Posted by Trixie on May 23, 1999 at 21:07:48:
In Reply to: Why We Believe posted by Gunnar on May 22, 1999 at 03:35:38:
For me, at least, the "longing" for god (in an abstract way, perhaps as the Good, the Source of Love, kind of like Jerry said) has less to do with fighting mortality and more to do with seeking an Eternal Union, which is what I think humans REALLY are looking for. That longing, for a oneness, propels some of us into relationship after relationship, searching for a permanent sense of oneness, of dissolving of personal boundaries, that the first sense of falling in love brings. I am of the mind, lately, that this sense of oneness has to do with our early imprinting as infants, when we WERE truly ONE with mother, with the world, when we had no boundaries. We had no sense of our aloneness. If mother was dependable and loving, we miss that oneness, without ever realizing what it is that we are missing.
For me, at least, this was what "god", even the fickle mormon god, provided to an extent (a not very satisfying extent, since the lack of "peace" or the sense of oneness with god was one of my first troubling omens re the church). I guess it is significant that one of the most moving passages of scripture for me, even before joining the church, was Jesus' promise "lo, I will be with you alway, even unto the end of the world".
I'm also wondering our sense of awe originates, as well, in that first period of infancy. I've got to think that out some more.