Pantheism holds that God is identical with
the real world. God is all and all is God. God does not trancedent reality
but is immanent in reality, or rather, all reality is in God. Beyond him
is only illusion or nonreality.
At the heart of pantheism is reverence of the universe as divine and
for the natural earth as sacred.
When we say THE UNIVERSE IS DIVINE we are not talking about a supernatural
being. We are talking about the way our senses and our emotions force us
to respond to the overwhelming mystery and power that surrounds us. We
are part of the universe. Our earth was created from the universe and will
one day be reabsorbed into the universe. We are made of the same matter
as the universe. We are not in exile here: we are at home. It is only here
that we will ever get the chance to see the divine face to face. If we
believe our real home is not here but in a land that lies beyond death
- if we believe that the divine is found only in old books, or old buildings,
or inside our head - then we will see this real, vibrant, luminous world
as if through a glass darkly.
The universe creates us, preserves us, destroys us. It is deep and old
beyond our ability to reach with our senses. It is beautiful beyond our
ability to describe in words. It is complex beyond our ability to fully
grasp in science. We must relate to the universe with humility, awe, reverence,
celebration and the search for deeper understanding - in other words, in
many of the ways that believers relate to their God.
This divinity is everywhere inside you and outside you and you can
never be separated from it.
Wherever you are, it's there with you. Wherever you go, it goes with
you. Whatever happens to you, it remains with you.
When we say THE EARTH IS SACRED, we mean it with just as much commitment
and reverence as believers speaking about their church or mosque, or the
relics of their saints. But again we are not talking about supernatural
beings. We are saying this:
We are part of nature. Nature made us and at our death we will be reabsorbed
into nature. We are at home in nature and in our bodies. This is where
we belong; this is the only place where we can find and make our paradise,
not in some imaginary world on the other side of the grave. If nature is
the only paradise, then separation from nature is the only hell. When we
destroy nature, we create hell on earth for other species and for ourselves.
Nature is our mother, our home, our security, our peace, our past and
our future. We should treat natural things and habitats as believers treat
their temples and shrines, as sacred - to be revered and preserved in all
their intricate and fragile beauty.