G-d is Irrational and Emotional and We Should All Start Respecting Him for That

G-d is often characterized as a self-sustaining entity who sits upon his lofty transcendent throne, existing in a spiritual vacuum immune to the world and its failings. He tends to be defined as a state of being that affects but isn’t affected, gives but doesn’t receive, and never falls victim to the anguish of human emotion. When we think of G-d, we think of “beyondness.” The mere suggestion that G-d may experience needs or desires or pleasure seems downright laughable- maybe even heretical. Those are uniquely human qualities- right? So how dare we limit our perception of G-d to our physical human experience and thereby detract from his incomprehensible awesomeness.

But the detached, transcendent G-d character just doesn't seem impressive to me. Something about it seems…natural. Obvious. Intuitively speaking, if a spiritual force such as G-d exists, it’s home would be in the heavens. There is nothing novel about the notion that a spiritual entity would naturally be found in a spiritual (as opposed to a physical) environment. Just as the nature of our physical bodies is to abide in the physical world and perceive a physical reality, the “nature” of a spiritual G-d should axiomatically be within the spiritual world. In general, creation sways in the direction of it’s nature. Fish thrive under water, birds roam the sky, foliage sprouts in the climate suited to its species. A G-d who has been defined as “spiritual” and exists only in a transcendent state would be existing according the rules of its predetermined nature, just like the rest of creation.

But G-d isn’t a creation. G-d is the Creator. He’s beyond the rules, and they don’t have to apply to Him if He doesn’t want them to. By defining G-d as "spiritual," we are limiting Him. By viewing Him as existing only beyond and not within, we are failing to recognize His infinity.

In my opinion, an awe-inspiring G-d is one with no nature. He can reconcile seemingly dichotomous realities: That of heaven and that of earth, that perceivable by G-d and that known to humankind. He is a G-d whose being extends infinitely beyond the scope of our imagination, but within whom burns a deep desire for a dwelling place in the lowest and darkest of worlds. A G-d who loves us and needs us so much that He’s willing to recreate us at every moment, when let’s be honest- He could be doing a zillion other things up in heaven. My G-d intimately knows every sinew of the human experience, feeling our joy and agony more intensely than any created being could. His deep empathy is a testimony to- not a detraction from- His greatness. My G-d existed before existence itself, yet cares about the minute details of what we do during our puny lifespan. My G-d is all-powerful, but depends on me to fulfill the purpose of creation. My G-d is emotionally invested in me. My G-d believes in me.

He is a G-d who clearly doesn’t make any sense at all. He contradicts Himself left and right; He lives in countless worlds at once. But it is precisely G-d’s ability to exist unconfined by nature that makes His epicness so unprecedented. This is an awe-inspiring G-d. This is the G-d I choose as my King.