God is Love, Love is all there is, All is One (Bob’s theology)
God is Love
This is the first of my beliefs. I have struggled to define exactly what Love is. This word “Love” with a capital “L” is meant to be the totality of God. While it is more than, “I love puppies”, it includes this as well. All Love and love are part of God. “Huh?” you say. Webster, always a good place to start, defines love as, “1. Strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. 2. Attraction based on sexual desire, 3. Affection based on admiration, benevolence or common interests.” When we read 1 Joh 4:16 it says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (NIV)
It would seem the Bible sees love as a state of being not necessary affection toward another. I believe that God is Love…more than just a state of being but an existence. Love is an energy that is the totality of existence. It includes my love for my family, friends, dogs, etc. but it is more. Quantum physics talks about all of matter being just energy vibrating at different levels. I believe this energy is God.
Where did God go to get a universe? The universal Walmart? “I’d like to get a universe with 10 trillion stars, 90 million planets. Oh, and some that support life.” No, I believe God created the universe out of Godself—I’ll call it “God-stuff”. This is the energy of God transformed into our universe with all the wonderful creations that exist. Yes, this computer is made of God-stuff, but it’s NOT God. Just as a teaspoon of ocean water is ocean, it is not THE ocean. Every-thing is a small representation of who God is. The universe didn’t come from nothing, it came from God’s energy…God’s self.
This can lead into the belief of pantheism: “The religious belief or philosophical theory that God and the universe are identical (implying a denial of the personality and the transcendence of God)”. (Oxford dictionary). So, while I believe that a rock is made of “God-stuff” it is NOT God. GOD IS SO MUCH MORE!
So, God, in part, is the physical manifestation of the universe, but also the emotional manifestation of affection for one another or anything. Do you watch the videos where the soldier comes home and surprises his loved ones? That feeling of desire, love, affection, and joy makes me tear up. The love the mother has for her newborn after hours of labor, that’s love and that’s Love. We can throw in the sensual manifestations, sexual manifestations, psychological manifestations, etc. Get the picture? God is everything, but every-thing is NOT the totality of God.
I can hear it now! “But what about war, murder, hurricanes, destruction, hate!!!” This leads me into the next part of my theology, “Love is all there is”.
Rev Bob Rice
Church of Natural Grace
June 7, 2022
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