Sunday, May 8, 2011

Nature Is the Scripture of the Eternal

"Nature is the first and last revelation because it is the 'scripture' of the Eternal. ... the trace of His hand is found in every rippling field of grass or fluttering leaf or silent flower; to read them is to help recover our roots of immortality."

--Mark Perry


"Why are we drawn into the heart of nature? Why do we feel uplifted and spiritually renewed after spending time in some wild place far removed from the ordinary business of men?...


"...it is not only through sacred books like the Bible, the Upanishads, and the Quran that God reveals Himself to man. He also shows us the shining facets of His Reality through the beauties of the natural world; and just as we learn something about the nature of an artist through his art, we may discover the presence of the Creator in His creation. Whether the Absolute was referred to as God, Brahman, Allah, Wakan Tanka, Shunyamurti, Tao, or by some other Name, every branch of human society has, without doubt, seen traces of the One in the many wonders of nature."


--Barry McDonald

Although the writers quoted here refer to God as masculine, it is my belief that God is both beyond gendering yet inclusive of all gender. In my own writing, I refer to God as God, the Creator, the Divine, or other inclusive, gender-free names.