An Altar In The World Chapter 1 Analysis

“The Practice of Waking up to God”, chapter one of An Altar in the World takes us from Hawaii to Jacob in 17 pages. Taylor uses the bible story of Jacob to illustrate the existence of Bethel, the house of God. Just as Jacob found God in the middle of nowhere and honored him with a pillow shape stone. Taylor found God in Hawaii by taking into account the crashing waves and the sheer silence of the still pool surrounded by three baguettes shaped stone. These examples direct us to her line of reasoning that God is everywhere and everything. She also presents us with the idea of what is real and how can we really know God. God by human standards cannot be grasped. Additionally, we are presented with the idea that if God is everywhere, why do we human continually try to contain him in a building, call “church”. God is everything, everywhere and everybody. He can work and live through us and for us. …show more content…
Her initial understanding of reverence was demonstrated by her father and had little to do with God or spirituality. Over time she was able to expand on his concept, of knowing your rank within the vast expanse of the world, and incorporating a spiritual aspect. She explains “Reverence stands in awe of something –something that dwarfs the self, that allows human beings to sense the full extent of our limits (page 21).” Without this type of reverence to something bigger than ourselves we are unable to grasp the magnitude of our present day self. As humans we strive to take responsibility for creating and constructing our reality, when fundamentally “we are guest (page 23)” of this world, that was created for us by