Perfect Peace

Steven Colborne's Philosophical Theology Blog


The

For a long time I have identified closely with the perspective of panentheism, but only by this definition:

“Every created thing exists within God.”

Panentheism means, literally, ‘all-in-God’. I have understood the ‘all’ to mean all of creation. I think that by my own definition this is correct. However, after the Lord led me through a thought process this evening, I am now seeing a logical contradiction in the expression ‘all-in-God’. It creates distinction rather than oneness, placing God as separate in some way from creation.

Pantheism, to me, seems like a more accurate way of describing the great I AM, as long as the definition of pantheism is accepted as ‘all is God’. This seems purer and contains no distinctions. Or does it?

The phrase is still complex, as it contains a determiner (all), a verb (is), and a noun, ‘God’. While I think the expression is to a large extent correct, can GOD really be classed as a noun?!

Perhaps we need to refine our definition even further and more simply.

We might perhaps describe God as ‘the’ (as in ‘panen’the’ism’, pan’the’ism’, ‘the’ology or ‘the’ism). The word ‘the’ would seem to almost perfectly capture God’s nature as self-existing. When anything exists, it is ‘a the’ and God might be described as ‘the the’, or The.

Even better still, when trying to understand what ‘The’ is, we may remain silent.

“Be still and know that I am God.”



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About Me

Steven Colborne is an author, musician and counsellor living in the United Kingdom. On this blog he writes about philosophy, religion and spirituality and shares a variety of personal articles.

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Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy whole heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

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