God is a Verb
- By R. Buckminster Fuller
- Whole Earth Catalog
- Fall 1968
the instruments and the mechanisms that
work
reliably,
more reliably than the limited sensory departments of
the human mechanism.
And God says
observe the paradox
of man's creative potentials
and his destructive tactics.
He could have his new world
through sufficient love
for "all's fair"
in love as well as in war
which means you can
junk as much rubbish,
skip as many stupid agreements
by love,
spontaneous unselfishness radiant.
The revolution has come-
set on fire from the top.
Let it burn swiftly.
Neither the branches, trunk, nor roots will be endangered.
Only last year's leaves and
the parasite-bearded moss and orchids
will not be there
when the next spring brings fresh growth
and free standing flowers.
Here is God's purpose-
for God, to me, it seems,
is a verb
not a noun,
proper or improper;
is the articulation
not the art, objective or subjective;
is loving,
not the abstraction "love" commanded or entreated;
is knowledge dynamic,
not legislative code,
not proclamation law.
not academic dogma, not ecclesiastic canon.
Yes, God is a verb,
the most active,
connoting the vast harmonic
reordering of the universe
from unleashed chaos of energy.
And there is born unheralded
a great natural peace,
not out of exclusive
pseudo-static security
but out of including, refining, dynamic balancing.
Naught is lost.
Only the false and nonexistent are dispelled.
And I've thought through to tomorrow
which is also today.
The telephone rings
and you say to me
Hello Buckling this is Christopher; or
Daddy it's Allegra; or
Mr. Fuller this is the Telephone Company Business Office;
and I say you are inaccurate.
Because I knew you were going to call
and furthermore I recognize
that it is God who is "speaking."And you say
aren't you being fantastic?
And knowing you I say no.
All organized religions of the past
were inherently developed
as beliefs and credits
in "second hand" information.
Therefore it will be an entirely new era
when man finds himself confronted
with direct experience
with an obviously a priori
intellectually anticipatory competency
that has interordered
all that he is discovering.
