“GOD MADE SPINOZA TOO” – By Des Kelly
The Author of this . piece of.,~ writing is unfortunately unknown, yet it was sent in to me by my good friend, Artist/Cartoonist Max. Gerreyn and certainly merits inclusion on e’Lanka, so let us get it on, forthwith. The title (above) comes from me. I was born a Roman Catholic, have lived my life so far, as one, and will die, a Roman Catholic. I am not, in any sense of the word (or phrase), a “Church pillar”,
however I DO BELIEVE IN GOD. There is only the ONE GOD, and it is quite obvious now, that this ALMIGHTY is fed-up with the World that HE created just recently, in the context of time. When God made us, HE created each & everyone with a brain. He then expected us to use this brain to live our lives as we should, in peace and contentment, leading to a final everlasting existence with Him.
What do we do ?, Wars, greed, & hunger for power and money, Idol-worship, plagues, to name just a few and now a global pandemic, to top it all off.
Baruch de Spinoza was one of the the greatest Dutch Philosophers of the 17th Century, but when Albert Einstein, one of the greatest Physicists in he World was asked the question about his belief in God and gave his answer, he obviously forgot the real fact that
GOD MADE SPINOZA TOO.
Desmond Kelly.
(Editor-in-Chief) e’Lanka.
Did you know that when Einstein gave lectures at the numerous US universities he was invited to, the recurring question that students asked him was:
Do you believe in God?
And he always answered:
I believe in the God of Spinoza.
The ones who hadn’t read Spinoza didn’t understand…
I hope this gem of history, serves you as much as it does me:
Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, along with René Descartes in France, and Gottfried Leibniz in Germany.
Here’s some of his wisdom:
God would have said:
Stop praying and punching yourself in the chest!
What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to enjoy, sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve made for you.
Stop going to those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and say they are my house! My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That’s where I live and there I express my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing! Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don’t blame me for everything they made you believe.
Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can’t read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son’s eyes… you will find me in no book! Trust me and stop asking me. Would you tell me how to do my job?
Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or seek to punish you. I am pure love.
Stop asking for forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive. If I made you… I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies… free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I’m the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of God would do that?
Forget any kind of commandments, any kind of laws; those are wiles to manipulate you, to control you, that only create guilt in you.
Respect your peers and don’t do what you don’t want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that your consciousness is your guide.
My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing that exists here and now, and it is all you need.
I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues… no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life heaven or hell.
I could tell you if there’s anything after this life, but I won’t… but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is nothing after… as if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there’s nothing, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won’t ask if you behaved right or wrong, I’ll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?…
Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don’t want you to believe in me… I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?
I’m bored being praised, I’m tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy!… that’s the way to praise me.
Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you’ve been taught about me.
The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, and that this world is full of wonders.
What do you need more miracles for? Why so many explanations?
Look for me outside… you won’t find me. Find me inside… there I am beating within you.
Spinoza.
