The god of the nation

The notion of God is a built-in right-hemispheric failsafe against the natural drift in human consciousness toward the left hemisphere. 

That right-leaning failsafe needs to be installed not in the individual consciousness (where, as a matter of course, the natural inclination is to drift leftward) but in the national culture. That is why the Old One is the god of the nation rather than of the individual. 

The claim of the left hemisphere that it defines all of consciousness is an act of hubris. When that claim is translated to the cultural level (with the Old One serving as the surrogate for the cultural right hemisphere) it comes across as a monumental act of hubris. 

The claim of the left hemisphere throughout history is the claim of strongmen and of the excesses of hubris. The scriptural call to love and to respect the Old One is in the first place a call addressed to the right hemisphere where love and respect reside.