Who is God?

THE EDITOR, Sir:

For every person who overtly denies the existence of God, there is still a personal acceptance of God’s reality in one way or the other.

One definition of God put it as (in Christian and other monotheistic religions) the Creator and Ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority – the Supreme Being. That definition may as well include material fortresses such as wealth or even personal goals and ambitions.

Monalism is also not a requirement for belief in God, since many today, like the Egyptians, believe in several gods at the same time. Such plurality of gods means that you would not necessarily indict or involve any single god for the recent mayhem at the Oberlin High School in St Andrew, Jamaica.

Those who base their trust in what they view as practical reality have also invested their trust in an alterable and changeable world.

Nothing is guaranteed. Belief in God unconsciously involves the sports, entertainment and the goal of enjoying life while it lasts. So much so could one be immersed in self-actualisation and purpose here, that the reality of a competing god becomes muted.

It is interesting that, if you use the definition above regarding moral independence, any god we may worship becomes the source of right and wrong – be it ourselves, money, people or ambition. Which is why corruption and fraudulent activities often take priority over what regular people may regard as just, right and proper.

The current political climate also has its resurgence in belief in a god where casualties in election campaigns are sometimes seen as necessary evils.

So there is no doubt that even those walking the rope of doubt and full-fledged atheism entertain and accept some notions of a god.

Yet, the God that really matters, and who our own mini gods often overshadow and eclipse, is authenticated in Psalm 83:18, which says “May people know that You, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the most high over all the earth”.

HOMER SYLVESTER