An Introduction to a Theory of God

Welcome to my blog on a Theory of God. Let me emphasis this is just what I believe. I am not asking anybody else to believe the theory. I am sharing it because I think others may find value in it and because I think it’s a paradigm that could bring peace.

There are seven sessions planned, so far;

1. An Introduction to the Theory of God

2. Where is God?

3. A look at our soul.

4. What did God Create?

5. Social Issues through the lens of the Theory of God.

6. How did I get here?

7. The Theory of God Hate-loss program.

This one, the first session, is an introduction to the Theory of God.

The second session covers ‘Where is God’, considering if God is present, why can’t we see God?

The third session will look at the soul. From the perspective of the theory, souls are not binary and through our choices, we are in control of it.

The fourth session explores creation. What did God create; one blue planet, or a vast universe? Did God tune the strings that made it all work?

The fifth session explores social issues through the lens of the Theory of God.

The sixth session covers how I came up with the theory, and why I am sharing it now.

The seventh session will look at forms of love and hate to help steer us away from hateful behaviors.

I hope you find the theory compatible with your own beliefs and thought provoking. I’d love to hear what you think of the theory.

If I were to ask you “Where is God?” How would you answer the question?

I have a Theory of God. I believe God is right here. And I believe science has provided evidence which supports my theory.

I often refer to the theory as ‘My’ Theory of God because it’s what ‘I’ believe. I am not implying ownership of any kind when I say ‘My’ theory of God. As far as I am concerned, there are no copyright restrictions on religious beliefs, so if you like the theory, it’s yours. You can refer to it as ‘Your’ Theory of God just as I refer to it as mine.

I have no expectation that anybody else will believe the theory. I am NOT a religious scholar nor am I a saint. So, I am NOT sharing this theory from a position of authority or some moral higher ground. This is simply a paradigm of God, my paradigm of God, for your consideration.

For the most part I have kept this Theory of God to myself for the last 40+ years because I believe everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. There was never any reason to share my beliefs; they’re mine. I have chosen to share them now because I think there may be value in it for others, whether they are affiliated with a religious organization or not, and because I think it’s a paradigm that could bring peace through the understanding that connecting with God is never wrong, no matter how it is done.

I hope you find the theory compatible with your own beliefs. It is intended to be compatible with all religions. I hope you find it enlightening; a perspective that brings more joy into your world. And I hope it brings peace. That’s the eternal optimist in me speaking. But, like I said, I’m not a religious scholar. Nor am I a therapist or diplomat. So, you have to judge for yourself and decide for yourself what you believe.

My theory is that God is a sentient force in dimensions that overlap ours. A sentient force is a force that is self-aware and intelligent. The dimensions that overlap ours are dimensions that we can’t see, but they are here. That is why I believe God is here. Which is why, throughout the ages, people of every culture have had experiences with God.

I use ‘sentient force’ for the lack of a better way to describe God. ‘Sentient’ reflects the intelligence of God. ‘Force’ reflects the universality of God. Like gravity, God is universal. Where there is mass, there is gravity. Where there is life, God is present. Both ‘sentient’ and ‘force’ are readily understood concepts, but they are not used in association with each other. You would never think of gravity as being sentient.

I suspect most people will have a tough time conceptualizing 10 dimensions. But that’s ok. Knowing ‘Where God Is’, is not important. Conceptualizing God as a sentient force that we can connect with, is important.

God seeks the senses of life and is the soul of life. ALL life. Humans are a great place for senses. We have sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell and the capacity to feel love, joy, and many other emotions. So do many other animals. But us humans, we have the capability to choose to be good people, or not.

Souls are not binary. It’s not; ‘you have one or you don’t’. Souls vary in size and hue. The soul of a person who has been in a vegetative state for years is not the same size as the person who is going dancing with their partner again this weekend. Similarly, the soul of a sadistic serial killer is not the same hue as any of ours. The serial killer’s soul may be big, but it’s ugly, evil. Both the size and the hue of a soul have an infinite range of possibilities and they change over the course of our lifetime.

My Theory of God holds that God is in all life, not just Homo sapiens. This means that animals have a soul of some size and hue. Most cat & dog owners would agree that their pets have a soul of some kind, even if their religion doesn’t support such a thing. People that have developed a relationship with any kind of animal are likely to agree that their animal has a soul of some sort, even if they’re not sure how to define it. My Theory of God holds that God is in all life, so we should give all life it’s due respect, even if it is destined to be the food we eat.

Unfortunately, I believe there is symmetry in nature and that Evil, the symmetrical (opposite) force of God, also exists.

But each of us chooses how we want to live our life. Those choices determine the size and hue of our soul… and by our choices we can change it… for the better or the worse.

The theory is based on the premise that God is real. To me, that means that God exists even if all the religious texts did not. God does not exist because men wrote about God in ancient texts. The ancient texts were written because God exists. That is why my theory of God had to be independent of the ancient texts.

One unexpected and valuable consequence of the independence from ancient theological documents is that the theory emphasizes the common ground that all religions share. They share that common ground because God was present LONG before religions were established. Religions were established, each in their own unique culture, with their own customs because of their own experiences with God. I believe all religions are just culturally different ways of connecting with God. One is not better than another. Just a different means to the same end. So, there should be mutual respect among various religious beliefs. If people chose to accept that other religions are just a different way of connecting to God, and one is not better than another, just different, it could bring peace to places where it is missing. And anybody can ‘try this on’. If you choose to accept other religions, you lose the contempt for them. Contempt is a form of hate. Losing it is a simple choice that feels good because it warms the hue of your soul. Try it and see for yourself. This is just one example of how the theory can bring individual joy and peace on a broader scale.

I believe my Theory of God is NOT in conflict with ANY of the world’s religions. As I see it, it can’t be. God is at the core of all religions. And this theory is about that core. It’s not about any other religious beliefs. In fact, rather than contradict any religion, I believe the theory may support theological aspects of religions. It says nothing about religion-based science, pro or con, because it’s not about religion. It’s about God, by any name.

I think the theory provides an understanding that enables anybody to build a closer relationship with God, individually or through organized religion to bring more joy into their life. I believe organized religions already teach and practice the behaviors that help people connect with God. But there are simple things that anyone can do, every day that enables each of us to do our own part to make the world a better place in which to enjoy our lives.

The theory also gives a deeper appreciation for all life on earth. And I use it as the basis by which I assess contemporary social issues such as capital punishment and abortion. Once you understand the theory, it becomes clear how it applies in day-to-day life and social issues. That is the topic of the fifth session. The theory has also given me a new, comforting perspective on death.

To me, those are valuable benefits. So, despite my reticence to sharing my own personal beliefs, if there is ANY chance that this could make the world a better place, even just a tiny bit, I feel obligated to share it.

I believe that at the core of every religion is a supreme entity. It doesn’t matter if it’s a monotheistic religion like Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, or polytheistic religion such as Hinduism, they all have a supreme entity at the core. That entity is known by many names. I refer to this Supreme Entity as God because I grew up in a Christian church. Other religions may refer to God as Allah, or Elohim, or Bhagavan, or one of a hundred other names used for God. But the name doesn’t matter. God is God by any name.

The Theory of God is about the core of religions. This is just about God. If the theory is correct, it will reaffirm theological aspects and the value of organized religions

As stated above, my theory assumes that God is real. Theoretical Physicists Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene, and a half billion other people on the planet may not agree. But ‘I’ believe God is real, so it doesn’t matter to me what anybody else believes AND the fact that they don’t believe does not make them bad people. Not at all. To the physicists who say they have seen it all and can confirm that there is no God, I say; “Sorry, but you are using the wrong tools. You can’t find God using telescopes or particle accelerators”. Silly Scientists. But those same physicists may have uncovered evidence that supports the Theory of God. They just didn’t recognize it for what it was.

In my opinion, if God is real, God’s existence is not dependent on ancient texts. If we take them all away, God will still exist. Take away the Bible; God will still exist. Take away the Qu’ran, Torah, and every other theological text; God will still exist. God does not exist because the ancient texts were written. The ancient texts were written because God exists.

Knowing that God exists, even if we were to take away the ancient texts, is how I define my faith in God.

This is not to suggest that ancient text should be set aside. Not at all. As stated previously, The Theory of God is fully supportive of organized religion. If the theory is right, it seems to me that it would reaffirm theological aspects of religions and the ancient texts. It might even lead to a better understanding of the ancient texts. Like I said earlier; I am not a religious scholar, so I can only speculate. The point is my Theory of God is supportive of organized religions. All of them. Connecting with God is never wrong, no matter how it is done.

To me, since God exists independent of the ancient texts, my faith in God does not require me to believe that 14th century scholars knew more about science than 21st century scientists. Plus, the Church has demonstrated that science is not a core strength. When Galileo suggested that the Earth orbits the sun, the Church declared such a statement to be heresy. How dare he? The Church scholars all knew the Earth was the center of the universe and as ‘Men of God’ declared themselves infallible. The sun orbits the Earth, you can see it in the sky. The Church sentenced Galileo to life in prison for heresy. The Church pardoned Galileo 365 years later. That wasn’t much help to Galileo, but this demonstrates that the Church is neither good at science nor infallible. The theological texts which most people ‘follow’ were written centuries before the Scientific Method was first introduced, which is why I view science claims in those texts as beliefs, rather than science. And everyone is welcome to their own beliefs. But, when it comes to matters of science, I trust legitimate scientists that follow proper scientific methods with peer reviews rather than 14th century scholars.

I’ve thought of God as a sentient force for the last 40+ years, contemplating how the theory fits with existing religions, social issues, and the world around me. I’ve been ‘Testing’ my theory, if I may use ‘testing’ so loosely. It seems to fit comfortably in the world around me. To date I have not found anything to contradict the theory and I have noted a couple of unexpected ‘consequences’ that seem to support it.

Karma is one of them. What goes around comes around. I swear the kindness I have shown to others has come back to me in so many ways. How else could my life have been so blessed? Another benefit of the theory is that when someone ‘does me wrong’ I’m not so bothered by it because I believe that bad deeds bring bad karma. It must suck to be them. It’s hard to be angry at someone knowing they are only making their own life worse. And rejecting anger shifts the hue of my soul in the right direction. That feels good.

There is another consequence, that I hesitate to mention because it is so subjective, but it seems that sometimes if I look at somebody across a crowded room or in a passing car, they seem to sense it and look back and make eye contact. It could be random, but I’ll bet lots of people have experienced this same thing and wondered.

But one experience, in particular, made me question the randomness. One day as I walked into Boston’s Logan airport, I was startled by a woman that somehow caught my attention from across the concourse without making a sound or lifting a finger. She looked right into my eyes. She was WAY across the room, nearly 30 or 40 yards away. There were lots of people between her and me, but we made eye contact from across the room. She looked right into my eyes. And then she collapsed. I ran to her, swinging by the ticket counter to get a call into 911, and I was still the first one by her side despite all of the people around that were closer to her. Somehow, she had reached out to me from across a very crowded room. How does that work?

That didn’t feel random. Is that God? Is that why worshiping and praying together, at Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, etc. feels good? Because we are connecting with God at a level that we don’t understand? I believe so. That’s why the Theory of God supports organized religion. Organized religion helps people connect with God. But it is not the only way.

I have also found that the ‘sentient force’ theory is useful when contemplating the right and wrongness of contemporary social issues. More on that in the fifth session, but basically, I find that viewing social issues through my Theory of God lens brings clarity to controversial social issues such as capital punishment and abortion.

I have also found that the theory is useful when dealing with the death of a loved one.

Perhaps one of the theory’s finest benefits, for me though, is how it makes me appreciate life, all life, in a new light. We have kindred spirit. And we can connect.

It was only recently that I began contemplating the question ‘Where is God?’. The answer to that question, to me, reinforces my theory. Suddenly, it all makes sense. More on that in the second session.

So here I am. After 40 years of ‘testing’ my Theory of God, I have seen nothing that seems to contradict it and my experiences seem to support it. It seems to fit well with existing religions, from my perspective. So, I am happy with it.

I invite you to ‘try it on’ to see how you like it. If it fits, it’s yours.

You are invited to share your thoughts on the theory in the forum on aTheoryofGod.com

The next session will focus on ‘Where is God?’