Why Does God Live Far from Humanity?
5 This is a much more obscure question, in comparison to the others covered in this book. 2Why are we always told that deities exist or reside in a distant place far from Earth? 3Why wouldn t they choose to live closer to their creations, particularly when they seem to want or need our adoration?
40f course the most obvious possibility is that they simply don t exist and legends have no choice but to place these beings as far away from us as possible or else we would see for ourselves that they are not there. 5Whilst this is a valid point of view, it's too simplistic for our discussion.
In a Physical Place
6Not all religions see their deities as astral creatures that live beyond the skies. 7The well-known pantheon of ancient Greece was thought to live on the summit of Mount 0lympus, which was a very Earthly home.
8Interestingly, even when a real physical home is envisioned for the Gods, it is still placed at a distant and unreachable location. 9Since the Gods are not literal beings who walk amongst us, any religion that has its deities living next door, for example, is going to run into trouble when the bell is rung and they fail to answer. 1OAs they re not earthly beings, it's hardly surprising that they are not given to having a residence just around the corner.
11Then again, you can provide a more earthly location for deities without necessarily expecting to see them wandering around us. 12The Neo-Pagans, certain Folk religions and Shinto take an interesting approach to this: they are of the view that the gods and goddesses live amongst us as an embodiment of nature; we just don t see them in their human forms.
13Some of the more traditional, older religions for example – African, Chinese, Japanese – believe they reside in specific locations, so shrines and temples are erected to appease them.
In an Astral Place
14Christians envision God as living in heaven, as the Bible has stated on more than on occasion:
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9)
15But where is heaven? 16Throughout the Bible, there are references to earth being under the heavens . 17The very first line of the Bible states:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)
18Many other places describe heaven and earth as separate places, and that heaven is somewhere above the sky. 190f course, sometimes the term is used to describe the sky in general, so it's not always clear. 20For the ancient Norse, the gods lived in Asgard, which is similar to the Christian heaven, though the landscape is very different given their polytheistic pantheon. 21The Norse believed that there were nine worlds connected by a tree called Yggdrasil, and that our physical universe was just one aspect of existence. 22Asgard was another, which is where the Gods lived, and it was also where the honoured dead would reside.
In Our Hearts
23There are also claims that God lives within us all, though we can t be sure if this is meant to be taken literally. 24There are several examples of this line of thinking:
“Don t you know that you yourselves are God s temple and that God s spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Everywhere?
25There are also references to God existing everywhere at once – omnipresence – which contradicts the notion of a heaven. 26At least this applies to the Christian and Islamic God.
“‘Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24)
“Both east and west belong to Allah, so wherever you turn, the Face of Allah is there. Allah is all-encompassing, all knowing (Sura 2:115)
270ther faiths seem to have their gods (and goddesses) living in a more conventional way, with a sole location that is not omnipresent. 28And some simply accept that their gods do exist everywhere and do not concern themselves about the specifics. 29Having the spirit of God within you is a strongly Christian concept that most other religions do not subscribe to because they see their deities as more independent beings.
Shifting residence
30The location of a deity s residence seems to shift depending upon the purpose. 31When a scripture wishes a believer to feel closer to a god, he is described as being right there in their hearts. 32But on the other hand, if the intention is to make you feel awed or intimidated, the description shifts to an unknowable realm above us.