Wouldn’t It Be Great …

If we could remove belief in a “God’
from the human community?

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It has been proven time and again throughout history that God and “His” influence in human affairs has done nothing but create strife and dissension.

This is partially because the many and several individuals who are certain a “God” exists are unable to agree on what “He” wants.

• Does “He” want a person to use beads when s/he prays?
• Does “He” want individuals to dance in the aisle in worship of “Him”?
• Does “He” want his followers to speak to “Him” in a strange language?
• Does “He” want “His” believers to perform or avoid certain acts?
• Does “He” want “His” worshippers to wear special clothing?
• Does “He” support killings in “His” name?
• Does “He” enjoy songs –or silence– when people worship “Him”?

(Of course I feel certain my readers can offer several other areas in which “He” isn’t clear on what “He” wants.)

Yes, the dissidence among “His” followers as related to “His” wishes and instructions is overwhelming even though each one of them is certain s/he knows what “He” wants.

Some know because they have put their confidence in a book — even though it is replete with confusion and obfuscation related to “His” wishes. Others have turned to individuals whom they believe possess (inside) “divine” knowledge. Others rely on what they call a “still small voice” to gain insight. But no matter what method is used, believers have total confidence they know what “His” wishes and desires are for each of them.

Even though “He” has never uttered a sound.

Yes, even considering all these logical fallacies, unknown multitudes of humans continue to accept –and defend– “His” existence. 

Further, anyone who rejects “His” existence is seen as confused, belligerent, self-absorbed, stubborn, ignorant, antagonistic, hard-hearted … and most of all, to be pitied.

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Now let’s consider a world where these illusions do not exist. Let us imagine a world in which humans rely on humans. Let us consider an environment where decisions are made to benefit humans rather than to please a “god.” 

 Let us contemplate courses of action that are based on acquired knowledge and intelligence. Let us ponder the idea of educational studies based on science and logic. Let us think about a world in which women are free to make choices about their own bodies (!).

The question then becomes … What would such a world look like to you?

A Thousand Words

When I was a Christian (many, many years ago), I was told (more than once) that “Scripture has Power!” It was “my sword and my shield” against a depraved world.

In essence (and briefly put), all I had to do was use words from the bible and sinners (those folk who don’t believe in supernatural beings) would acknowledge their evil ways, fall to their knees, and worship god.

Imagine my disappointment when it didn’t work. 😮!!

But of course it didn’t work! Like the old saying goes … “Sticks and stones may break my bones; but words will never hurt me.” (And especially not in the blogging world!)

Add to that the fact that “scripture” is taken from a book that came about simply because ancient people needed a way to understand the world. As such, its contents are based on events and beliefs that are several thousand years old and have long since been replaced by, oh what do they call it? Ahhh yes … Increased Knowledge and Understanding.

In other words, life has moved on and for many of us, it’s a bit difficult to get upset and concerned about myths and legends that were used many centuries ago to explain how the world worked. Especially when they have been usurped by modern knowledge related to the world we live in today (e.g., science, mathematics, cosmology, medicine, engineering, etc.).

Yet, there are those who continue to rely on the contents of this book, believing that it contains eternal truths. Especially about death — and a potential afterlife.

What’s interesting about this “truth,” however, is that even the good book offers alternate stories on what happens at death. The Hebrew Bible talks about the afterlife as a shadowy place known as sheol (grave, pit, abyss) and all who died went there. There was no segregation between the righteous and the unrighteous. Over the centuries, however, this perspective changed little by little until the hereafter became a place of fire and brimstone for the bad guys … or a “heavenly abode” for the good guys. Hmmm. Wonder how that happened?

In any event, there will most likely always be a subset of humans who are certain there’s a “guy in the sky” who created this world and is watching over them as they go about their daily lives. And they will also remain convinced that the”holy words” of the bible have magic powers to convince the aforementioned sinners to change their evil ways.

What they fail to recognize/accept is not everyone believes in magic.

In my opinion, it’s (past) time for Christians to recognize that their literary and verbal wranglings are not going to accomplish what they desire. As Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright of the late 19th century, once said: A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.     

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Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

Do You Believe in God?

The following is an excerpt from Scott Adams’ God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment that someone shared on another blog. It was in response to an ongoing discussion, but I felt it could stand on its own and decided to share it here as well.

If you’re interested, the book is FREE in pdf format (use the above link) and I urge you to read it if you haven’t already.

One person offered this description about the book: “You may not find the final answer to the big question, but God’s Debris might provide the most compelling vision of reality you will ever read.”

The old man leaned toward me, resting a blanketed elbow on the arm of his rocker.

“Four billion people say they believe in God, but few genuinely believe. If people believed in God, they would live every minute of their lives in support of that belief. Rich people would give their wealth to the needy. Everyone would be frantic to determine which religion was the true one. No one could be comfortable in the thought that they might have picked the wrong religion and blundered into eternal damnation, or bad reincarnation, or some other unthinkable consequence. People would dedicate their lives to converting others to their religions.

“A belief in God would demand one hundred percent obsessive devotion, influencing every waking moment of this brief life on earth. But your four billion so-called believers do not live their lives in that fashion, except for a few. The majority believe in the usefulness of their beliefs—an earthly and practical utility—but they do not believe in the underlying reality.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “If you asked them, they’d say they believe.”

“They say that they believe because pretending to believe is necessary to get the benefits of religion. They tell other people that they believe and they do believer-like things, like praying and reading holy books. But they don’t do the things that a true believer would do, the things a true believer would have to do.

“If you believe a truck is coming toward you, you will jump out of the way. That is belief in the reality of the truck. If you tell people you fear the truck but do nothing to get out of the way, that is not belief in the truck. Likewise, it is not belief to say God exists and then continue sinning and hoarding your wealth while innocent people die of starvation. When belief does not control your most important decisions, it is not belief in the underlying reality, it is belief in the usefulness of believing.”

“Are you saying God doesn’t exist?” I asked, trying to get to the point.

“I’m saying that people claim to believe in God, but most don’t literally believe. They only act as though they believe because there are earthly benefits in doing so. They create a delusion for themselves because it makes them happy.”