Love & Social Change discussion
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Re-Imagining God
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Agnes, this is a great question. I'll be very interested in reading your book and see Rolanda's answer. I used to avoid the word God, as it conjured up childhood images of an old bearded man on a throne dispensing orders. Now I've come to see the universal force of love in several ways: as the Great Mystery beyond human comprehension; as the still, small voice within that comes in deep meditation; as the small glimpses of the divine worshiped in various religions; as ineffable spirit. And probably more I could name. I'm curious to know how others perceive this.



The painter Rolanda has been introduced to religion, but only learned to go through the motions. There is no satisfaction in that. She is blessed with every worldly good and every opportunity. There is satisfaction in that, but not enough. She instinctively searches for authenticity. She can only find it in discovering the truth about herself and examining her beliefs. She has to re-imagine God and discard all previous notions because they are other-directed and do not feel true.
After some contemplation, I renamed the novel 'Rolanda's Journal' because it is about Rolanda, her finding God unexpectedly in eaach daily occurrence and every detail, and also her art. She emerges from her quest, raw and vulnerable like a newborn.
It took a number of years to finish this novel because the questions I raise
in the book had to be answered by me as well as my protagonist, a process that even now continues and never really ends.
My question is: How do you re-imagine God? I would very much like to invite a discussion.