participate politically according to our conscience and what the Holy Spirit prompts within. That Spirit rarely, if ever, prompts an attitude or action and then follows with a Biblical citation to back it up. Use of scripture was never intended in that way.

Either we as Christians are spirit-based, guided and prompted by pure intelligence based on spiritual ethics of the highest good of all concerned, or we all become manipulated members of a mindless fundamentalism.

We must participate politically, including our voting act, according to our own conscience as the ultimate source of personally inspired and prompted Wisdom.

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