The God Concept

Copyright Amber Simmons, 1996. All rights reserved.

Article taken from Mothersmagic.net

The idea that the Earth and its inhabitants are all interconnected is not a purely Wiccan
ideal, although it is a very important aspect of our religion, to say the least. The idea of the
Earth has an energetic affect on our minds, bodies and souls is as old as humanity. Ever
since the beginning of man's philosophies, the concept that the weather, our energies, our
fates and our follies were contingent to the whims of a Higher Power have existed. Why,
then, is Wicca so special? What do we as Wiccans hope to gain from, or contribute to,
Wicca?

I don't think that the answer is as cut and dry as I would like to pretend that it is. For
many, Wicca is the most widely available Pagan religion, and the draw towards Paganism is
intense. Indeed, Wicca has many branches and many followers, and there are as many
ways to practice Wicca as there are members (just about). But the single most impressive
thing about Wicca is what it has in common with many other religions, philosophies and
dogmas. It is the idea of GOD that stands out, and it is this topic that I would like to explore
here.

Man has created God to exist in many forms. The Greeks and the Romans saw the Gods as
multiple and childish, temperamental and frivolous. They reflected human nature and were
not above it, but part of it. The Hindus see the Gods as multiple, but with fewer human like
characteristics, and fewer human flaws. The Christians see God as a triple figured entity,
represented by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jews and Muslims see God as an all
inclusive, powerful entity, much like the Christian faith, but without the Trinity concept.
Although these religions are very different in their individual dogma and teaching, they
share the common thread in that they teach morality, unification, and the worship and
obedience of God. The God concept is what holds religion together, and for many, is what
keeps us in line and away from chaos.

The most intriguing fact about God is that we cannot see it (him, her, whatever). Over 90%
of humans believe in some sort of God, yet none of them have any "proof" that such a being
exists. What, then, keeps us holding on? What makes us believe in force that we can't even
prove exists?

The Egyptians believed that the Gods had control over weather. They held rituals and
presented sacrifices to the Gods hoping that their efforts would be rewarded and they would
be granted a fine harvest, free from flood, locusts and hardship. Later religious groups
latched onto the idea of God to explain ideas that had no scientific background, and still
others are said to accept the idea of God because "there is no such thing as coincidence".
But probably the most cryptic, and most interesting, reason that man "invented" God is to
avoid responsibility.

You know what I'm talking about. "The Devil made me do it." "It's not in God's plan" "I can
only do what the Lord has blessed me to do". I'm NOT trying to criticize ANY religion, but I
do think that the topic is a profound one, and one that needs to be explained if we are going
to gain a true understanding of what God is, both in our minds, and in reality.
Plato states that God is the maker of Shapes. He resides in the realm of shapes and ideas
and all that we know of him comes from his reflections down to Earth. God is the shaper,
the Demi Urge, the Initial Mover. Without God, how do we answer the question of where the
Universe came from? How do we explain connections to people, places, memories that we
have not experienced in this lifetime? Without God, how do we explain out of body
experiences? What about Angels?

It is unfortunate that for many people, including Witches, God has become a means to an
end. If one wants to avoid confronting his problems, his pitfalls, he blames God. He says "It
isn't in my cosmic Cards". Well, those of us that have taken the time to think about it know
that this is a load of crap. YES, God intervenes in our lives, but we are not puppets. We are
not at his beck and call. If that were what s/he wanted, why would s/he give us minds at
all? Why endow us with the ability to think and create and make our own decision if our
ticket was going to run us into the same destination no mater what path we chose to take?
The answer is that no God would. Even if we are but an experiment as many a
metaphysicist is quick to point out, we are sentient, rational creatures with the gift to

reason and project. These are not the qualities of your common household pet.

But as Wiccans, we don't believe that we are part of a Cosmic Computer. We don't believe
that God has written the Great Universal Script and we are but actors in a grand celestial
play. We have not chosen to worship God because we are trying to escape our human
foibles, or because we are looking for an answer to inexplicable questions. As Wiccans, the
word "believe" almost becomes controversial. We do not merely believe. We know .

But why? What is it about our nature that makes such confidence? Even the most staunch
Christian only has his faith to rely on. Most devout Christians will say that they, too, know
that there is a God. And perhaps they do, but perhaps not in the same way that we do.
Wiccans know that there is a God because God (or in our case, the Goddess) works within
us. God empowers us with magick , God joins us in our circle, God smiles upon us during
our festive times. We know God because we accept a pantheistic philosophy that God lies
within us, within the trees, within the sands, within the Earth that we walk upon. God
reaches in and out of everything, and knows no boundaries. We know it because we feel it.

What about those people that have a very different concept of God? Are they wrong? If

there is only one God, then how can there be multiple religions with different ideas of God?

The question is a good one, and thankfully, fairly easy to answer. God, as s/he really exists,
has no form, has no shape, has no contours. It is an abstract entity--a powerful energy
encompasses within and about all natural objects. As human beings, however, we were not
blessed with celestial understanding, and visualizing this abstract God is extremely difficult,
if not impossible. Therefore, humans have constructed the idea of a God which has human
shape, human names, etc. These things merely serve as visual aids in our worship and
response to the Deity. For some, it is easier to see the many faceted God as hundreds of
different Gods in order to separate the aspects of something sublime and ethereal. For
others, the idea of single, simple, unified God is most appropriate as they see that God is all
things, and not a collection of all things. However one chooses to see the God, it is still the
same God. They many not agree that they worship the same God, but since there is only
one encompassing power, we are all in the celestial boat together.
Religion is only a tool to get to the God. There is no right or wrong religion, there are only
right and wrong people in the religion. I might not be a good candidate for Judaism, but I'm
a great Wiccan. My mother might be a terrible Wicca, but she makes a very good Christian.
The only important thing religion has to offer is a way to bring you closer to the Divine. This
is its purpose. When religion starts to separate, kill and obliterate, then human greed has
interfered with the delicate structure of religion, and it is no longer pure. God condemns
none, but accepts all, for we are all a part of what God is. That's the important thing to
remember.

I suggest that we do a lot of reading on metaphysics as Wiccans, but also just as people. I
think reading some metaphysical essays will illuminate our view of the world, open our eyes
and our minds, and ultimately make us better people, and better Wiccans.