Have you ever had the experience, especially with reading the Scriptures, where you've read a text more than once ... then someone points out something to you that changes the way you relate to what you're reading?

As I grew up, the churches I belonged to worked hard to help me come to an informed "faith in Jesus." I learned the stories of Jesus in Sunday School, at home, in the various youth groups, through the education programs designed to show me, and convince me, that faith "in" Jesus is critical. My educational experiences deepened my faith in Jesus; my teaching experiences did the same. OK, can't argue with that ... all of the learning and teaching worked!

After her grandmother died, poet Judith Stafford wrote a poem titled, "Grandmother," in which she reflects on her grandmother's life:

It seems true to me that you gradually become like those who have some influence over you or who have been selected to be in positions of power and authority over you. So, in part, you become like your parents until you make real choices for yourself. And, in part, you become like the teachers who made a difference in your life until you enter your life-learning approaches. And, in part, you become like your friends who lived in your life until you choose a different way. And, in part, you become like TV characters you find satisfying or interesting until you go another direction.

I wasn't sure if I should title this "Seeing the Real God" or "Seeing the True God" or "Seeing the Only God." So, I just put "Seeing God." That seems enough to me since God is going to be more than my ideas or images, my categories or concepts. To "see God" seems like the experience of a life time!

About one in four USAmericans view God as "Distant." This would be a general description of such a God:

The Baylor study of how USAmericans view God suggests a third primary concept of God - the "Critical" God. A brief description of this viewpoint reveals:

This second post of four recognizes that the "Authoritarian" God and the "Benevolent" God share one major quality: both views accept that God has a high standard of rightness. God has high expectations! But, in the understanding of people who lean toward these God-views, the "Authoritarian" God is primarily angry at "sin" (anything that goes against his will) while the "Benevolent" God is forgiving of "sin." A brief description of the "Benevolent" view of God includes:

This is the first of four posts based on the way Americans "view" God. Here are some thoughts on the "Authoritarian" God:

What you think matters! Especially when it comes to how and what you think about God.

I've long pondered the truth of Luther's comment, "Faith creates God." True, God is more than any belief I hold and greater than any doctrinal system put in place to describe Him. I am unable to conjure Him up in my limited thought capacities. Besides, who He is and what He does not rely on my account of Him. The truth is that He is who He is apart from me.