Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion Not-Quite-Science Forum Philosophy of Religions--all religions, including,

I just finished reading Michael Lennon's conversation with Norman Mailer--the New York Times. In it he asked Mailer questions regarding his views on God, creation, Intelligent Design, the Devil (Satan) as possibly being equal to God, the dark side of life, religion, good, evil, angels, heaven, hell, purgatory, reincarnation, existentialism, and nihilism.

Michael asked Mailer about God's needing us, about the value of ethics, about God's ultimate purpose for his creation.

He asked: Why is it that it seems that God seems to want--not unlike most actors and athletes, crazy military leaders, authors, mad kings, politcians and greed-bag tycoons--to be glorified? Isn't it a dire thing to have an excessive vanity? Is this what God wants?

Mailer suggested: "Maybe we can change "glorified" to "loved". God wants to be loved...God, like us, is doing the best that can be done under the circumstances."

Michael's final comment was: If we are created in God's image and we are potentially good but then choose evil, perhaps we were evil all along.

My (LGK) comment is this: This implies that, as agreed by Mailer: God and the Devil are at war within us.

Here I (LGK) will give Mailer the final word: "...we are here as God's work, here to influence His future as well as ours."

Interesting.
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My main critique of Mailer's theology is this: He writes of God, the absolute being, as if he is an anthropomorphic being, a male/female person who is separate and apart from us. For me, this is problematic. GØD, IMO, is not an objective being with a subjective mind.

UNITHEISM/PANENTHEISM
IMHO, I avoid thinking of GØD in this way by using my personal way--feel free to use your own way--of referring to absolute being. I use the term GØD.

GØD refers to that which is total, universal and all-inclusive. At the same time GØD also interpenetrates that which we think of as three-dimensional in nature. To express this same concept, Orthodox Jews use the term G-d. If you have other suggestions they could be just as valid.