When the Divine Was Decentralised
- Adeyeye Samuel Oluwatosin
- Sep 3
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 22
A Reflection on Genesis, Energy, and the Fractals of Being
Many years ago, I stumbled on something in Genesis 1:1 that felt too significant to ignore. It didn’t come with thunder or visions. Just a subtle shift in perspective. But it planted a seed.
"In the beginning, God created..."
Simple, right?
But the Hebrew word translated as “created” is “bara”—and it’s not as tidy as our English suggests. It doesn’t always mean “to make something from nothing.” More often, it implies ordering, separating, or bringing into expression. And that’s where the crack began.
What if this ancient verse was not describing some distant deity conjuring a world out of void, but rather, a decentralizing of divinity? Not God apart from creation, but God diffusing into it. That idea would later be labelled heresy. Some call it pantheism, others panentheism, mysticism, or “New Age confusion.” But the more I studied—not just theology but science, cosmology, metaphysics—the more coherent and honest this view appeared. What if Genesis 1:1 wasn’t the tale of a magician, but of a mirror breaking into billions of fragments, each one carrying the light of the whole?
The Problem with the Traditional Model
Classical theism (especially in Abrahamic religions) insists on a duality:
God is “up there”—perfect, holy, untouchable. We are “down here”—fallen, filthy, in need of rescue. It’s a neat system for control. But it fractures reality. If all things came from God, then how can God remain separate from all things? If creation is divine in origin, then it cannot be wholly profane in essence.
Even early Hebrew cosmology doesn’t teach absolute dualism. That came later, through Greek metaphysics, Roman power structures, and religious empire-building. The deeper you go into mysticism—Hebrew, Christian, Sufi, Eastern—the more you find a common whisper:
The divine is not “out there” but interwoven into the very structure of existence.
The Science of Stardust and Interconnection
Let’s move from theology to physics. Modern science now tells us:
You are made of atoms forged in stars. Every carbon, nitrogen, oxygen atom in your body was formed in a stellar explosion. Reality is fractal. The same patterns repeat across micro and macro levels. Quantum entanglement connects particles across vast distances. At the subatomic level, nothing is isolated. Matter is not solid. It is energy—vibrating, relational, and interconnected.
Science isn’t describing God. But it’s eroding the old paradigm of separateness. And it’s remarkably compatible with a decentralized view of the divine.
In this framework
God is not a being among beings, but the ground of Being itself.
God is not elsewhere, but in all, through all, and becoming with all.
And so, the idea of divinity as decentralization is not just spiritually intuitive—it is scientifically plausible.
Why This View Is Dangerous (To Religion)
Because it dismantles control structures.
If the divine is embedded in you,
If you do not need a mediator, a ritual, a tithing scheme to access sacredness,
If you are not separate, lost, or damned by default—
Then you become ungovernable by fear.
This view challenges
The idea that only some people or texts are sacred.
The narrative that you are broken and in need of religious repair.
The claim that questioning doctrine is rebellion against “God.”
It doesn’t destroy meaning. It returns meaning to the whole. It doesn’t turn you into a god. It simply says: you, too, are made of light.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
Not in dogma. Not in atheism. Not in certainty. But in something truer:
A humble awareness that no religion has all the answers, and that no ideology is immune to contradiction or corruption.
A refusal to trade one control system for another.
An openness to seek—not because we’re lost, but because we are becoming.
The divine is not somewhere else.
It is here—and it is you, and it is everything that exists and breathes and evolves.
So maybe Genesis 1:1 isn’t about divine separation after all.
Maybe it’s the beginning of divine dispersion—a sacred fractal unfolding across time, matter, and consciousness. The decentralisation of divinity.
And maybe, just maybe, your awakening is not heresy.
It’s remembering.
When the Divine Was Decentralised - Questions for reflection
How would you describe your view of “God”?
Is the author’s view of God one you could pray to or worship – how would it impact your life?
If you accept the author’s propositions, what impact could this have on your religious beliefs?
FAQs - When the Divine Was Decentralised
What does “decentralising the divine” mean in Genesis 1:1?
It reframes “In the beginning, God created” from a distant deity acting outside creation to a view of divinity present within creation itself - God diffusing through the fabric of reality rather than standing separate from it. The essay links this to the Hebrew bara, which often implies ordering or bringing forth, not just creating from nothing, and argues that a diffused, immanent divine better fits both mystical traditions and today’s understanding of interconnection.
Is this view pantheism or panentheism - and why does the difference matter?
Pantheism says the universe is identical with the divine. Panentheism says the divine is in all things and also more than all things. The article nods to both labels while emphasizing lived experience of an indwelling presence - a ground of being that breathes through matter, life, and consciousness. Practically, panentheism preserves awe and transcendence while inviting responsibility for a world that is not spiritually disposable.
How does modern science support an immanent or decentralised view of God?
Stardust (NASA & astrophysics research): The elements in our bodies were forged in stars, which makes interconnection a physical baseline rather than a metaphor.
Fractals (mathematics and systems theory): Self-similar patterns recur across scales in nature, a useful image for a divine presence expressed through repeating forms of order and relation.
Entanglement (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): Quantum systems can exhibit nonlocal correlations, undermining a strictly separative picture of reality and resonating with the article’s critique of hard dualism.
The essay does not claim physics proves God - only that the science of connection better fits an immanent frame than a strict above-here divide.
How could this perspective shape personal spirituality and ethics today?
Seeing the divine woven through matter reframes identity and action:
Self: Less shame, more dignity - you are not outside sacredness.
Practice: Meditation, reflection, and community become ways of tuning into the field you already inhabit.
Ethics: If the world is saturated with value, care for people and planet stops being optional.
The article’s invitation is simple: stop searching only “out there.” Attend to the light in what is - including you.
Does decentralising divinity undermine religion - or renew it?
It challenges control systems that depend on separation and gatekeeping, but it does not dismiss meaning, ritual, or community. By centering a presence within life rather than only beyond it, the view invites humility, accountability, and service - a faith practiced as awakened participation in a living cosmos, not mere assent to distant authority.
Further reading
Reimagining God by Robert van Mourik
From Co-dependency to an Adult Faith by Robert van Mourik
About the Author
Adeyeye Samuel Oluwatosin is a Nigerian writer, entrepreneur and educator.
At St Lucia Spirituality we believe the journey is richer when it’s shared. If you’re seeking a place to explore questions, practice mindfulness, or simply belong to an inclusive spiritual community, we invite you to join us. From online discussion groups and meditation gatherings to our growing library of resources, there’s space here for every seeker. Step into the conversation, connect with others, and discover how community can nurture your spiritual growth.
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