song for theme #8A: Monotheism

“Spark! Creative Source of All” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by Charles Wesley

Spark!¹ Creative source of all²

Universe moves to your call

New day dawns on planet Earth

Glorious life has its birth

Web of life all in its place

Blessed by your mighty grace³

Throughout we see your design

In flowers, in stars that shine

Spark! Creative source of all

Universe moves to your call

Deists⁴ see you their own way

Hands off, your approach they say

Laws in place it all works

With no miracles⁵, no quirks

Without purpose this shaker

Works like a blind watchmaker⁶

Smart designers⁷ disagree

With their teleology⁸

Spark! Creative source of all

Universe moves to your call

Have you clear human attributes

Or murky mystic cosmic roots?

Hail judgmental father

Or loving kind holy mother?

Do you provide holy word

Or speak in ways not heard?

One God we believe in you

In all of us you shine through

Spark! Creative source of all

Universe moves to your call

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—Spark, as in vital spark, refers to a technique for supposedly bringing inanimate matter to life made famous in Mary Shelley’s

     Frankenstein (written early 19^th century) when vitalism (theme #5B) was popular.

2— “Source of all” replaces “Lord of all” for Unitarian Universalists (UUs) singing “For the Beauty of the Earth.”

3— Grace: a person’s belief–sometimes difficult to sustain given hardships or evidence to the contrary–that God, nature or reality

      is ultimately on his or her side and will occasionally gift one with unwarranted help.

4— Deism–a monotheistic belief in God, who is believed to not interfere with the workings of the universe which proceed

     according to natural laws, combined with rejection of formal, organized religion. 

5—Miracle can be defined as an act of God or some supernatural being that violates the laws of physics.    

6—The Blind Watchmaker is the title of a book by biologist Richard Dawkins.

7— Refers to intelligent design: the belief that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an

      intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.

8—Teleology refers to the notion that there is a design or purpose inherent in everything, and that events unfold toward some

     divinely specified ultimate end or that everything strives to fulfill some purpose.

Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor. This can take many forms—note 3 above suggests one. Depending on your conception of God, see other comments. Example:if you have a non-personal conception of a God you merge with in mystical experiences, see the theme #7A comment. From a Project Worldview perspective you can imagine God actually behind the counter as you go into the Monotheism shop in The Reality Marketplace, as does one account¹. When asked what’s for sale, God says “Everything your heart desires.” The shopper, who perhaps conceives of an omnipotent God in terms of love, wants to order love, peace of mind, happiness, etc. for everyone. But God stops her, “We don’t sell fruits here. Only seeds.”