"Humans are very powerful beings. We create our own God, give Him the qualities He should have, then make sure He knows about all the times He didn't live up to them."
~Harold Klemp~
2007-10-31 17:40:16 · 23 answers · asked by buttercup 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I don't know the intention or context of his words, but I think them very concise and astute. It certainly describes an ancient phenomena of thinking we know God (whether Atheist or Christian). And when either believe this way, then God is in THEIR image and likeness. The teachings and preachings from either side become mere opinions filled with personal agendas. No Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc.etc. should ever believe or teach that their tenets of faith can encapsulate or capture the wholeness of God.
I, as a Catholic priest, can assure you that the Catholic Church has never taught that its theology is so complete to where God is no longer a mystery. The Church on earth still proclaims the Godhead itself is a mystery it cannot fathom completely. Not only does Mother Church teach this, but it is God who forms us and teaches us. Therefore, we do not offer opinions when giving a homily at Mass. What is given in the Mass is only the teachings revealed by Christ our Lord. For Christ only revealed to us what we need to know in order to relate to a mysterious Being like God. Such teachings of the Trinity given by Christ tells us how to live with God (who and whatever God maybe), but He does not teach us what the Godhead is itself. Yet, people forget this and proclaim to know the nature and mind of God. How arrogant and foolish!
I think the reason why so many think they know God and the mind of God is due to a matter of comfort. Not many people (Atheist and Christian alike) feel comfortable living with a mystery or they take mystery to mean somekind of cop out or excuse. Actually denying mystery is a cop out. The true human person and Christian should find it comfortable to live with mystery. As a Catholic priest I find God to be more interesting, comforting, and powerful as mystery than if I were to have definitions and logical arguments to explain it.
Yet, this is where Christians and Atheists go wrong when they believe they have all the definitions and logical arguments about God. They prefer to have answers to everything about God for they cannot live with the fact God is mystery and we cannnot have or discover all the answers.
When St. Thomas Aquinas suffered a "breakdown" as some believe it to be or an epiphany as I believe, he remarked that all the wonderful and lofty theology he wrote as being no more than straw. He said this because he knew that no matter what he was inspired to write, it could not possibly touch the reality of God itself.
If such as saint as Thomas (who is called the Angelic Doctor due to his holy and heavenly thoughts and understanding of God) can humbly admit this limitation, then all Christians should as well.
Yet, as I said earlier Christians and Atheists alike wish to think they know the nature and mind of God for the reason of comfort. For the Christians who believe they know God so completely and teach this, then the god of their image is a comfort because it is a god that does not disagree or contradict their mindset or agenda. For the Atheist, the god of their image is a Being that is no more than a fantasy. This is a comfort to them because it beats living with the reality of a Being beyond their comprehension and does not show itself according to their standards of proof.
As a quantum physicists once said, "The trick to life is not living 'in the know', but living in the mystery." This maybe more than what you wanted. And I am sorry if it is not what you wanted. But I hope to some degree it has been helpful. May the Lord bless and keep you. May the light of His face shine upon you.
God's and your beast of burden
Fr. john
2007-10-31 18:46:23 · answer #1 · answered by som 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That thought process is the very reason why the Hebrew nation in the Old Testament fell out of favor with God. They manufactured numerous idols to worship when the Living God would not provide for them on their timetable.
We are here to serve God, manifest the qualities He gave us not the other way around.
Had the Hebrew nation followed God's instruction from the beginning (to be a nation of priests to the world), who knows where our society would be at this time
2007-10-31 17:58:01 · answer #2 · answered by asgodintended 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Some people aren't reading the quote right, or taking it the right way... Just because it says humans created God, doesn't mean they actually built a man to run a world, or just created the belief of God... It means they created what they thought God should be.
I agree with it entirely.
2007-10-31 17:45:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I agree in the sense of a Practical Atheism. Men do make many idols and create many Gods that they want to serve or to serve them, if the statement was false then why is there so many religions and fake idols?
However, God is above all of that, he is the creator and has created everything. He is one the throne, even if we dont accept it, just as the Queen of England is on the throne even if we dont accept it. Just because you dont believe that their is gravity doesnt make you fly...
So yes i agree in the statement but it is false. If that makes sense.
2007-10-31 17:54:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know anything about Harold Klemp so I don't know what his views actually are/were. I suppose I could interpret it as, humans assign the attributes they want to God and then moan when things don't go our way.
2007-10-31 17:45:11 · answer #5 · answered by CUrias 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
People don't create god people are just clever that is all just to gain profit out of each other.
But god will always be a god as long as ther is energy left in the entire galaxy.
2007-10-31 18:55:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't believe that we created God but as a christian even I can see his point that humans in general have to have a creator and or saviour, most people HAVE to believe that we don't just die that something more comes from it no matter what they believe.
2007-10-31 17:44:18 · answer #7 · answered by B-Man 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
we may be powerful beings, but we did not create ourselves. It took someone (God) more poerful to create us. He then has inspired those men and women to create those things that make us as powerful as we are. God is the Almighty.
2007-10-31 17:49:33 · answer #8 · answered by palmermom3 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Humans didn't create God, God created us.
but I agree with the last part describing that we give Him high standards and such.
2007-10-31 17:47:01 · answer #9 · answered by :) 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Sounds like the New Age Movement in a nut shell.
2007-10-31 17:43:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋