My God

Mark Twain

If I could create my own god

a soul of both solace and mirth

He who needs no one’s flatteries

nor demands them from all the earth

 

He would not possess jealousy

a trait that even men despise

Showing each one he is equal

within the lord of this worlds eyes

 

Having made of each a sinner

he would love all of us the same

Blaming himself for our failings

not tempering us in a flame

 

Our lives would be a tapestry

a quilt of love, that beauty built

Where he'd take pride in what we are

and not punish us, for his guilt

 

Author's Note

We have to keep our God placated with prayers, and even then we are never sure of him -- how much higher and finer is the Indian's God......Our illogical God is all-powerful in name, but impotent in fact; the Great Spirit is not all-powerful, but does the very best he can for his injun and does it free of charge.
Mark Twain

It seems that it truly is our own intolerance of others that will do us all in. We need to occasionally look at ourselves and the things we believe. How else can we ever effect change. It almost makes me wonder why Jesus decided to come here as a 6 ft white man with blue eyes. This in a area where the population is under six ft tall and has light brown skin and brown eyes. He certainly would have stood out. We all know what populations do to those who are different. It is enough to ponder that a man doesn't know if he should laugh or cry! Could it be as simple an observation as this? Could it be true that man created God in his own image? That would surely be one way of explaining him acting like us.

Reviews

[jdr / Jennifer]

A very powerful, very courageous write. Although we all seem to think differently about religion- I wanted to comment on the beauty and elegance that this poetic piece of writing exuberates. 'Our lives would be a tapestry, a quilt of love that beauty built'- stunning imagery- and this piece has a wonderful flow about it. On a more personal note of its contents: ‘Do I believe In God?- Yes.’ But I also believe that God would want us to ask questions and to never stop searching for what ‘we’ believe in as individuals and as a whole. To find out what helps us get through life and experience it in all its glory. To learn to from every step we take and to pass our experience, our lessons and our love on to others. Not to doubt that there is a higher power than ourselves, but to find what it is that we believe in our own heart of hearts. I do not think that it is for us to prove in our own time, but to just believe… And to have the vast majority of the world believe… That is some miracle. No matter what name you give to it.

Thank you for sharing your incredible talent.

[Tate Morgan]

You always seem to intently study what you read.i appreciate that immensely. I never have been one to be led by the masses .I always make up my own mind. I look at the Soviet Union for instance and there was a government and way of living adhered to by an entire culture.Yet flawed to the core. I think we always need to evolve.If I were thew father of humanity I would not create a subspecies below me in every way. As a father i want my son to become more than me not to strive to be worthy of me.

[lee von cleef]

"More than me" , (A hitch hiker on your conversation) "More than me" I believe is a very Christen thought,not a universal one ,though it would be nice if all thought that way.

[Tate Morgan]

You are no hitch hiker lol To me you are a fellow traveler on the light /

[Brandon S. Whitten]

Interesting read and write.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you. I am Tate nice to meet you.

[Brandon S. Whitten]

You are welcome. Nice to meet you, Tate

[Dhaye]

"Having made of each a sinner
he would love all of us the same
Blaming himself for our failings
not tempering us in a flame."

Our own faith will decide to where we are going. That's what I can say for now, Sir Tate. I feel some guilt when I discuss so much about faith, or religion. We have our own beliefs...own faith, and I respect that.

[Tate Morgan]

I thank you for your opinion.I like when we can discuss these ideas intelligently.

[Patricia B. Hepler]

I've often wondered the very same thoughts: many discrepancies from our perceptions and
the written word. Biblical culture and our current cultures may not strictly adhere to ones ideas of religions, but the faith & beliefs are still very similar. Personally, I believe God not only exists, He is merciful but not vengeful...
In either event, your poem invites the readers to explore their own thoughts and beliefs. You've approached the topic succinctly and with hope.
~pat

[Tate Morgan]

It is never my idea to tell anyone what to believe. My opinion is more along the scientific approach. To me the purpose of writing this was simply to make us think about what and why we believe.

[Patricia B. Hepler]

I didn't mean to imply that you were/weren't influencing, Tate :-) Your works are always inspiring, sir.
~pat

[Tate Morgan]

Oh you know I didn't mean that. Lol You needn't call me sir though I am as common as any weed! However I am the weed that strives to be a flower.

[Jack...]

Very nicely done. I think we would all like the opportunity to design our own God and in some ways I am not too certain that we don't have that ability.

[Tate Morgan]

Jack I think we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't explore the possibility of that being a truth

[Holly Mason]

I believe each individual should have their God of choice
as long as there is someone to tell our secrets to
i do not judge ,I do not envy,I do not lie or steal but I have my own thoughts and i do not like to share them with anyone but my God-
I believe he forgives and understands us in any time
I walk in the shoes of others always no matter their income level high or low
this is a wonderful piece
thank you for sharing

[Tate Morgan]

I do not judge either. It is my opinion that the golden rule is enough to guide me in the right way.

[Pete Langley]

I don`t know how to review this, Tate. Do I review the poetry, the logical progression or the sentiment? First, if you talk about a transcendental being who will assuage the guilt of man, you will always get a simpatico audience, because all of man is full of guilt he would like to be rid of. Yes, for me, God is made of man - not the other way round. Only man thinks he`s special. Of all the myriad creatures God has made (if He exists as an entity) man is singular in his arrogance.
Of the sentiment, who would argue? Everyone! One man`s guilt is another`s justification. Self-interest governs all among our species. P.

[Tate Morgan]

I agree with you i think more than anyone else on this. Thank you for your opinion. I am one who cannot rationalize blind faith . For me All I see when I try to do this is at best a absentee father. I ask myself can I just go with blind faith.I'm sorry to say I cannot.

[David Lewis Paget]

The jealous God, Tate, is the God of the Old Testament, the loving God, that of the New. The Old Testament is basically a history of Israel, and is not generally followed today.
Although I rarely get involved in religious discussions - time has taught me that it's a fruitless exercise - we each hold our own truth within us, and that's enough for me. I do believe in a creator, the evidence is all around me. Even scientists today agree that there must have been some design behind living things, because the eye alone must have been an instantaneous creation, otherwise no species could have survived without the gift of vision. It would not have been possible for eyes to have slowly evolved over generations or aeons. In such simple concepts do I see the truth, which is that we were created, I see his hand in everything that is created, even the simple poem.

[SimpleMind]

That was brave Tate! I can see why you wrote this poem....

[K. D. Kromminga]

A lot of our concepts of religious iconography are artistic interpretations rather then reality. And too many of those artistic interpretations were motivated by influences of their times outside of the spiritual. It would be so much better for tolerance if we could "walk a mile in another persons shoes" every time we are even tempted to see differences rather then common ground. Whose to say that our concept of "God" is not largely due to cultural barriers that we should be tearing down rather than building higher. Or that "God" is even a name and not just a title, or that his name does not vary from culture to culture depending on the beautiful and varied music of our human language and experience. Even alone in the Judeo Christian tradition "God" has many names, and that's not even counting the varied traditions that have been born from that tradition. Is it too difficult for people to conceive that the traditions that came before and after their currently held beliefs added to and will add more to the richness of the human spiritual experience?