Prayer of submission

Schema about the Nature, Attributes and Communication with God

The presentness of God

See the Prayer Conversation with God about his presentness

First Part *

1. Nature of God - Introduction

I have written a lot in my essays about God, his action in the world, and the communication God-man and man-God; however, I have been studying more intensively for several months trying to clarify my own understanding of God (2005-2006). There were two topics of my particular interest: the relation God-man and man-God, and the life after death; they are an important ingredient of religious life. I'll deal with them down below, and have the last and comforting conclusion in Second Part, number 4,5 and Third Part, number 7.2.

There is no consensus, historically, regarding the concept of God or his relation to the universe. It seems that each theologian-philosopher, including the wisest and saintliest men, contradicts his opponents and finds incoherence on every one else's interpretation; everyone feels certain about his own interpretation of God, and of his own philosophy and theology. It seems as if everybody would "create" his own image of God, and perhaps everyone has to make his own decision too.

1.1. God is incomprehensible and partially intelligible

I have affirmed that the Christian and theistic God is a God of paradoxes, and we come to the conclusion that God is incomprehensible, althougjh rationally and partially intelligible. We do not have a complete explanation of the being of God, and we must accept our limitation in our search for the truth about the reality of God.

The God of philosophy is not the God of religion; religion wants the perfect God, and philosophy does not find that God; but religion must use reason and philosophy to find coherence in its beliefs. A limited or imperfect God would be repugnant to religion.