148. Special Episode | Revisiting God Takes Me To A Place Of Peace
Scott Langdon [00:00:17] This is God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. A dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin. He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered- in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him. Episode 148.
Scott Langdon [00:01:05] Hello and welcome to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. I'm Scott Langdon, your host. The topic of discussion in next week's edition of The Life Wisdom Project will be centered around episode 11. God Takes Me To A Place Of Peace. In this episode, God clarifies his assignment for Jerry to tell God's story as God tells it to Jerry. But God doesn't leave it there. He assures Jerry that he will never be alone and then goes even further by taking Jerry into the heart of God. Remember, you can always find the complete audio adaptation of the book any time for free by beginning with episode one of this podcast and listening through its conclusion in episode 44. So here now is episode 11. God Takes Me To A Place Of Peace. I hope you enjoy the episode. Episode 11.
DRAMATIC ADAPTATION EPISODE 11: GOD TAKES ME TO A PLACE OF PEACE
Jerry Martin - voiced by Scott Langdon
Abigail L. Rosenthal - voiced by herself
The Voice of God - voiced by Jerry L. Martin, who heard the voice
The Voice of God [00:02:03] I am an evolving God.
Jerry Martin [00:02:06] I thought God was supposed to be perfect, eternal, and unchanging. I had been an agnostic, but I thought I had a clear idea of what I was agnostic about. I was usually disturbed to be told something that did not fit my preconceptions. Yet this bit of news, while puzzling, did not upset me. When I first broke this news to Abigail--that God's message is evolving over time, and that He had called me to carry it forward--she just listened, unfazed.
Abigail L. Rosenthal [00:02:42] "I felt submissive; it sounded like orders from above," she explained later. "I thought: Jerry is clearly not making this up. What it means in my life is, of necessity, open-ended. To receive such a direction is to move to a realm or level not foreseeable. In other words, it is a blessing."
Jerry Martin [00:03:28] It all seemed intolerably bizarre. I thought I should talk it over with people I knew. One, a distinguished medical ethicist, responded, "First of all, this is not weird." Nothing he could have said would have been a greater relief to me! Another, a well-known author, said, first, "That's great--now you know there is a God, and then added, "You have had a Kierkegaard moment," recalling that philosopher's question, "If you encountered Jesus on the streets of Copenhagen, would you follow him?" A prominent lay theologian said he was "touched" by my story and suggested some reading, while I waited for my “big assignment.” While there were also cautionary responses, no one seemed to think I was crazy or a fool to take the voice seriously. Still, I was not prepared for the next experience.
The Voice of God [00:04:42] I want you to enter my heart.
Jerry Martin [00:04:46] Enter God's heart? “This is weird, Lord, and scary, like out-of-body travel.”
The Voice of God [00:04:55] I will protect you.
Jerry Martin [00:04:57] Lord, give me your love.
The Voice of God [00:05:00] Let Abigail love you. You will feel my love through her.
Jerry Martin [00:05:05] Then strengthen me, be with me, for this.
The Voice of God [00:05:10] I will.
Jerry Martin [00:05:28] He took my hand, as it were, and led me into the "heart of God." I had expected it to be an overpowering, perhaps terrifying experience. But it was more like the eye of a hurricane. I was at the center of something vast and powerful, but here it was quiet, calm, and peaceful. I surveyed the things I feared--the end of my career, loss of reputation, financial insecurity, and a book that went nowhere. In that calm that is God, each concern disappeared. “Lord, what exactly is my assignment?”
The Voice of God [00:06:20] The world needs to understand my story, or at least to understand it better. I have given parts of the story to different people at different times. The whole now needs to be told. Your effort will be part of telling that whole story. “What exactly do you want me to write?”
Jerry Martin [00:06:40] “Do you want people to piece the whole together out of the parts?”
The Voice of God [00:06:44] What I want most is for people to listen to me.
Jerry Martin [00:06:49] “And to listen to what you have told various people over the ages?”
The Voice of God [00:06:54] Yes. That is part of listening to me.
Jerry Martin [00:06:57]
The Voice of God [00:07:00] "God: An Autobiography." My story is the history of me--how I came to be.
Jerry Martin [00:07:09] “The story of your interactions with various peoples?”
The Voice of God [00:07:13] That, but not only that. Tell it from my point of view, not the history of people's experience of God.
Jerry Martin [00:07:22] “Lord, the total story of your interaction with people would be too vast.”
The Voice of God [00:07:28] No, all history is selective. Use a different word--like episodes--if you like. But it is history in the sense of being chronological, developmental, and dramatic in some sense. There is a subjective point of view (Myself), intentions and concerns for the future, regrets about the past, and so forth.
Jerry Martin [00:07:51] “What are the materials for this history? The great religious texts?”
The Voice of God [00:07:55]Yes, of course. That is one side of the human-divine interaction, like hearing one end of a telephone conversation. So that is one starting point. But there are others as well, and I have been leading you to them--the physical record, the geological record, the biological development, the stars and the galaxies, time and creation, and so on. And I will tell you many things myself--that is the "new revelation" aspect. Nothing overly dramatic there--I reveal myself all the time.
Jerry Martin [00:08:33] “Should I read the scriptures of the major religions?”
The Voice of God [00:08:36] Yes, I want you to read the early spiritual history of mankind. I will lead you to which readings. I would like you to pray as you read them and take notes as directed.
Jerry Martin [00:08:49] “You said I was to tell your story from the *inside out.* But reading the scriptures is from *the outside in.*”
The Voice of God [00:08:57] Yes, tell my story as I tell it to you. The only purpose for reading is to give you reference points for understanding my story.
Jerry Martin [00:09:06] “If I am going to get into your head, it would be helpful to know what you are up to, what your ultimate goal is.”
The Voice of God [00:09:12] No, your job is not to get into my head. Remember, I am telling you what is in my head. You are not trying to empathize with a fictional or historical character. You have the living person right here, and I will tell you.
Jerry Martin [00:09:31] “But, as I prepare for the work…”
The Voice of God [00:09:34] You are making this falsely complicated because you are not trusting me. You think you will have to do this on your own by deciphering the cultural forms and so forth. But it is exquisitely simple. You ask me what you are to read or to study. And then you will ask me what I was up to in relation to what you are reading or studying. And you don't need to worry about the total compass or overall story, because I will lead you item by item.
Jerry Martin [00:10:06] “How should I approach the ancient scriptures, Lord?”
The Voice of God [00:10:10] Get into the frame of mind for reading the particular work. The frame of mind is reverential, quiet, respectful, openhearted. It does not consist of analyzing metaphors and stories of gods. Just take in what comes to you.
Scott Langdon [00:10:47] Thank you for listening to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. Subscribe for free today wherever you listen to your podcasts and hear a new episode every week. You can hear the complete dramatic adaptation of God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin by beginning with episode one of our podcast and listening through its conclusion with Episode 44. You can read the original true story in the book from which this podcast is adapted, God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher, available now at amazon.com, and always at godanautobiography.com. Pick up your own copy today. If you have any questions about this or any other episode, please email us at [email protected], and experience the world from God's perspective as it was told to a philosopher. This is Scott Langdon. I'll see you next time.