199. Special Episode | Revisiting God Explains the I Ching

Revisit Episode 21, where Dr. Jerry L. Martin, the philosopher who heard the voice of God, explores one of God's earliest forms of communication with humankind: the I Ching, or Book of Changes. The I Ching emerges from humanity’s earliest spiritual attempts to seek divine insight, using oracle bones to reveal God’s presence and guidance. God shares how these human-initiated forms of divination shaped God's communication, presenting Godself not only as the creator but as the embodiment of aesthetic order in the cosmos.

God explains that engagement with early Chinese spiritual seekers influenced the development of the I Ching and laid the groundwork for spiritual traditions like Taoism and Confucianism. God and Jerry discuss:

• Hexagram 1: The Creative – representing perseverance and the masculine force of yang, which God associates with His role as the originator of universal laws.
• Hexagram 2: The Receptive – symbolizing the feminine force of yin and its connection to the Earth, focusing on acting in harmony with natural and divine order.
• Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning – exploring how God views early struggles as a foundation for personal growth and spiritual development.
• Hexagram 5: Waiting – a lesson in patience and nourishment, emphasizing the importance of allowing divine timing to guide human action.
• Hexagram 6: Conflict – offering wisdom on resolving disputes and finding divine balance in moments of tension.
• Hexagram 7: The Army – revealing how organized effort and divine strategy play a role in achieving goals through cooperation.

Join us next week as we celebrate the 200th weekly episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast!

Other Series:

The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:

• The Life Wisdom Project- How to live a wiser, happier, and more meaningful life with special guests.
• From God To Jerry To You- a brand-new series calling for the attention of spiritual seekers everywhere, featuring breakthroughs, pathways, and illuminations.
• Two Philosophers Wrestle With God- sit in on a dialogue between philosophers about God and the questions we all have. 
• What's On Our Mind- Connect the dots with Jerry and Scott over the most recent series episodes. 
• What's On Your Mind- What are readers and listeners saying? What is God saying

Resources:

• READ "A Self Requires Another Self"
• DRAMATIC ADAPTATION PLAYLIST

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Chapters

• 0:17 Introduction to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast
• 2:30 Dramatic Adaptation: God Explains the I Ching
• 10:19 Hexagram 2: The Receptive – Earth and the Plane of Action
• 12:43 Hexagram 1: The Creative – Perseverance and Cosmic Principles
• 19:23 Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning – Embracing Challenges
• 20:03 Hexagram 5: Waiting – Nourishment and Divine Timing
• 21:16 Hexagram 6: Conflict – Navigating Disagreements
• 22:33 Hexagram 7: The Army – Collective Strength and Strategy
• 23:20 A Big Picture Look: Integrating the I Ching in Spiritual Life
• 28:57 Outro: Stay Connected to God: An Autobiography

Transcript

Scott Langdon 00:17: This is God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. A dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin. He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered- in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him. Welcome to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. I'm Scott Langdon and this is Episode 199. Our focus of attention for this upcoming unit of episodes centers on Episode 21. God Explains I Ching. It's in this part of the book that God tells Jerry about what may have been the earliest verbal communications between humankind and God. The ancient Chinese sought after God in a way that invited an answer, and this new way of seeking God shaped God's response. Next week, join me as we take a quick time out to celebrate our 200th weekly episode of God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. Our 200th weekly episode of God and Autobiography the podcast here now in preparation for our 21st Life Wisdom Project episode is episode 21. God Explains the I Ching. I hope you enjoy the episode. 

Episode 21

Jerry Martin - voiced by Scott Langdon
The Voice of God - voiced by Jerry L. Martin, who heard the voice

Jerry Martin 02:50: Were these God's earliest verbal communications? For generations, Chinese farmers in Anyang would dig up "dragon bones" and sell them for medicinal uses. In 1899, an archaeologist discovered they were etched with markings--primeval Chinese characters a millennium older than previously known texts. On the bones were recorded a question and an answer, usually a yes or no. Will the king's child be a son? Will tomorrow be good for hunting? In prehistoric times, priests would heat the bones with red-hot pokers and divine the meaning of the resulting cracks.The oracle bones had come up in one of my first prayers. Rushing ahead without reading, I had asked simply, “Lord, what were You up to with the Chinese?”

The Voice of God 03:39: You might say that the Chinese approached Me; I did not approach them. They explicitly consulted Me. That is the meaning of the oracle bones.

Jerry Martin 03:49: So the oracle bones were not a divine bolt out of the blue, like God speaking to Abraham. The Chinese sought divine guidance and God responded. What began as brief inscriptions on the oracle bones grew into a classic on how to behave in various situations.

The Voice of God 04:12: The I Ching was a simple guide to action, trying to figure out what the situation was so they could know which virtue was appropriate to it. It is a very ancient work--one of the earliest--and represents an important moment in the conversation with Me.

Jerry Martin 04:32: Each section of the book opens with a beautifully drawn character, symbolic of its meaning. Lord, I seem to have two possible starting points on China--the discussion of the aesthetic appreciation of nature or the oracle bones as the precursors to the I Ching.

The Voice of God 04:50: The two are really one. Correctly reading the oracle bones required the aesthetic attitude, the "willing suspension of desire." That is one of the hazards of consulting oracles. Too often one wants only to hear good news or flattering reports or accept solutions with which you are comfortable. To correctly read the bones, or any oracle . . .

Jerry Martin 05:15: For a moment, I feared I had lapsed into just listening to my own thoughts. I hope You're saying this, Lord.

The Voice of God 05:20:. . . to correctly read any oracle requires not being attached to specific outcomes, not preferring, or not being influenced by preferring, one reading over another. That requires a restful, detached attitude--not very easy to achieve at court.

Jerry Martin: With a ruler breathing down your neck. 

The Voice of God: Precisely. What the marks on the bone are doing is attuning the seer to the situation, letting it "speak" to him. This situation "wants" a certain action or attitude. The seer has to quietly "listen" to the situation.

Jerry Martin 06:04: What did this do for Your development, Lord?

The Voice of God 06:07: It was a refinement. I had communicated with earlier human beings primarily by warnings and nudges to go one way rather than another.

Jerry Martin 06:16: With the people of Israel, You gave commandments.

The Voice of God 06:20: Yes, but this was much earlier. It invited Me to present Myself, not as an urging force, but just as a manifestation of the right order--and, like a patient being diagnosed, to "wince" if something was wrong. And, in a sense, it made Me beautiful. Obviously, the cave painters had seen My beauty too, but that response was primarily localized to seeing the divine presence in particular animals. The questions put to the oracle bones were about larger situations and pointed ultimately to the whole of Nature as a divine order.

Jerry Martin: And a beautiful order?

The Voice of God: Precisely. And this was new to Me. There are two aspects here. First, that I am the right order of the universe, which is different from just being its organizer. We are moving from regularity, the laws of nature and human nature, to a moral and aesthetic order. Second, that My order is beautiful, that it can be sensed aesthetically, that there is encoded within it a fittingness, rules of fittingness, of what is right to do in different situations. The Taoists picked up on one aspect of this, the Confucians on another.

Scott Langdon 07:38: The oracle bones led to the I Ching or book of changes. Ching means an authoritative book or classic. I means "changes." Human situations are always changing, and the I Ching gives a taxonomy of the sixty-four kinds of situations a person can confront. It was studied for its wisdom, for divination, and for identification of one's situation and how best to respond to it. You toss coins or sticks to know which of the sixty-four sections will answer your question. Years ago, a friend had talked me into trying it. At the time, I was drawn to a certain erotic adventure, to put it delicately. It could have been a disaster. I was looking for permission. I tossed the coins and was guided to a section. It was the Chinese equivalent of Henry David Thoreau's "Simplify, simplify." Irritated, I did not do any more I Ching. I wondered if I should try it again. But I was told to read it for the original divine encounter. The book's ancient wisdom is contained in symbolic language that must be decoded. Like people for three thousand years, I found it fascinating. But I was told,

The Voice of God 09:03: Do not overrate the I Ching. It is useful, but no more useful than seeking guidance from the Bible by opening to a random passage. It is not magic.

Jerry Martin: Nevertheless, I was told,

The Voice of God: It might be My voice that they hear.

Jerry Martin 09:25: As I started reading the I Ching, my notes record, "This is what is coming to me: The sticks - represented as lines- may have originally begun as oracle devices, but the book is not an oracle. It is a way of listening to God - however conceived at that time - of seeking guidance, not predictions. The key is not in throwing sticks or tossing coins, but in letting God lead you to the relevant section." I began to understand how God's voice can be present even in a tradition that does not posit a personal god.

The Voice of God 10:09: Congratulations. You have listened to what I have told you, which is to think, "What is God trying to communicate here?" Continue on that tack.

Jerry Martin 10:19: Each section of the I Ching begins with a brief poetic statement, called the Judgment, followed by the Image, an explanation couched in symbolic language. I was guided to start with Number 2, the Receptive, Earth, which emphasizes the "feminine." In the Chinese tradition, the feminine or receptive or passive is not considered less important; on the contrary, it is foundational. The section begins: "The Receptive brings about sublime success, Furthering through the perseverance of a mare. If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, He goes astray; But if he follows, he finds guidance. . . . Quiet perseverance brings good fortune." The feminine, represented by the earth but also by the mare, is receptive, yielding.

The Voice of God: Yes, you just need to go along with My will. 

Jerry Martin: Is this about life on earth? 

The Voice of God: Yes. 

Jerry Martin: And that we need to live subserviently to God and allow His will? 

The Voice of God: Yes.

Jerry Martin: As reflected in the flow.

The Voice of God: Yes

Jerry Martin: To prevail?

The Voice of God: Yes, you just need to go along with My will. The feminine lays a substratum, just as the womb is crafted for life, to give proper life to a human being. The universe is the matrix of My will. It, the universe, the feminine, the receptive, the earthy, receives my will, takes it in, allows itself to be acted on by it or to be the expressive vehicle for it. 

Jerry Martin 12:16: This relates to the plane of action?

The Voice of God: Sort of.

Jerry Martin: To something more like the substrate of the plane of action? Not so much action--what one does or doesn't do--as the attitude, and the underlying spiritual reality in which the attitude is grounded, of an undeflected yielding to the divine will?

The Voice of God 12:43: Yes, better. Now go back to Number 1--the Creative.

Jerry Martin 12:48: Different responses are called for in different situations. Sometimes the "feminine" response in Number 2 is needed; other times the "masculine" response in Number 1 is called for. "Number 1. The Creative. The Creative works sublime success, Furthering through perseverance." Lord, this is the same as Number 2. Both say that 'sublime success' comes from 'perseverance.'

The Voice of God 13:30: Yes, but this is the active side of perseverance, struggle--not just letting be, letting oneself be the instrument of the Divine, but being the agent of the Divine. 

Jerry Martin 13:43: I was told that in telling God's story, I had been asked to be his instrument. As in the receptive, In the context of my organizational work, I was an agent. They are two sides of the same coin. So, Lord, the active is not working on the passive; they are two quite different movements?

The Voice of God: Not exactly. Sometimes, in a sense always, the active is working on the passive, the matrix. The matrix or substrate is receiving form and direction. It is the instrument, but if I want something done, I need not only instruments but also doers, initiators. Part of the complexity of the world is that I do not create what I want--My designs--directly, like a sculptor working in clay that can be molded. I work through people.

Jerry Martin: More like the director of a play?

The Voice of God: Exactly. 

Jerry Martin: Lord, should I move on to the next part?

The Voice of God 14:47: Linger over this. Think about “perseverance.”

Jerry Martin 14:51: Well, it means persistence, follow-through, not surrendering, not giving up.

The Voice of God 15:00: Not surrendering. This is the combat aspect. You have to fight in life--not against the flow, but with it, against obstacles to it.

Jerry Martin 15:35: I moved on to other reading, but about six months later I was guided back to the I Ching, and told to pray in more detail about each section. Number 1. The Creative. The Creative works sublime success, Furthering through perseverance. It's always helpful to know the literal meaning and fortunately the commentators provide it in the Wilhelm edition. Furthering means creating that which accords with the nature of a given being. Perseverance is literally correct and firm, so the judgment could be restated as, here I am on my own, the creative work's sublime success creating that which accords with the nature of the things and people involved through correct and firm action. Lord, does correct and firm action mean apt or appropriate action?

The Voice of God 16:39: Yes.

Jerry Martin 16:41: I sensed that the Creative refers to God's overflowing into human beings and into human action. So this is a situation where God's overflowing moves toward success in what is most important in this situation, creating an outcome that fits the nature and destiny of the people and forces concerned, through attuned, firm, purposeful action. This sounds like a situation in which firm action is called for, not action based on human choice or willfulness, but action that is an instrument for channeling God's overflowing presence into the situation so that there is a natural fulfillment of all parties concerned.

The Voice of God: Now the image.

Jerry Martin: The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.

The Voice of God 17:19: The meaning is now transparent, isn't it?

Jerry Martin 17:22: Yes, Lord. It is another way of saying the same thing. Sometimes the divine reality -'the movement of heaven'- is flowing into a situation in a potentially powerful way. It behooves a properly attuned person to tap into that divine presence, to make himself or herself the instrument, and to engage in strong, purposeful action in accord with it. The result will be an outcome that fulfills or actualizes the individuals and forces involved.

The Voice of God 17:57: Go on to Number 2.

Jerry Martin 18:03: Number 2. The Receptive. It begins: The Receptive brings about sublime success, Furthering through the perseverance of a mare, If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, He goes astray; But if he follows, he finds guidance. . . . But if he follows, he finds guidance, seems to mean: If he follows like a dance partner, yields to the situation, and listens for God's voice, it will come to him, and he will know the right things to do.

The Voice of God 18:43: Yes. Both situations occur. There are times you know what to do, what God wants of you, and there are times you do not, when the situation itself may be unclear, you don't know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, or what action would be efficacious rather than risky or counterproductive or ineffective. In those situations, flow with the situation, staying attuned to Me, and sensitive to the forces present and the various actors, and the right action--or lack of action--will manifest itself. Now go to Number 3.

Jerry Martin 19:23: The third of the sixty-four sections, each providing guidance for a particular type of situation, is called "Difficulty at the Beginning." Before I had a chance to read the Judgment, I was told,  “Sometimes you don't know from the beginning what to do and, perhaps forced to act, you act wrongly--either morally or in terms of consequences. Then you need to rectify, to regain your footing, to seek advice and help from others.” I read Number 4 and then went to Number 5, "Waiting. Nourishment" Waiting. If you are sincere, You have light and success. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.

The Voice of God 20:29: Now the image.

Jerry Martin 20:31: Clouds rise up to heaven. The image of waiting. Thus the superior man eats and drinks, Is joyous and of good cheer. Why the title 'Waiting'?

The Voice of God 20:45: This is all quite simple. The task is not always to fight or act, or to try to mobilize one's potential or effort to yield and follow God's will. There are times for just being, because you already are what you should be, and so is the universe, and you should enjoy, appreciate, understand that fact. The universe is a joy, not just an arena for action. It is a celebration.

Jerry Martin: Number six is about conflict. You are sincere and are being obstructed. A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune. Going through to the end brings misfortune. It furthers one to see the great man. It does not further one to cross the great water.

The Voice of God 21:49:There are several elements here. It is not always time to cross the great water, which primarily refers to spiritual growth. One has to accept one's situation and limitations. Often the goal should be modest, just putting one foot in front of the other. See the great man. Yes, that means to seek advice, but it is also a bit of a wrong instruction. It may not be a time to run around and get advice. Just hold still and mind your own business. Obstructions are meant to be there. Accept them. Build up one's own resources. Inner and outer. 

Jerry Martin: The next is number seven the army. The army needs perseverance and a strong person. Good fortune without blame.

The Voice of God 22:50: This really refers not to one's self-lacking strength, not to one's self-lacking strength, but sometimes it is right to follow or rely on or seek the help of a strong person, strong in forces or character or insight or whatever. That means your action is tied to his or hers, which may sometimes be mistaken, but no blame attaches to you for that.

Jerry Martin 23:17: In I Ching, I had found another way. God communicates. Lord China is overwhelming.

The Voice of God: You are looking at a massive culture that goes back thousands of years. You cannot expect to understand their relation to Me by building it up out of pieces. You need to step back and take a look at the whole. 

Jerry Martin: Lord, I don't see the whole.

The Voice of God: Yes, you do. You just have to relax, and not feel you have to understand and master everything. Try it.

Jerry Martin: When I step back, keeping in mind the ancient classics I have read . . .

The Voice of God: No, you don't have to do that. Step farther back.

Jerry Martin: When I look at I Ching, I see . . .

The Voice of God: No, step farther back.

Jerry Martin 24:16:Lord, when I step way back, I see people living in a bounded, well-defined world, characterized by geographic and linguistic unity; a world in which they must yield to the elements, to the rise and fall of the rivers and the changing seasons; a world in which the organization of the whole determines whether the parts can function well; they must all function in concert, in harmony; a world that lives under the dome of Heaven, of an overarching natural order, within which people are living vis-à-vis one another in a similar order, harmony, and hierarchy, with rules of graciousness and deference essential to maintaining order and harmony, and either going with the flow or using stratagems to ride the flow successfully, while having an appreciation for the small objects and minute details resonating to the whole.

The Voice of God 25:17: And now, what does that tell you about Me?

Jerry Martin 25:23:  You are the whole to which the parts are resonating, to which they must yield—since stratagems do not work with You—who embodies the order they must replicate in their lives and social relations, who is seen in the beauty and order of nature.

The Voice of God: And what does that tell you about what it is like to be God?

Jerry Martin 25:44: You are that calm center, that framework of order, that creative source of beauty, and that inner impulse to relate to others well. Am I on track, Lord?

The Voice of God 25:58: As I told you, you might say that the Chinese sought Me, not Me them. Through the oracle bones, they sought to be in tune with Me. And I saw that My way of relating to humans need not be only through whispering and urging, but that people can respond directly to the physical, moral, and aesthetic order I present; that these are not separate, unrelated tasks for Me but are all of a piece and they are one way that I communicate to people and that people can respond to Me. This, again, is a step toward My integration as a person.

Jerry Martin 26:42: So: The Chinese have an aesthetic appreciation of Nature and want to fit in harmoniously. But, in real life, there is always a plane of action. The Taoists are one-sided and neglectful of the demands of action. The Confucianists are one-sided in the opposite direction. They address action, but fail to fit it into a cosmic context. For them, it remains at a social level. But doesn't the I Ching combine the two?

The Voice of God 27:11 Exactly! You have been reading My mind, literally. I Ching is a synthesis of the two emphases of Chinese thought--harmony in the natural and in the social orders. The first is larger, a frame for the second, and more open to Me, but the Taoists took it away from action. The Confucianists were preoccupied with action solely in the context of social harmony and not in accordance with My will. In I Ching you see both, and that is why there are classic commentaries in both traditions. Both felt it was their book.

Jerry Martin 27:50: Both felt it was their book, and the book has been popular ever since.

The Voice of God 27:55: Yes, the synthesis was more appealing to the common people than the two intellectual traditions. Common people know the necessity for action, they bear its brunt and of course they want to know what will happen, hence casting sticks to predict. But they also want guidance, good advice. Don't have the illusion of self-sufficience the Taoist and Confucianist have.

Jerry Martin: 28:28: Polytheism, Egypt, Confucius, the Tao, the I Ching--I now knew something about the pieces of the puzzle, but hadn't a clue how they were supposed to fit together. Was there a big picture?

Scott Langdon: Thank you for listening to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. Subscribe for free today wherever you listen to your podcasts and hear a new episode every week. You can hear the complete dramatic adaptation of God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin by beginning with episode one of our podcast and listening through its conclusion with Episode 44. You can read the original true story in the book from which this podcast is adapted, God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher, available now at amazon.com, and always at godanautobiography.com. Pick up your own copy today. If you have any questions about this or any other episode, please email us at questions@godanautobiography.com, and experience the world from God's perspective as it was told to a philosopher. This is Scott Langdon. I'll see you next time.