Thanks for that piece. I’ve often been thinking of that duality with God: if God created everything then he created satan/evil; this evil is then just an aspect of gods personality and so not to be feared in the traditional way, I suppose. I think you dissect it nicely by showing how this darkness and struggle (and maybe a little evil) is all possibly just a part of breaking us loose and living as our best selves—a chrysalis of sorts. But also showing the evidence that if unchecked this type of evil could tear someone down quickly and secretly without them even knowing what hit them. Luckily you have the fortitude, genetics, prayers, or whatever so that you were able to overcome this evil one little step by one little step.
One of my favorite Whitman quotes is “I contain multitudes” and if man contains multitudes then it’s foolish to think that God does not. It seems like we can not hold space for such multitudes and so we have to divvy them out into different beings of personality/duties—Tom Waits has a line in his song “Heart Attack and Vine” that says, “don’t you know there ain’t no devil, that’s just God when he’s drunk.” That always made me laugh and think.
This gave me much to ponder and I wish I could give a better response, but it’ll never come if I don’t hit send.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Waits' line drinks deeply of the idea that our fathers are, for better or worse, our earthly analogs for God's character. For his part, God seems content to let us believe whatever we want about him. (With the substantial exception of coming as Jesus to set the record straight). The crucial thing to notice is that we ourselves are the ones chiefly affected by how we think of Him.
Thanks for that piece. I’ve often been thinking of that duality with God: if God created everything then he created satan/evil; this evil is then just an aspect of gods personality and so not to be feared in the traditional way, I suppose. I think you dissect it nicely by showing how this darkness and struggle (and maybe a little evil) is all possibly just a part of breaking us loose and living as our best selves—a chrysalis of sorts. But also showing the evidence that if unchecked this type of evil could tear someone down quickly and secretly without them even knowing what hit them. Luckily you have the fortitude, genetics, prayers, or whatever so that you were able to overcome this evil one little step by one little step.
One of my favorite Whitman quotes is “I contain multitudes” and if man contains multitudes then it’s foolish to think that God does not. It seems like we can not hold space for such multitudes and so we have to divvy them out into different beings of personality/duties—Tom Waits has a line in his song “Heart Attack and Vine” that says, “don’t you know there ain’t no devil, that’s just God when he’s drunk.” That always made me laugh and think.
This gave me much to ponder and I wish I could give a better response, but it’ll never come if I don’t hit send.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Waits' line drinks deeply of the idea that our fathers are, for better or worse, our earthly analogs for God's character. For his part, God seems content to let us believe whatever we want about him. (With the substantial exception of coming as Jesus to set the record straight). The crucial thing to notice is that we ourselves are the ones chiefly affected by how we think of Him.