While the topic was addressed in ontology, the nature of truth and relative reality often gets to one simple narrative: is God within or is it an external force? Enlightened masters or those who believe in gnosis will often point to god within, while people within a monotheistic belief structure will point to an external God (or force outside of themselves). The other belief forms are merely speculative and, most when iterated, result in a futility scenario. Naturalism is inherently materialistic which results in biased distributions and cycles of warring civilizations, polytheism is mired in conflict because it’s impossible to know how to appease the gods, and the programmed reality scenario would lend to some people who are capable of doing supernatural things (hackers) which really isn’t happening (nothing of the biblical epics have occurred since Jesus).
The God within narratives are quite common. The ideas of mastering your chakras, going through the spiritual journeys of Gnosticism, achieving a state of oneness and peace (e.g., nirvana) and even using your vibration to achieve a desired outcome (e.g., the Secret) are common forms of this belief. They generally assert we all come from God and are unified in existence. Some believe in cycles of life and reincarnation; others in different cycles. The goal is to reach an internal state of peace, which are really only attained or capable of being attained by a few. Hence all are seeking universal peace, yet few attain it (so it’s not universal). Despite it being somewhat contradictory, many find solace in the belief that it can be attained on personal efforts (which is illusory as most aren’t capable of meditation or truly removing identity from the physical aspects of life-gender, race, sexuality, history, etc.). If you fight for either a conservative or liberal ideology, or fight or defend theories (conspiracy or not), you probably will never come to that state of natural indifference. I will admit, that state of peace is amazing, but I never approached it in a manner that internalized the Godhead (or saying that I am God or an extension thereof).
The enlightened masters have great teachings, which ironically mirror those of Christ and the Holy Spirit in Acts. People trying to grow spiritually should learn from these teachings. Releasing resentment, doing a 12 step program to connect with God, learning wisdom and practically applying it, and learning to control your instincts and flesh based desires is good for personal and spiritual growth. However these teachings leave some issues. One is why are enlightened people not leading society? Why do enlightened people never master the art of enlightenment? How many enlightened folks can optimize a system let alone all systems? The internal god is too limited to work universally. Enlightenment, intelligence and practicality aren’t usually present in a single person, much like one who masters one aspect of the Kabbalah isn’t able to universally master another aspect by sheer will. Some believe it’s possible, but Jeff Bezos will never be Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime, nor Nicola Tesla in his.
The external version of God beliefs suffer from the lack of experience related to the internalized version, yet it’s equally powerful. Roughly half of the world adheres to some version of monotheism, whether it be Judaism, Christianity or Islam (Abrahamic faiths). Jews believe in God, Christianity believes in the same God yet rely on the fulfillment of the law by relying on the fulfillment of perfection in Christ, while Islam relies on Allah as indicated through the words of Mohammed. Jews believe the walk with God can be attained through the law and Patriarchs, Christianity believes that Christ fulfilled the Gnostic ideal and anchor on his works and sacrifice to be worthy of a relationship with God, while Muslims rely on the works and law as discussed through Mohammed. The only way we know God is through his unchanging nature and his words, either through the Jewish laws or the revelations to Mohammed (which is changing since a tenet in Islam is abrogation- newer prophecies replace the older ones).
What I realize as truth is tied to both systems. When one allows the Holy Spirit to guide (which I couldn’t do until I worked a 12 step program), using gnostic principles and gospel teachings can help you find the point of neutrality. However, given my fallen nature and worldly responsibilities, the only way to maintain it is to rely on the perfect person, Jesus. The spirit he gave us at Pentecost allows us to maintain this not of our works, but by grace and following his teachings (not a church or set of doctrines). I assume many before or after tried to do this, but if one recognizes limitations of purview and skill sets, it seems only rational to anchor on one greater than I, and the only archetype (which was human and proven to be living) was Christ (Mohammed was a conqueror while Moses was a deliverer). The internal Holy Spirit also provides a rationale why Christianity can bring some to God despite imperfection, and also lends to a future discussion on body, soul, and spirit, three distinct things, yet often get confused when discussed in religious circles.
Ironically, I have learned to pull away from the idea of being a cog in a machine, but rely on the greater understandings beyond my grasp. Before I released from human identity factors and boxing my reality, I was limited to my experience and skill sets. Now I can look at systems and evaluate longevity (forethought through systems understanding) rather than mysticism (never dabbled there other than examining concepts). People who focus on experience think that God has to change as society changes. But Christ said the universal glue (love God/others), which unified the law and prophets, and shows what God intended from the get go (knowledge of doing all things, electing to do what is good and loving), which never changes. God allowing the Jews to fall is no different than a loving parent allowing their kids to experience life as they choose to (no matter how much pain it causes you).
Internal god is limited to you, external God unified to all systems is greater. If you believe the sum of the parts are greater than the whole, you will like and anchor in the first. If you think the whole is the best unit, no leaven, the latter is for you. Given my experience with wealthy and powerful people, I strongly anchor in the latter. It is better to rely on one greater than myself and bread filled with leaven is merely an air bubble that used to be matzoh. Like Jesus said, a kingdom divided cannot stand, and my favorite adage, a company is only as good as its culture and weakest link. Needless to say, all must choose their own path and not spending eternity with Christ seems foolish to me. A wise, loving, nonviolent and infinitely wise person who can judge me without bias seems a lot better than something I do not understand. To each their own, just be wise enough to know the limitations of the system you sign up for.
