January 25, 2026

 A Walk with God

 Introduction:  We can begin the new year with Spring in mind along with expectations for new growth and maturity.  Using the P-R-C (physical-rational-choice) triad, we have three gods to consider:  the God of Jews as observed in our own interactions and recorded in the Old Testament; the God of Christians as put forth in the Bible along with countless interpretations during the last two thousand years; and the God of Jesus from statements attributed to him and cited in the New Testament.  Generally, there is enough ambiguity in changing positions that definitions of Jew and Christian are left to local leaders and chosen by individual believers.   As for the God of Jesus, since there are no records by him, all statements attributed to him are by others.   

A. God of the Jews

Physical Primary Referent:  The individual is defined in physical terms; specifically, one’s DNA connecting them to Abraham and thereby creating a physical group now known as Jews.  Accordingly, there is the worship of one’s biological family and material success.  Owning a business can provide control over income.  Separately, Jews can be heard to say that they are a specific group chosen by God with special entitlements over other groups.  Such a belief can be seen as creating a spiritual wall between Jews and everyone else.  Fixed contracts between God and Jews are a matter of record.  It is recorded that Jews praised God when successfully killing and taking the wealth of non-Jews.  Notably, the Promised Land was a physical place rather than a spiritual insight.  [As an aside, when Jews say “I am a Semite, it can be seen as a matter of smoke and mirrors.  While some Jews may be Semites, most Semites are not Jews.] 

 Arguably, Jews have a history of rejecting personal one-on-one relationships between God and each individual (Exodus 20:19, Judges 8:22).  Guidance was initially provided by the leader Moses (circa 1500 BCE).  Perhaps “guidance” is too mild a term.  Jews who rejected Moses’ guidance were put to death in the name of God (Ex 32:27).  Later, as recorded in 1 Samuel 8:6 (circa 1100 BCE), the Jews demanded a king and specifically rejected a personal one-on-one relationship with God.  After the period of kings (circa 1000 BCE) and to the present day, prophets and Rabbis tell Jews what to do regarding their relationship with God.  As the Prophet Isaiah (Is 1:16) put it (circa 700 BCE): “cease to do evil, learn to do good.”  To rationally offset short-comings, a goat may be sacrificed.  The Old Testament can be seen as recording the history of Jews as they rejected a personal relationship with God.  Perhaps it is in the book of Amos that some of the harshest criticism of Jews rejecting God can be found.

B. God of the Christians

 Rational Primary Referent:  As with all rational formats, you begin with a given and deductively organize ideas around it.  Terms expressing certainty like truth and proven are common as when specific instances are seen as logically integrated into a given.  One can frequently see that truth morphs into value terms such as good and evil—good to follow the truth and evil to follow that which is contrary to the truth.  Claiming to have knowledge of good and evil can be seen to create a spiritual wall between those who embrace and those who do not embrace that which is good.  The group called “Christians” was founded by Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah of the Old Testament.  The Bible as interpreted by their leaders has become the basis for establishing beliefs, and said by the leaders to be the word of God.  [As an aside, consider that “Christ” was a Greek translation of Messiah and not used in the Old Testament.  It is the same when “Joshua” was translated as “Jesus.”] 

 A basic Christian tenet was the belief in one’s ability to discern good from evil.  It’s perhaps ironic that the writer of Genesis (2:17) cautioned that doing so was the one-and-only thing that would separate an individual from God.  Using the Adam and Eve story, the Christian message came to rely heavily on the Old Testament idea of sacrifice with Jesus becoming the sacrifice for everyone’s shortcomings.  Rather then the Genesis idea (3:19) of “from earth you came and to earth you return,” the Christian idea of an everlasting hell for non-believers provided a cogent incentive when proselytizing to Jews and non-Jews alike.  Salvation from hell can be achieved by repeating a few words in earnest and accepting Jesus as a sacrifice for your sins.  Christians are a group with group beliefs put forth by their leader.  Just as the Jew would say “I am a Jew,” the Christian would say “I am a Christian.”  For Christians, larger groups suggest greater power, and greater power confirms that God is with you.  It is with pride they speak of mega-churches and filling stadiums where hundreds are saved.  Rather than the message of Jesus, the emphasis is placed on his birth, death, and equality with God.

C. God of Jesus

 Spiritual Primary Referent:  Jesus’ message was for each individual to seek a spiritual relationship with God (Mt 6:33)—it’s from spirit-to-spirit (Jn 4:24).  Notably, an individual’s spiritual nature (conscious awareness) is always private, unique, and changing.  Similarly, a spiritual relationship with God is necessarily private and one-on-one (Mt 6:6).  The best life (physically, rationally, spiritually) is to be found when one has a belief in a personal relationship with God (Mt 6:33, 7:11, Lk 12:31, Jn 15:11, 16:24).  Often using metaphors, Jesus described what one would experience if they turned directly to God (Mt 13:3, 13:24, 13:31).  Jesus could be described as physically the son of man (Mt 9:6, 10:23, 13:37) and spiritually the son of God.  Jesus’ focus was on the Jews (Mt 10:5, 15:24) in that they were egregiously being mislead by their leaders (Mt 5:20, 23:13, 23:27, Lk 9:22, 16:15).  However, Jesus said that his Father’s house has many rooms some of which include non-Jews (Mt 21:43, 28:19, Mk 11:17, 13:10, 14:9, 16:15, Lk 4:43, Jn 14:2).  As for priorities, if forced to choose between a spiritual relationship with God or one’s own physical life, Jesus would choose a spiritual relationship with God whether he physically wanted to live (Mt 26:39, Mk 14:36, Lk 22:42) or not (Jn 12:27).  When they are in conflict, spiritual choices take precedence over physical benefits, or so it was with Jesus.  

Jesus took special note that while he was physically here, he was the light of the world (Jn 9:5).  However, when Jesus physically leaves this world, where he goes we can’t come (Jn 7:33, 8:21, 16:10).  He told his disciples, to perform a ritual in his memory (Lk 22:19).  After he was to physically die, there would be those who would seek him, and they would spiritually die along with those who used his name even when performing great acts (Mt 7:22).  Others would die as they seek to find salvation by searching the scriptures (Jn 5:39). 

 However, after Jesus’ death, God would provide a counselor (Jn 14:16, 14:25, 16:7); so that all would be taught by the spirit of God (Jn 6:45).  Similar to the idea of all being taught by God, Jesus instructed:  do not call anyone on earth “father” or “Rabbi” for we have only one Father and He is in heaven (Mt 23:8).  Only after individuals have heard and learned from God would each come to an understanding of Jesus’ message (Jn 6:44, 6:65).  Arguably, a relationship with God’s spirit is essential, while a commitment to one’s view of Jesus is not (Mt 12:31, Mk 3:29, Lk 12:10). 

As described by Jesus, the Kingdom of God can be seen as referring to those currently developing a personal relationship with God (Mk 11:22, Lk 4:8, 17:21).  Consistent with the writer of Exodus, Jesus said not to judge (Mt 7:1, Lk 6:37).  Rather than certainty, a relationship with God was always a matter of faith (a belief without a rational basis) beginning with a faith similar to a child where a lack of experience makes most efforts a matter of faith (Mt 13:31, 18:3, 19:14 Mk 10:15).  Of those who begin such a relationship, most will fall away (Mt 7:13, 22:14, Lk 13:24).  Some who hear the message are simply too set in their ways to change (Mt 9:16, Mk 2:22) or lack the necessary background preparation (Mt 13:5, Lk 8:5).  Others chose not to think about religion when the topic arose as when distracted by the cares of the world (Mk 4:19, Lk 14:16).  However, for a few, their faith will grow over time (Mt 13:31; Mk 4:31, Lk 13:18, 18:17) and some would even mature beyond what Jesus had attained (Lk 2:52, Jn 14:12).  As for Jesus, he grew and matured over time, and did not begin his 3-year ministry until about 30 years of age.    

As an aside, we can observe that, from the beginning of written history, some individuals and groups have set forth the primacy of the God-individual relationship.  In 626 BCE we have Jeremiah (Jer 31:34) declaring that we shall all know God; Protestants such as Martin Luther (1517) argued that salvation was a matter between the individual and God; Society of Friends as founded by George Fox (1650) held that individuals were only taught by God, and thereby rejecting all earthly spiritual leaders; the Unitarian efforts such as Thomas Jefferson (1800) holding that his religion was a private matter only between him and God; and individuals everywhere who have a personal and private sense of connection with a Force in their daily lives.    

CLOSING:  Whether arrived at by science or common sense, consider that only when there is a general consensus and understanding that man is primarily spiritual rather than physical or rational will we be in a position to achieve peace and integrity within ourselves and with others.  Spirituality leads to the primacy of the individual.  As the U.S. Declaration of Independence (2^nd paragraph) puts it:  As a matter of human nature, every individual has a right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  And again, the 1^st provision of the Bill of Rights provides for several interrelated rights with the first of these being the right of every individual to have the freedom of religion. 

 I anticipate the next posting within a month or so and titled “The Love Commandment.”