How do I define God?

Writer: Nino

How do I define God? I don't. Divinities have been understood in various ways in the cultural traditions that we know. Take, say, the core of the established religions today: the Bible. It is basically polytheistic, with the warrior God demanding of his chosen people that they not worship the other Gods and destroy those who do -- in an extremely brutal way, in fact. It would be hard to find a more genocidal text in the literary canon, or a more violent and destructive character than the God who was to be worshipped. So that's one definition.

In the Prophets, one finds (sometimes) a different conception, much more humane. That's why the Prophets (the "dissident intellectuals" of their day) were persecuted, imprisoned, driven into the desert, etc. -- other reasons included their geopolitical analysis, unwelcome to power. The intellectuals who were honored and privileged were those who centuries later were called "false prophets." More or less a cultural universal. There were different conceptions of divinity associated with these tendencies, and Greek and Zoroastrian influences are probable causes for later monotheistic tendencies (how one evaluates these are a different matter).

Looking beyond, we find other conceptions, of many kinds. But I have nothing to propose. People who find such conceptions important for themselves have every right to frame them as they like. Personally, I don't. That's why you haven't found my "thoughts on this [for you] criticaI question." I have none, because I see no need for them (apart from the -- often extremely interesting and revealing -- inquiry into human culture an history).

me saying this:

Dengan mudah orang akan bilang atas dasar suatu agama, maka akan dijadikan sebagai tameng maha sempurna untuk melakukan semua jenis kejahatan dan kesewenang-wenangan... kadang cuma gara-gara cewek, yang diangkat malah ras-nya, gak jarang kericuhan timbul cuma gara2 satu orang ngomong "sipit" ke orang yang lain, dan di bales cuma dengan ngomong "item".

Atau gerombolan "celana ngatung jenggot gelantungan" akan ngotot2an dengan gerombolan "kalung palang", cuma gara-gara rebutan sebidang tanah. gerakan yang dilandasi sejarah gold. gospel dan glory melahirkan kebencian-kebencian yang akhirnya mengkotak2an kita.

gara-gara tuhan kita jadi menyalahkan yang lain, beda tuhan jadi masalah, banyak tuhan banyak masalah, mending gak punya tuhan jadi gak punya masalah...

ada sedikit partai, sedikit masalah. banyak partai banyak masalah... mending gak punya partai gak punya masalah...

God... sesuatu yang bukan untuk didefinisikan, dipertanyakan keberadaan-Nya, di bela-bela atas nama-Nya, karena Dia sudah mempunyai sifat yang "Maha".

terakhir, just stop violence in the name of what you believe