Magical Techno God

"God is to be treated as a being, not an object or force to used or manipulated.  While our thinking and practice may at times betray such a view, it is not consistent with the biblical picture. The idea that God is simply something to be used to solve our problems and meet our needs is not religion.  Such attempts to harness him belong rather to the realm of magic or technology."  Willard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, Baker Academic, Michigan, 1998
Ouch!
I am definitely guilty of praying to a Magical Techno God, my personal MTG!  Sic him, MTG.  Go get im.  Fetch, MTG! Fetch.
I disagree with Erickson that this is not biblical.  My principle prayer to God is 'protect me', "help me", "save me".  Everyone in the Bible even Jesus is calling on God to help.  God is a helping God but not like those pagan 'helper Gods'.  Maybe I'm calling on the lesser 'angelic' hands of God.  But if that is the case, maybe I'm putting them before God.  I think the message is that I'm supposed to go right to the great kahoona, the boss God and never lose sight of God , Father even if he's femininized as so often he is in the transvestite Christian tradition of God the girl.  Mary is a wholly different matter.  St. Theresa does say very carefully 'don't get side tracked.".
The key here is Erickson's statement 'that God is simply something to be used to solve problems."  My friend Allan says "if God is small enough for me to understand, he's not big enough to do the job."  If I am 'harnessing God' then it's a very person centered rather than God centered project.  The 12 step program have in the 11 th step the statement "praying only for knowledge of  His will for us and the power to carry it out.'"
Christianity is a religion of 'obedience'.  It's God focussed and we attempt to "follow" God. God is considered parental and as a friend.  He's certainly not portrayed as a child who I have to teach to do my will.  I don't think it's unreasonable to ask a friend to 'save me' or ask a parent 'to get me out of the mess I'm in' which implies that "I got myself into this mess'.  There's no blame.  I'm forever stumbling off the path that God set for me.  I'm half blind, half deaf and stupid as humanly possible but that just means I keep begging forgiveness, mercy and crying like any child would as before God I'm a child. I don't know how to create a world or move mountains. I want to. I want to drop a mountain on Eddy's head or put that diamond mountain from Africa in my backyard.  I occasionally ask God to help me with my pet projects but so far he's not budging.  I don't think he's ready for me to have my own personal space flitter with supersonic cannon and a spiffy anima girlfriend whose always sexually wanting me while calling me her hero even when I'm screwing up.   If I'd made God I'd definitely have added some improvements that would get me what I want.
However, I'm to believe God is in charge. God won't hurt me. There is life after death even. God doesn't give me more than I can handle.  TV has infinite torture and horrible stories of childbirth for women that was years of excruciating pain and people being buried face down in anthills only to be regenerated by Chinese master criminals with all manner of drugs so I can continue to feel the exquisite pain of suffering while I soil myself in front of the Gr 1 class with the school teacher the worst bully.  Mark Twain said something about the worst horrors and nightmares and deaths occuring in his mind.
My friend Willie says the mind is a radio receiver, get both hands on the receiver and make sure it stays on the God channel. I force myself to look at pretty things, flowers and children playing and puppies and kittens.  I'd prefer to watch Criminal minds and see the umpteenth serial sexual sadist get another victim 7 days a week. There have only been 2 serious sexual saddists in Canada in my lifetime. Pickton was one.  We heard about it from the courts for decades and as much money was spent on that as was spent on the one major terrorist activity in Western Canada, the India jet bombing.  To get the tax dollars and to scare the silly girls and boys an old story is told over and over again until in fact we get copy cat killers thanks to the media.  I loved telling scarey stories around the campfire.  I love listening to scarey stories too. That's why I listen to campfire radio CBC which says the Conservative Government is going to kill us all because Harper is cutting the budget of CBC so we don't have to listen to some of the really bad propaganda which made CBC as bad as CNN.  CBC does some great things but it certainly doesn't talk about God enough and doesn't uplift us enough and doesn't serve 75% of the Canadian population who are paying for it with their taxes.  It does serve a radical vocal loud minority.  If I have to listen to another Bob Marley 1960's reggae revolution song from CBC knowing some white haired want to be revolutionary rich on government pension is playing the song I'll be ill driving to work  wondering what good is my country doing.
Often listening to CBC I ask God to rescue me.  Sometimes I just ask him to give me the power and will to switch the channel to something relevant and contemporary.  I like the classical music though, and I like Currents, some of As it Happens and I really like the Debaters.  So it's my personal Steven King novel experience.
I also confess I often ask God for a porsche. I really believe God gave me my Harley.   There is no difference really between men and women. Women want more than one pair of shoes.  Shoes are a vehicle, albeit a slow vehicle but a vehicle nonetheless.  Men want porches and trucks and motorcycles, boats and jet fighters.  If women can have more than one pair of shoes then surely God in his wisdom would give every man a space scoop jet flitter.  Skip solar paneled space craft and get right down to fusion operated.
I even pray for a porche for my enemy hoping that I might get the richochet.  I think if I want something for my enemy maybe karma will get it for me. I try to outfox God in my prayers sometimes.
But mostly I'm praying for 'rescue'.  Beam me up God there is no intelligent life on this planet.  My god is a magical techno God and then some.  God is all. But I don't want to limit God. I don't want to tell the creator of the universe how to do his job which is to make my life the best possible life. God can redeem all. I want God's redemption. I want God in all God's manifestation. I don't jsut want the "pocket god' that Phillips talks about in "your god is too small'. I want the immense God. God of God.  Holy of Holy.  Be with me.  Walk with me. May I ever know thee.  May I be with you (if only because it's got to be safer than I am alone).
The fact remains that I 'entreaty'.  I'm not commanding God. I'm begging God. I'm crying like a 2 year old. "Give me the porche, God"!.  This isn't very magical.  Magical would be using God like Moses used the pole god gave him. I've wanted one of those too.  I want every sort of weapon for protection, force fields but best of all the James Kirk stun gun which you could dial up to fry a dinosaur.  I've always thought one of those would help driving to work or discussing matters in government offices.  Instead I just tic like the villian in pink panther.  Sometimes I utter things that make me certain I'm coming down with full blown Tourette's.  Dementia has it's upside.  No one can hold you accountable for some of the things I'm planning on saying, like the fools in Shakespeare who have the ear of the kings.
If I'm talking with God it's better than talking to myself.  It's like sex beats masturbation even if masturbation is easier and disease free. Masturbation is cowardly, narcissistic and bitter.  Sex is sex.  Talking with God is better than talking with myself.  If I hear voices generated by myself then I'm hallucinating whereas if God talks to me I'm hearing the voice of the God.  I suspect it's even better than Abbey Road or the White Album.  Hands down it puts Justin Beiber to shame.
In magic there is no 'humility'.  It's all about me. It's about secret rites and my manipulating the universe.  In Christianity I'm seeking God and I'm asking God to let me be a 'channel' for his will and to use me as his servant. I want to be God's servant.  Albeit I want to represent God in a Godly way, driving a porche but I accept that I'm serving God.  I'd rather the uptown gig than the downtown Gig.  Even Jesus wanted to pass the cup but God said it was his job to the do the sacrifice. I'm thankful he died for my sins. I'm not spiritually enlightened to even want to die for my own.  I'm swaddling still.  But I don't think it hurts to ask.
I'm listening to God too. The whole of creation is shouting his name.  The heavens are exploding with wonder.  There's God everywhere.  I really have to pay attention. I can so easily miss the joy of being in relation with God, living in God with God in front of me, God behind me, God beneath me, God above me, God beside me, God around me, God all over me, God inside me, God of Gods and all holy and wonderful singing praise and celebrating creation moment by moment day by day. Thank you Jesus.