God and creation in theological philosophy

God and Creation

Has the concept of God well and truly woven itself into the very psyche of the average American citizen? What exactly does the average American think about God? As a matter of fact, each and every American must take some time to sit back and think deeply about these issues, and also pay close attention to the power and influence of God in the history of America. Perhaps a visitor to the national Capital would not be complete without a visit to certain of the most important historic and monumental exhibits present therein, which would undoubtedly prove that God does exists in the psyche of the American citizen. For example, when one visits the National Archives, which hosts the original document of the Declaration of Independence, one would note that it is there that one would find the 'immortal phrase' which states that we are "endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights among which are Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and these words in fact declare the beginning of independence for the American citizen.

It is a fact that psychologists and theologians have been attempting to, for the past hundreds of years, integrate the two fields of work, ever since the science of psychology first emerged as a successful independent field of study. When the two fields happened to intersect, it was then that fruitful production was achieved, while at the same time instigating numerous problems as well as conflicts. At the outset, it must be remembered that people in general find it difficult to both understand and also to experience God as such. The reason for this may perhaps be the phenomenon that reveals that the various beliefs and experiences of God have quite a few distinctly differing levels and intensities. At the same time, most people believe in certain limitations and boundaries when it comes to believing in God and in His greatness, especially when He taken as the Creator of man.

When taken in the psychoanalytic sense, the very Image of God depends to a large extent on that individual's perception and in his experience of God. This can become the emotional experience that one has when contemplating God and it was only in later years that the idea and concept of God, as seen in a God Concept was developed by Lawrence, in the year 1997. However, when seen in a basic way, a person's God Concept refers to a cognitive or a theological comprehension of God by him. When the two concepts of God Image and God Concept occur simultaneously in an individual, then they may be quite different form one another. This would naturally mean that anger, anxiety and guilt would be built up within him, and as the God Concept, or in other words, an individual's cognitive understanding of God develops, it would grow along the lines of what he is taught about God, and what he actually learns in the long run, about God.

The content of God Image on the other hand, is primarily emotionally based. Research has confirmed the fact that the God Image in a child's mind has largely emerged as a result of the basic relationship that he has had with his primary caretaker or with his parents. According to Rizzuto, the primary parent may differ from one child to another, and it can be either the father or the mother as the child sees fit. While the God Concept is infinitely more dominating as far as the conscious thought is concerned, the God Image need not necessarily mean the same. This may be why, when a person is asked about God, they generally tend to think first about their God concept, or what they do believe about God. This happens whether or not they are actually conscious of the God Image.

When it is an American citizen who is asked the same question, then he would most probably say that he was indeed blessed by God to live in such a wonderful country that is America. He would also most probably state that even when America is at her very worst, she is far above the rest of the countries of the world. However, there are many more people of the United States of America who feel that America is not at all what she was some years before; in fact, they often lament what exactly has happened to America as a country, of late. There are many reasons that are stated for this statement. Some of them are the substantial increase in crime in America, fuelled by drug abuse and teenage pregnancy and inadvertent and unabated violence. Divorce is also often quoted as a significant reason for America declining in its power. In addition, the past few years have actually represented the taking away of God from classrooms and from workplaces, and even from courtrooms.

In fact, in the year 1973, when 'abortion' was legalized, it became legal for a mother to get rid of her very own unborn and unwanted baby, just because it was not convenient for her at that time to give birth to her baby. Large scale discussions would be held about the rights of the mother, with absolutely no consideration for the rights of the unborn baby. In fact, it is often stated that the sins of America rise as high as the very Heavens today. Today, an individual feels that he can express his very own God given sensual desires in a variety of innovative ways, and some of these may even include pornography, adultery, and homosexuality. Murders, rapes, and unwonted anger over minor issues have all taken over the streets of America today, and everywhere, and at every turn, there are unabated and aggressive forms of violence, so much so that the people of America seem to have adopted their own standards of operation.

Despite all this, there is absolutely no doubt in an average American's mind that he is very proud to call himself an American. Why is it so? There are manifold reasons for this phenomenon, and maybe one of the first reasons is that the United States is one country that has the greatest resources on Planet Earth that can help those who desperately need help. This is the reason that Americans are able to help feed the starving human beings in Africa, of Asia, and elsewhere in the world. This is also the reason that America is able to help free those who are being held as captives anywhere in the world, and in the process being able to successfully promote peace, harmony, love, and independence.

Restraint is an important part of all these policies, because if America did not practice restraint, then there would be a blatant misuse of its very power, and therefore, this power, instead of aiding and helping and liberating others in need and in distress, would be utilized for other purposes, like conquering the weak, and so on. One prefect example of this type of aid is the befriending of Israel that was carried out by the United States of America, at her time of dire need, when she was standing facing a solid wall of opposition. Any numbers of American citizens have been sacrificed in the quest for peace and liberation, and God knows how many tender human lives have been sacrificed for the cause.

It must be stated here that the Founders of the United States of America were the persons who felt compelled to accomplish the establishment of a nation, led as they were by God Almighty, the likes of which had never before been in existence, and perhaps, would never be seen again. There is factual evidence to show that within a few short years, young America was able to prove her prowess to the rest of the world by the many advances that she was able to make in the fields of productivity, education, and technology. Even today, America continues to lead the rest of the world, with all her advances in the fields of productivity, education, and technology and America is today one of the more prosperous nations of the whole world.

One must indeed be thankful to the many Christian men and women who have had to sacrifice their own lives so that their country may prosper and be one of the foremost and most advanced countries in the whole world, and there is absolutely no doubt at all that these people were guided by the hand of God in all their good works. It must be remembered that despite all the sins that are being committed today, there is still hope; hope is never lost for the citizen of America, and one must of course trust and believe in the fact that God is slow to anger and abounds in love and faithfulness. Therefore, one must always, and always seek God, constantly, and it is this that will make the American citizen much greater even, than what he is, today. It is indeed a great privilege to be an American, and therefore, it must be believed that God is with America and will always bless and keep the American citizen.

One of the famous Presidents of the United States of America, George Washington, is reputed to have believed in this exact concept, wherein he has stated in his farewell address to the people of his nation, "The name of American belongs to you ... And with slight shades of difference, you have the same religion."

He was, according to John Marshall, the then Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, "a sincere believer in the Christian Faith, and a truly devout man," and therefore, being one of the founders of the United States of America, he would have had a deep seated impact on his people and on their faith and belief in God.

In a similar manner, Thomas Jefferson, who happened to serve as the President of the United States from the year 1801 to 1809, had a deep belief and faith in God, and it can be stated that he was responsible for the continued faith that the people of America had in God and in belief and trust in His love. He is known to have stated, in a letter to Benjamin Rush, in the year 1803, that he was a "real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus." He has also stated that "God who gave us life gave us liberty," and also that the liberties of man and in fact, the entire nation, can only be assumed to be secure when this thought is firmly embedded in their minds. If this belief and faith were to be removed for any reason whatsoever, then it would mean that the only firm basis that they happen to possess, which is the conviction and faith that such liberties are a gift from God would be eliminated form their minds. They would also perhaps remain unconvinced about the fact that the liberties are not to be violated for any reason except for the reason of His anger and wrath. Thomas Jefferson has also said that "Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever."

A most interesting and touching fact is that America's unofficial National Anthem was, in fact, composed by a Siberian immigrant who had left his home when he was just about five years old. The original version of "God Bless America" was written by Irving Berlin, in the year 1918. Later, however, in the year 1938, when there was war imminent yet again in America, Berlin made up his mind to write a 'peace song', and he then recalled his God Bless America of more than two decades ago, and with a few alterations to suit the changing times, the song was ready. When Kate Smith introduced the song by way of a radio broadcast, the song immediately became a super sensational hit, and the citizens of America found that they were able to identify themselves with the lyrics of the song, which talked about God and America. This is another example of the predominance of God in the United States of America, right from time immemorial.

A poem by Lee Greenwood touches one's heart with its simplicity and its poignant words: "Cause the Flag still stands for Freedom, and they can't take that away," and "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me," and the final words, "God Bless the U.S.A."

According to the Flashpoints USA with Bryant Gumbel and Gwen Ifill, in a nationwide survey that they conducted, about how American citizens in general feel about God and the church and other affairs of the state, and about what specific role religion played in their everyday lives, about 22% of Americans stated that they did not make a single decision in their daily lives based on their religion or on their faith, and about 21% of Americans stated that they did believe in religion and that they based all their decisions on their religion and faith in God. This shows that there is an even division among the believers and the non-believers.

It must be stated here that America therefore seems to be a nation that is split along the treacherous fault lines of religion and faith, but the concept of God dose indeed play a very important role in public life, whether anyone is actually aware of the fact or not. One example is the fact that the Supreme Court always opens its sessions to the line "God save the United States and this honorable court." There are also Chaplains, who pray every single day over Congress, and on every single currency note that the American citizen uses, there are emblazoned the words, "In God we Trust," and, in addition, the Pledge of Allegiance, from the year 1954, has stated that America is a nation 'Under God'. All this is further proof of the fact that the Founding Fathers of the United States of America were aware of the fact that the average American citizen must be in touch with God, and therefore, they had the intent of including God in every aspect of American life.

Was there the possibility that the same Founder Fathers would have agreed to have the words 'under God' in the Pledge, and why not? John Butler, a historian form Yale University, has this to say, that the founding fathers would not have included those words in the Pledge had they been given a chance. He states that those individuals who had been active in the sanctioning of the American Constitution would never have agreed to have the words 'under God' in it. However, Joseph Loconte of the Heritage Foundation, disagrees with this opinion, and states that the Founding Fathers would have agreed to put the words 'Under God' in the Pledge, because of the fact that they would have assumed that it was indeed a good thing for government officials and other public officers to acknowledge the deity every single day, and perhaps this would have brought about a firm brake on the prevalent chaos and tyranny of today. It is very obvious that the founding fathers of the United States of America were of the firm belief that religion and faith in God were extremely important in moderate American society, in the eighteenth century itself. They would also have been concerned about the interference of the government in certain aspects of religion, most probably because of the long troubled history of colonial establishments and all the manifold problems that they gave rise to.

However, one very important point is that even tough the founding fathers did indeed believe in the importance of religion and faith and in God, they did not believe that the Government of America must involve itself in the unnecessary propagation of religion. However, Loconte states that he feels that the American Government did indeed lay emphasis on a freedom of religion, and that in actuality, freedom could never be sustained without citizens of virtue, and that it was absolutely not possible to obtain citizens of virtue if they did not believe in religion and did not have faith in God. Therefore, there could not be a nation of virtuous citizens if they did not believe in religion, and this inevitably meant that 'freedom required virtue, virtue required faith, and faith required freedom'. This form of belief would have meant that the founding fathers desired a religion for the American citizens that would be genuinely free, and voluntary, and that would never be forced upon them.

However, one must perforce remember the fact that although the founding fathers were quite clear in their attitudes and thoughts about religion and faith and belief in God, and about what they thought they wanted for their citizens, the actual words in the Constitution and in other documents of the nation remain quite unclear about this fact. The founding fathers do seem to have acknowledged a "Supreme Being," who would be a solid presence in the running of the nation, and who would be present in the minds of the American citizen. The Declaration of Independence' speaks of a Nature's God, and also of the Laws of Nature, and also talks about how men are endowed by God or their Creator. At the same time, it is very clear that the Founding Fathers did not believe that religion as such should be enforced or otherwise thrust upon their citizens; rather, it appears that they felt that the government must not get involved in the propagation of any religion or in any tests for faith or for religion for joining any public offices.

As a matter of fact, such issues were and still are prohibited by the government, as is clear in the First Amendment, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." The 'religious liberty clause' or what is also known as the 'establishment clause' or the 'exercise clause' gives a solid guarantee that the American Government will not interfere in or attempt to promote the cause of a national religion of sorts, and that the Congress too will not either favor or demote and disfavor any particular religion. Perhaps this is one of the primary reasons that the founding Fathers did not specify a particular national church, or even favor any particular religion.

Freedom of religion appears to have been their motto, and it was left to the states and to the Churches to decide what they felt was best for their own citizens. It is a fact that almost every single American citizen would be familiar with the oft quoted phrase, 'separation of Church and state', and this despite the fact that never does it appear in the Constitution or elsewhere. This 'separation' as it is referred to, is in fact the general standard that is used when attempting to balance the issue of God in the Government in the United States of America. This is a relationship that has almost always, down the ages, been of a blatantly political nature, as exemplified in the times when local as well as state legislation were passed against the Roman Catholic Church, and at the time when local legislation was passed against Jews in the nineteenth century, and in the twentieth century as well.