Something I am always thinking about. It has become a pillar of my personal theology. (These thoughts are not in order of importance.)
Nature and God are the same thing. Nature/God is unstoppable, uncontrollable. It is a force we can learn to obey and live with—or not.
Nature/God is not a being. It is a force, not a person. It is the unfolding mysteries of natural law, which we disobey at our peril. We call it “God” because it helps to personify a mystery, but personifying it leads us to think of it as a human with consciousness and will.
It is wrong to think of Nature/God as a being with purpose. Its purpose, as a force, is to move the universe, keep it moving, and it does not change its behavior at the whims of humans. The force IS the universe.
Nature/God is omnipotent, neutral in purpose, punishing if humans forget Nature’s/God’s laws, nurturing when humans work with those laws. But neither angry in punishment nor loving in nurturing.
Nature/God’s will: we obey “God’s Will” when we work with the laws of nature to achieve our goals; we disobey “God’s Will” when we forget the laws of nature and behave without respect for them. The laws of nature are neutral; they work whether we are good or bad people.
Is God love? Insofar as nature’s creatures know how to love, there is the likelihood of love. It is one of life’s gifts, the ability to love. Procreation is a feature of love between creatures, but it is not the only feature. Altruism, tolerance, kindness, compassion, empathy are also features. Love need not be limited in expression.
Love (or the ability to love) can be destroyed or maimed by cruelty and violence; these behaviors transform the ability to love into anger and vengeance, which, in turn, turn into hate, which is difficult to eradicate and causes further violence.
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