Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, September 9, 2008


…. surely Allah does not love him who is proud, boastful.

- The Holy Qur’an, 4:36


I could have picked any relevant phrase from the Bible, or the Vedas, or whatever, but I chose the Qur’an today just to indicate that I am impartial. I go to any source.

I don’t know the Qur’an well enough yet to speak with certainty about this. But I can say about the Bible that my understanding is that God’s essence is Love and God loves everyone equally.

It is my perception that the “sin against the Holy Spirit” is to lie about God. So, as far as I am concerned, any “Holy Scripture” which says that God does not love anyone is committing the sin against the Holy Spirit. To emphasize the “gravity” of the “sin”, the Bible says that such a sin cannot be forgiven. In other words, to lie about God is “heavy”.

Quite awhile ago, having comprehended that God is Love, I rejected anything that contradicted that Truth. I now believe that anything that contradicts that Truth about “God”, in any Scriptures that ascribe Love to the character of God, is a human projection, to be discarded. For me, God is not about punishment, or blame, or wrath. These are anthropomorphic projections pandering to human desire to control God. “God” is about lifting up, about leading to Love, about forgiveness, about compassion. “God” is about the Journey to becoming fully human in the image of Love.

The Qur’an is wrong. God most definitely does love “him[her] who is proud, boastful”. In the Christian myth (i.e., Truth Story), Jesus chooses willingly to die for no other reason than from love for His Loving Father and for God’s Beloved People.

I most emphatically believe that fear of “God’s wrath” only makes a shallow, fearful, guilt-ridden caricature of a human being. Wonder at God’s Unconditional Love frees our soul to rise to the destiny I choose to believe has been determined for us since the World began. Only Love frees us truly to renounce pride and boastfulness.

Brian+