Like all good Unitarians and deists, the word "God" irritates me, the eternal questioner.
Like "love," "God" has come to mean whatever people want it to mean. And it has an anthropomorphic (human face and body) connotation which seems decidedly limiting.
Enlightenment writers and Abraham Lincoln used the terms "Creator" and "Divine Providence" or just "Providence", all with capital letters at the beginning of the words.
Twelve Step programs use the term"Higher Power" and then fill it in with acronyms: Good Orderly Direction (GOD); Gift Of Desperation (GOD); Group Of Drunks (AA acronym only).
These just aren't modern enough in our cracked-genetic-code world. So I propose this as a more accurate descriptor:
Genome's Obscure Distributor , both a definition and an acronym for the term GOD.
And for DNA? Divine Nature's Author.
Paul Keane
M. Div. '80
PS: Dylan-the-force-that-through-the-green-fuse-drives-the flower-drives-my-soul-Thomas might be pleased also. Might.
Science Dictionary
genome (jē'nōm)
The total amount of genetic information in the chromosomes of an organism, including its genes and DNA sequences. The genome of eukaryotes is made up of a single, haploid set of chromosomes that is contained in the nucleus of every cell and exists in two copies in the chromosomes of all cells except reproductive and red blood cells. The human genome is made up of about 35,000 genes. Compare proteome.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cultural Dictionary
genome [( jee -nohm)]
The sum of all information contained in the DNA for any living thing. The sequence of all the nucleotides in all the chromosomes of an organism.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cultural Dictionary
deism [( dee -iz-uhm)]
The belief that God has created the universe but remains apart from it and permits his creation to administer itself through natural laws. Deism thus rejects the supernatural aspects of religion, such as belief in revelation in the Bible, and stresses the importance of ethical conduct. In the eighteenth century, numerous important thinkers held deist beliefs. ( See clockwork universe.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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