{The Spirit of God in Man}[3rd August 1989]

[Redbook6:187-189][19890803:0908]{The Spirit of God in Man}[3rd August 1989]

19890803.0908

I remember being rather taken aback when a Fundamentalist Christian disagreed strongly with my view that the Spirit of God is within every Human (but veiled in some or most); and the E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] says: ‘In the Christian view, men are creatures of God; thus, what is true of Creation is true of Man. Nothing in Man has emanated from God or becomes divine, nor is human reason a seed of the divine, as stoic philosophy supposed.’**

My view arises at least in part from the idea of separation, which is found at least in Christian thinkers although perhaps not in the Bible – Creation as a separation from (or out of) God. This description, perhaps more Greek than Judeo-Christian,*** is a reasonable attempt to answer the question which Judao-Christian Creation poses: How did he do it? It has the merit, so far as I can tell, of fitting in with everything Jesus is reported as saying in the Synoptic Gospels**** about the nature of the Kingdom of God, and how to get to it. Many of the parables# involve a period of separation of the controlling power from his subjects, followed by a reunification and judgement (or harvest).

*E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] 16:337

(A surprisingly scientific view….)

**[That ‘supposed’ is fun.]

***[But cf:

‘Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.’

– Ecclesiastes 12:6-8 (Authorized (King James) Version)

]

****[Matthew, Mark, Luke]

#{eg the ‘Exclusion’ Parables}

[continues]

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