Phoenix
by Dale J. Sprague
White Papers
The Proprietor of Divine Standards
How did Lucifer, the ancient Greek God of Light become Lucifer, the Roman God of the Morning Sun?..also known as Venus, the Goddess of Love. Why was there a gender change and a diversion from the metaphor of love? Was some writer commissioned by the Church to create myth for its mission? If the morning star, which does not ever rise very far, is associated with a fallen angel, a mythic basis appealing to the mystical mind is established to convey the consequences of rebelling from God and his Church. Why did Lucifer later become associated with Satan?..the supernatural being who rebelled from God and has been charged to be the cause of all the godless things in the world.
Many have said 'It happened because of the grace of God.' An equal number, surely, have said 'Satan made me do it.' Is there a difference here?
The God of Light, Lucifer, symbolized truth, even divine revelation, as inspiration was often regarded. How did it serve the Church to have 'truth,' objective in this sense, associated with evil? There was a time when the Church was in charge of science when all ideas regardless of origin must serve the Church. Scientists were punished for refusing to alter their theories when those theories disagreed with Church doctrine on the subject. The mission was power of religion, not an idea's merit regardless of religion.
The mission flag, however inadvertent as it may have been, was picked up by 'Paradise Lost,' and the members of organized Christiandom consumed Milton and fully digested him. How did the original meaning of Lucifer become so diametrically turned?..from the God of Light, or truth, to the God of Darkness, or evil.
And what else? in Christiandom has evolved through the centuries to mean something altogether different from the original revelation. Who is really in charge of divine standards?
With regard to the promulgation of divine standards, look at earthly human who defines God as one of power, a supernatural being who most assuredly levies divine benevolence and mercy to all humankind. And any other supernatural being who does not meet these general standards..what do they become?..in the mind of so'called meek and weak human, but a malevolent entity..a mortal enemy to be distrusted and irretrievably cast'out from the peaceful meditations of heaven and trials of earthly life.
How well does humankind perceive its authority in the universe? For some, more than they are willing to admit. For others, all too willing to impose. Who really has to look very far? in any direction where life flourishes or not, to sense an intelligence that has been here for a very long time. Ages ago, it was written that 'God created Man in his own image.' This supposition, long since having become belief, is plausible assuming that this creator had no other model to go by, other than him or herself from which to form, from the dust of Earth, humankind over land and sea. Well, if it is more true than not, that humankind senses its authority in a universe fashioned by the hands of some supernatural being, holding that 'God created human in his or her own image,' would indeed seem a prudent thing to do, because what better channel is there to focus on, than reverent prayer seeking the benevolence of a very powerful and influential entity who happens to resemble a man or a woman. Such a 'supernatural being' looking like us would ostensibly appear to have at least some inner qualities that humankind already nurtures. Through such common ground, channels of communication can exist. What better chance therefore, is there, for the great divide between humankind and God to be spanned?
Otherwise, what if God should be some secret form of life never before seen from the deep of a sea, or some nebulous form of pure energy? Who can relate to that? And somewhere, within the deep recesses of prayer, I am sure it is hoped that whatever divine station responds to the reverent canons of a troubled manchild, supernatural he or she also has or once had a wife or husband, respectively, and a few children of their own.
The trouble with the word, God, taken to mean some male or female supernatural being, is that we can never truly know who or what he or she is unless they reveal themselves to everyone and dispel any doubts that philosophers may have about the true position to take...did 'God create humankind in its own image', or did 'Humankind create God in its image'? Such an ambiguity, not to mention vanity, must live for now upon faith or supposition alone.
And if the latter of the aforementioned propositions of who exactly is the proprietor of divine standards should prove in time to be more plausible, if not entirely correct, then one may continue to say of humankind...that he or she not only created God in his or her own image, but gave that image the right, through a lieutenant, to judge a fellow human..yet, only as long as those judgments, together with any other services offered by the divine omnipotence, serve to improve in some way, the condition and standard of living for humankind necessary to maintain the station of that lieutenant. Clearly, in this light, humankind most certainly requires minimum standards before a supernatural entity can apply for the job of God.