Interesting, though. I hint about an event on my About Me page that was the turning point in my relationship with God; that turning point was the birth of my Son. It took me a very long time (15 years!) before I realized why that event tipped the scales. Having been brought up in a home without a father, I realized that it must have been that I could not have possibly understood the concept of a Father’s love until the time I actually became one.

But as your comment states, maybe the ingrained “paternal instinct,” no less God-given, was also a factor.

Thanks, Amber!

Anyway – that answers your question you asked me earlier.

God is the definition of love… for he/she/it is the father/mother/creator of us all. So the ultimate in love. It is through God that we learn love in all of its forms. Maybe even by having that personal relationship we are able to experience love more intensely. I don’t know.

My husband is Agnostic. He would LIKE to believe, and lives his life as though he does ( he can go toe to toe with anyone on scripture too – weird). Yet his love for me is definately boundless. I honestly can’t imagine anyone other than God loving me more… even my own mother. Looking at the intensity of his love, maybe God gives him a free pass. I don’t know. Its definately a puzzle.

The very first thing I have to say is that God is separate from the universe, as God created the universe. Now, I know that this is according to my beliefs, and it is one I can’t prove. The Big Bang theory is, however, a theory (belief) exactly because it cannot be proven either. I don’t want to get going about Creationism and all that; what’s important to what I am going to say is that God and the universe are not the same thing and thus are not interchangeable.

And God is not “what we make of him,” regardless of our beliefs. My beliefs about him may be right or wrong and yours are anyone else’s may be right or wrong, but God is who he is. One of the things I found interesting about your comment was your use of the term “I am” to describe our relation to the universe, as this is exactly the term God uses (Exodus 3:14) for himself when Moses asks for his name.

The second thing you wrote that struck a chord with me was your analogy of a branch and a tree when describing our relationship to “the source.” Interestingly, here’s what Jesus states in John 14:5-8 (The Message):

I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

The last thing I want to comment on is your distinction between conditional and unconditional love. It seems to me that, definitions of God aside, we are in agreement. Unconditional love is possible when the limits on our ability to give love is removed–when we’re plugged into the source.

Again, Amber contends that there are no limits in the first place, and I have nothing to offer in defense of my view beyond observation (nope, no more Bible verses today), so my belief in that is not as strong as others.

Thanks for the comments–and keep ‘em coming, because if I’m wrong, I want to know!

and as for upping the ante… its not just Christians that need to be open… its HUMANS. Im so sick of my way is the ONLY way. How about… I love my porche – but your BMW is nice too? Much better way to look at it.

I always think about this when I visit other people’s homes. Alot of people have amazing taste. I walk into their homes and admire them for their beauty. But very few of them would I actually want to live in. Sill I can appreciate them for what they are, and the beauty they hold.

You probably can tell that my faith is a very important part of my life, and I do believe there are differences between religions that actually matter a lot (I’ve read your post and am waiting until I have the time to comment in a meaningful way). But I also believe that the differences that my faith present don’t require me to disrespect or vilify the others.

And I’ll up the ante: I think the world would be a much better place if all Christians were this open, as I do believe that a lot of harm is done by my “religion.”

Thank you for your comment though.. its nice to know that you recognize that we are saying the same exact thing just using a different description. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone could be that open????? I think we’d have a much happier world.

Visionary, you said “poo” on my blog!

Seriously, I want to acknowledge your comment right now and comment on it later when I have more time. You make many statements that ring so true and, interestingly enough, are similar to statements made in the Bible.

I am blessed to have received such thought-provoking comments from both you and Amber, as well as others on other posts and in other blogs.

Robert… thank you. Thank you for understanding and accepting my non traditional thinking. :)