See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Isaiah 65:17
Dear members and friends,
Humans might have begun to believe in God (or a supernatural power or force) as early as they were self-conscious. However, not all humans believed in God, because some felt that God was an imaginary being created by humans. Thus, there has been a never-ending debate between the theists and the atheists. To this debate, a 20th century theologian, Pual Tillich states, “God does not exist. He is being itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore, to argue that God exists is to deny him.” In a way, what Tillich points out is the inconvenient truth that humans have been refusing to accept: “Humans have no ability to know or understand the Being known as God to them.” If God were to be truly God, God must be above all human reality. Thus, all statements, descriptions, and illustrations regarding God are never about the true God, but only about how humans perceive, experience, and thus understand God. Consequently, what we call “theology” is not the study of God (Theo), but mere collections of human articulations on what we perceive and believe as God.
Emanuel Swedenborg stated Tillich’s concept of the God beyond human comprehension back in the 18th century: the reality of God stays beyond the reality of both angels in heavens and humans on earth. Thus, what both angels and humans experience as God is a mere appearance or reflection of the true God. Consequently, our task as humans who are made in the image and likeness of God is never about defining how to know and understand God, let alone the will of God, but always about learning how to live a life of goodness based on the two gifts from God: consciousness and the Scriptures. Swedenborg had a vision of the world where all people would accept this simple truth regarding God (Creator/Divine). All religions and spiritual teachings on earth are from the same source, because they exist for the same reason: to promote, nurture, and guide humans to learn, understand, and accept their true self and how to cultivate to fulfill their created destiny.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a good moment from all that we do for life in this world, and contemplate on our inner life that exists in the world within.
Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee