Our words reveal how we perceive "God" to be. God can be referred to in naturalistic, human-like terms, such as ''the hand of God,'' and sometimes it is subtle as in ''God sees.'' Sometimes God is referred to in language as doing, eg, as in ''Then God. . . .''

The thought is like calling an ocean ''treacherous.'' Simply following a phrase about God with ''then'' places an abstract concept into a functional, temporal framework. Freud suggested that God concepts are projections of one's father.

In Christianity, faith in God is essential and redemption is through the Christ and or the Father.

In Buddhism, faith is an illusion and redemption/enlightenment can only come through one's own effort. Faith would just be another illusion created by the dualistic mind in an attempt to overcome the dilemma of self and its angst.

The Christian concept of humanity is as independently created and separate from God and nature, never equalling God or approaching God but under God and subservient to God.

To Buddhism humanity as separate from the Universe is a concept created by the human consciousness. The goal is to realise, perceive and experience the all pervasive living universe.

Some religions not only project human personal qualities onto an abstract being or consciousness, but project moral or political qualities onto that being.

That projection is the mind, externalising its characteristics in order to perceive them.

Meditation functions as a method (or methods) of becoming removed from one's subjective perceiving mind, in order to experience universal mind. Rather than imposing a faith or belief, it is a process of stripping away thought and the thinking mind.

It is then that the moment of oneness will occur. During that moment the individual mind is not perceiving, watching or analysing, because it momentarily does not exist. It has surrendered , and is part of the omniscient mind. It is in the moment of emerging from this reality that the individual mind emerges once more, regaining its individual identity and storehouse of memories, through which the mind perceives once more.   

Many paths can reach the goal, no matter how they are described, and which particular approaches are tried. This is because beyond the efforts of the individual entity wishing to unite with "God", and their particular views, beliefs or dogmas, "God", exists as the all living conscious universe, of which we are a part. despite our separation, it is always in and through us, part of us as we are part of it.