Howdy Saints: Here is an excerpt from a link that Byron (firstborn888) provided months ago on Panentheism. I found it strangely compelling. How about you?

The full link is here: http://www.frimmin.com/faith/godinall.php

In His Love, John
PS: Thanks, Byron!

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Panentheism and other God-views:

Panentheism offers the potential for greater dialogue and communication between Christians and those of other views. Other religions share with Christianity this apprehension of the simultaneous beyondness and hereness of the Ultimate as well, even though they use different terms. Buddhism, for instance, speaks of "the Unmade," "the Unconditioned", "the Void"-that which is beyond all concepts on the one hand, but of "Buddha-nature" the divine potential immanent within all "sentient beings," on the other.

Furthermore, many people who call themselves atheists or agnostics actually are not; many have a strong sense of a spiritual dimension, but simply find the images of a "personal God" an intellectual hurdle. Often this is because of misunderstandings brought about by poorly communicated concepts of a very man-like God (though with extraordinary powers) somewhere "up above," reacting with wild emotions to events in the world. These simplistic images have offended countless people from believing in God, and countless more from being able to trust him deeply. So millions of Christians find themselves adults with dissonant, childish (and often threatening) images of God, and millions of non-religious people have only seen such images and rightly reject them.

The panentheism of the Bible is quite different: it certainly presents God as relating to persons and thus "personal," but also as infinitely beyond personality. To communicate God's infinity, the Bible describes God in many non-personal images as well. Consider a few: Spirit,(Jn 4.24) Sun, (Mal 3:20) Word, (Jn 1:1) Rock, (1Cor 10:4) Fire, (Heb 12:29) Light, (1 Jn 1:5) Waters of Life, (Rev 21.1) Wisdom, (Pr 1.20) and Love. (1 Jn 4:8) Perhaps we should keep in mind that God's "person"-ality is also a metaphor, for (he? she? it? all pronouns fail when contemplating this magnificence!) is as infinitely beyond being a "person" in the traditional sense as the One who created light is beyond being light.

No view of God is larger than the panentheistic view. All other theisms (deism, theism, polytheism, animism, pantheism, atheism) are fragmented theologies compared to panentheism. This is the ground for an inexhaustible faith-that God is present right now, in every cell of our bodies, in every beat of our hearts, in every person, in every star, in every loving thought, birthing every particle of every atom of the entire Creation into a constant stream of existence, the invisible Nothing and Nowhere that brings forth Everything and Everywhere. God in all things and all things in God invites wonder, and wonder invites all to touch God.
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This may or may not be relevant to this thread but I just wanted to post it because it is something that has been on my mind.

I create things. I'm a little artistically inclined.
When I create something... say an elaborate piece of jewelry for instance...
That piece of jewelry, after what I've put into it, eventually starts to become an extension of myself.
That piece of jewelry is like a piece of ME.

If I try to sell it, I feel like I'm selling a piece of myself! I can't attach a value.
This is why handmade/ artist made things are alway so expensive.
It's because the piece of art actually becomes an extension of the artist.
I've sold a few things, but most of my stuff has been given away.
(that's my own hang-up of not being able to attach a value, though... most other people aren't quite as strange as me...LOL.)

But anyway, the way I see God is that HE IS in EVERYTHING.

If He created EVERYTHING, than He IS in everything.
EVERYTHING. Me, you, my dog, my cat, this wood that makes up my desk...
Everything comes from HIM.
Everything is an extension of Himself.


I agree with this view, wholeheartedly.

I also believe, though that God is a completely seperate entity that we will be able to see, touch, feel... etc.

What if God looked like....everything He ever created all rolled up into one? All the patterns, of a a leaf, of a zebra, a butterflys wings, the iris of an eye, all of the colors of everything, every texture... just EVERYTHING? Sometimes I think about that and think, yes.... if someone WERE to actually SEE God, they would fall over as if dead. Actually the sight probably WOULD kill them. It would be too much for human eyes. Sometimes I think about what God looks like....
Sometimes I do still wish He looks like Gandalf. I can't help it...

I just think that we are an extension of God. And everything on this earth is an extension of Him.
I can see that. People will laugh and pick up a rock and say "Oh, ok so you think THIS is God? GOD IS A ROCK?"
NO. I don't think God IS a rock. But I do believe that a part of God is IN that rock.

Well, just my two cents.

Yes, Gandalf, who quirks, “I’m not trying to rob you! I’m trying to Help you!”

Me too, Sparrow! I Love the Lord of the Rings!

I definitely see what you are saying. I guess I never really thought of something I made as being a part of me, but the more I think about it, the more I agree!

Panentheism is interesting isn’t it. I also agree that it provides a framework for tolerance at least on our part toward other/all religions. Maybe this is why Byron is so likeable!

Unfortunately, tolerance is NOT what the Religious “Rightist” are all about.

In His Love, John

Thats my very fav website that I could not do without. Ever since running onto it a couple of years ago Ive been hooked. I go read it over again and its always so uplifting.

In God we move and have our being - that is from Ephesians.

Romans 11:36 - For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 8:6 - yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

Colossians 1:16 - For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

The vastness in the all inclusiveness of Gods love, grace and etc.in the Panentheist view certainly make the religious figure heads of the various belief systems, doctrines and traditions like the Pope or some preacher like John Hagee or even the infamous Reverend Jim Jones look pretty selfish, stingy, begrudging, petty and small with the "Good News of the Gospel" doesn't it though?

Peace,
Fire Walker