The Nature of God

By Marjorie Foerster Eddington

Question

In reference to the question, "Does God exist?" I'd like to learn more about the nature or concept of God.

Answer

Our concept of God is very important. Are we talking about some superpower that creates material things? Or are we willing to think of God as an infinite Spirit that expresses Himself in ideas and qualities, and then to go another step and think of these ideas and qualities as making up the nature of God's creation? In other words, we can think of these ideas and qualities as making up our identity and all that we're conscious of. This view of ourselves replaces a material, limited, extinguishable, concept of identity and creation. We know that certain qualities such as honesty, unselfishness, helpfulness, and joy are eternal qualities that can be discovered, but certainly not thought of as having been created by you or me. These qualities spring from an eternal source or spirit we could call Mind or Love. If we are thinking of God in these terms, we have to conclude that not only does God exist, but that none of these things which we perceive with our higher nature would or could exist without God. Will we accept or deny these qualities? If we accept them, do we not then accept the existence of God? I choose the concept of God as Spirit, and I accept God's existence because I accept the qualities that evidence a divine, not a material source. I also believe that the view of a matter-creating God will fade as a spiritual view is better understood and experienced. In this sense we can definitely know that God exists.