My Reality of God
September 27, 2007
I came into this world, into a Christian home. My father a devout Christian and my mother after marriage followed him in same. We were fervent church goers and honored the bible as the words handed down to man by God. My father practiced his faith assiduously and inculcated his herd of three in the wisdom that god had intended to share. We practiced family devotion sometimes after supper. During this time my sister led in the hymns, my mother read the scripture, I read from the Daily Word, and my father closed the ceremony by construing the reading followed with a protracted and ardent prayer.
I believed in the teachings of my father and thus in the words of God because at that youthful age I thought of my father as the man who discerned all things that were correct and proper and he would never lead his flock done an erroneous path. Thus, for this very reason I never questioned the existence of God and the origins of the bible.
But one day at school during creative writing session we were asked to share the ideology of our beliefs as it pertains to religion and God. Afterward the teacher would read our writings to the class. What struck me that morning were not the details of what was written by my peers but that we were all from various religious upbringing. As it was, the minister’s sermons, sunday school bible teachings and family devotion at home thought me that Christianity and Christ were the only ways salvation would be granted and the gates of heaven would endow us acquiescence to enter when judgment day comes. During that morning recess, I didn’t feel like playing at all because the subject had been mashing in my mind and now it incessantly engaged my thoughts.
Everything about religion up to this point that was thought to me disparaged the teachings that other faiths had relentlessly revered for centuries before. But what about those that were Hindus and Muslims. Were they walking in the wrong path and was Christianity the solitary way to deliverance? If this was the case then why do they continue to follow the unenlightened path? These questions inundated me and rendered me in a state of confusion.
The feeling was not instantaneous but plodding instead. I am speaking about the reality of a supreme being that is responsible for our mortal existence. How did we as the human race came to be and why do we for the most part form pious attachments to the existence of an indefinite, all prevailing, ideal entity that we can never emulate. Is it simply because of our imperfections that we recognize flawlessness and assume that perfection must be present somewhere in some genus of life form? Vast monuments, shrines, cathedrals, mosques and the proliferation of civilizations as we know it have encircled the credence in the superlative one. But impede yourself for a moment and envisage the ideal that humans exist alone - that we are a product of evolution in the purest form. Can we? It is simply an intricate charge to ask? It is because we have we have been habituated to believe that God does exist. But a boy raised in seclusion, when asked about God simply cannot answer. It is because centuries ago modern man began to question the events that occurred around him; the sun traversing in the identical pattern each day, the moon that appears, thunder that came from above, and lightning that explodes scorching the dark sky and rainfall that appeared from no apparent source. It was for these very reasons that man felt vulnerable. He simply could not control nature so he assumed a being that could create such commanding events and thus the inception of God.
But many of us fall prey to the social communion that religion offers - there is nothing wrong with that but some never stop to question the source of the teachings - the printed fabric that we swathe to safeguard from peccadillo. Thus, religious conviction is an approach to a way of life but it is not the only way.
That is why I don’t “believe”- an atheist is what I am - well that’s what my comrades call me when I explain my truth. But as I have elucidated many times before, religions are boundaries created by man for man and as an atheist, I am an element of my religion with my own boundaries but my comrades could not comprehend that. The teachings they were thought are all they recognize and unreservedly accept because many more before have accepted it - so it must be evidently accurate. But those who’ve exhausted themselves in questioning their beliefs have reason and those who have ostentatiously pronounced themselves to be of an affiliation and cover under such pretexts are simply charlatans existing mendaciously.
But the atheists are the ones dehumanized by way of their beliefs because they stray from institution and are simply iconoclastic. Religion has become a rites of passage and atheists are not permitted. But to be an atheist one has to be ignorant of God and religion so he is absolved or has to be an erudite articulating raison d’être.
-Andrew
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19 Responses to “My Reality of God”
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Clearly, religion has become a successful way of controlling masses of people. It not only does that; it separates and segregates us. We look down upon other religions. It’s my way, or the highway, biatch.
They all sing the same tune of hatred toward people of other beliefs.
If there is a God, he should be much greater than dropping niblets of words to different people and have them duke it out to see who is allowed through the gates upstairs.
Stars, magnetic force, planets, orbits, galaxies.. there is some proof for these miracles of nature. I am certain there would be more findings if we put more effort into space exploration than nuclear weapons. If there is a God, I think he would want us to look out there and seek the unknown, rather than ‘fight for salvation’ and spend the rest of our time trying to justify bloodshed.
Andrew, your views seem to me that of a person giving up on spirituality. I can only offer the advice of rethinking your choice, or at least keeping your options open. Whether or not we believe in God, seeking knowledge is of human instinct and we must do so for the sake of future generations.
-Sunil B.
Sunil,
Thank you for replying.
This piece of writing is fraction of a larger project and thus is an excerpt, however, gathering from your diminutive soliloquy, I am assuming you have strong religious viewpoints. But you’ve posed no questions. You’ve analyzed and deduced every angle that leads to the truth. Which is God does exist, but it is your truth. It is the only way mortals can explain their existence. It is the hand me down truth. The stars, magnetic force, planets, orbits, galaxies are discoveries all existed before man but was discovered to have existed by man. The idea of a supernatural being (God) existed quite sometime before these discoveries. Can we both agree on that? Moreover, you assume “miracles” because scientific man not you cannot explain the inchoate of these un-plebeian entities and forces. Then you assume that if there is a God, he would want us to go out there and seek the unknown rather than justify blood shed. What? May be your objective was to be analytical on behalf of my personal beliefs, but our upbringings might have been different. My experiences might have been wider than your and then again maybe not. My question to you is, how much time did you spend actually reading what I wrote rather than formulate an opinion based on your prior steadfast? Did you even acknowledge my reasoning?
Lastly, I do agree with your opening statement. Religions are social boundaries, there to control the people who want to be served and thus are authoritarian and communistic in nature. However, religion is an approach to life? It can isolate families and the contradictory in like. When you say we look down upon other religions, I am assuming “you” not “we” speaking for yourself. I don’t condemn Islam for its precepts and practices, or Buddhism or Christianity or any religion as a matter of fact. I am just questioning the existence of God.
Andrew,
With all due respect, we can’t acknowledge your reasoning because of your writing style. You seem to purposely use words that aren’t common vernacular. I don’t think it’s appropriate for this blog. No one wants to have a dictionary next to them while reading a blog. What does this mean? “Moreover, you assume “miracles” because scientific man not you cannot explain the inchoate of these un-plebeian entities and forces. ”
I like the poetic style of your writings. I’m sure you are intelligent. It will come out in your writing no matter what words you use. Please, I ask that you tone it down for the rest of us if you want to effectively communicate on this board.
As for the topic, all I have to do is look around me to know there is a God. Call it what you will. But I just can’t fathom that the perfectness of our universe is a coincidence. The world is too complex to explain with a big bang theory. Science hasn’t proven anything. Everything humans believe about their existence is a theory. No one group has an edge over the other. Wouldn’t it be better to live a spiritual, righteous life and live as if there is a god judging you rather than not believe and then be proven wrong in an afterlife? Religion is hope, and in the end, that’s all we have… hope.
Fya:
Thank you for taking the time out to read my Blog.
Who is the “we” that you are speaking about? Should I presuppose that you’ve discussed my piece of writing with a counterpart of yours’? If you cannot comprehend my reasoning, how can you “eloquently” share an opinion in your third paragraph? Moreover, I cannot justify your reasoning because you’ve shared none with me. All you’ve done is touch on some of your beliefs to say the most. “You’ve mentioned “all I have to do is look around me to know there is a God” Where do you look and what do you look for and what have you found? Enlighten me! Dam it!! I loathe blanket statements. Our thoughts are so modest Fya (in light of understanding the universe) that what we cannot identify with or justify in an affirmative comportment is thus vastly beyond us and henceforth perfect. Do you realize Fya that we are limited to the depth of our thoughts? For example, Einstein, Plato, Newton, Weber, Edison, Whitney etc were all men whose thoughts were vastly deeper than most human beings. Hence, they were able to deduce on scientific platform explanations as to why things are they way they are and work the way they work. They could have been totally wrong or may be they are, but the default is not God when such explanations cannot fully elucidate the systems they were designed to understand.
If you cannot understand what I’ve written, I beseech you then to flout yourself by picking up a lexicon and scrutinize it a bit, you might append a word or two to your current accrual and furthermore grasp the reasoning behind my thoughts. Moreover, I apologize for the “About Us” statement not being posted as of yet. I will make sure it is done within the next few days. But Baiganchoka Blogs is not about someone jumping on the band wagon and exploding on paper what ever thoughts they may have on a subject matter. It is a bit more than that. We are all intelligent people who are all highly opinionated about the many issues that affect us directly and indirectly. Baiganchoka Blogs is about you articulating yourself, challenging what is accepted without reason, pushing your thoughts beyond your accepted capacity and sharing what you’ve learned from challenges you pursued.
When you speak of perfection, you must understand it is through your vision you comprehend the world. The question I proposition to you is, if you were raised in seclusion would you know about God and devoutness. You must understand that religious creeds and moral values are learned and not innate. What is inherent is our aptitude to comprehend and dissect. And the afterlife, have you thought about where the ideal developed from. Please refer yourself to the history of earlier civilizations such as the Egyptians and Sumerians. You might learn a thing or two about the precepts of monotheism and the emergence of the holy books.
There is not much to be said about this piece except that this is your reality Andrew.
Someone said to me that there is no argument that can prove God’s existence and there is none that can prove he does not exist. Maybe/maybe not. But I can’t help but think that if either one was true we would not be having this discussion - we would all be on the same side of the line.
If that is your reality, then to each his own.
However; since you long for reasoning, why don’t we start with yours? You said, “Religious conviction is an approach to a way of life but it is not the only way.” I agree - so very true. It is not the only way. You said that is why you “don’t “believe”- an atheist is what I am - well that’s what my comrades call me when I explain my truth.” Simply saying God does not exist does not make it true and vice versa. Why don’t you believe? What is your truth? Offer me a reason. Help me believe.
Ps. Please keep the discussion focused on whatever piece we are discussing and not on each other’s intelligence. There are no rules here, except that we (everyone including admins) keep ourselves in check when responding to what someone wrote.
Dear Admin.
My prologue in itself explains why i do not believe. My truth was highlighted in the reasoning that ultimately led to my conviction. The piece was not in anyway written to help you believe… Help you believe there is no God? It was written as reasoning to justify my reality and just that. As to offering you a reason, I cannot do such thing. That is why again, it is is my reality and my personal truth. Like you said “to each its own.”
Thanks
Dr Admin.
Intelligence is not being questioned or attacked. What was being attack is my style of writing…being difficult to comprehend.
In your piece you said that “religious conviction is an approach to a way of life but it is not the only way” and that’s why you don’t “believe”. Is that your reason? Because there’s another way? I’m only trying to understand why you don’t believe in God.
The belief of God requires faith.
Should we live our lives trying to answer questions that cannot be answered? Our time could be better spent on making our lives fruitful rather than trying than trying to find out what’s at the end of the tunnel. Sooner or later we will all know the truth. Until then life is what you make of it.
Pakar.
Thanks for the response.
How are we so sure those questions cannot be answered and where is the end of the tunnel suppose to be. Moreover, what makes you feel that we will know the truth and why faith? I am curious to understand your mode..
Excellent point Andrew.
We can’t be sure. We all have our own realities and we look for reasons to explain them. We all have our reasons, our purpose. It’s the truth we seek - whatever that may be.
Pakar,
Thanks again for replying!!
In your prior imput, you mentioned living fruitful than seeking whats at the end of the tunnel..however, you last in your last imput you mentioned ” it’s the truth we seek”..Are you actively or passively speaking? You also mentioned that sooner or later the truth will be explained…but then you said we cannot be sure…Qualify, i am a bit confused….
Hello Folks,
I trust that my input to this discussion would only provoke more thought and a more diligent search for answers to the many unanswered questions that abound. For your consideration I am sharing excerpts from the writings of 19th century prophet, Baha’u'llah.
“Religion is the chief instrument for the establishment of order in the world and of tranquillity amongst its peoples.”
Should the lamps of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine.”
Kindly share your thoughts .
Ganesh
Dear Ganesh,
Your reply is much appreciated..
The words of the famed prophet is currently being examplified in Islam and the “holy” war.. In Christianity and plight for social supremacy and Hinduism and the quest to be granted acceptance in western popular culture…
Do you not think so?
Every religion has a better day at the end of the road. To have a savior is to have hope, to have hope is to have desperation. Religion is a promise and like the old saying its a promise to a fool.
Dion S,
Warm regards… I understand the your train of thought…but i do not quite agree whith you…Religion is way or method of living…Yes there is an ultimate hope and promise..how ever this type of promise is no a foolish one…if religion is taken contextually..rather than the end all to all of life’s forth comings…
Thanks …let me know your thoughts
Religion is a very very sensitive topic to get into…and discussions on this topic can go on and on and on. You have to understand that we all have different points of views, there is not one person who has the exact point of view on any one particular issue, for example we all love differently and there is no way to measure who loves who more or less than the other but we do agree love is love.
With that being said we are all free to believe what we want to believe, weather we believe in evolution or in a higher power such as God. I don’t believe that there is an easy way or any way to prove or disprove Gods existence…. which brings me back to my point that we all having different points of views.
For example one can explain how the world was formed using the big bang theory and I agree that this makes complete sense, now for none a God believer would say that this theory disproves the fact that God created the world, I however see it differently. I remember one sermon my pastor gave in church about the power of words, and to be brief the bible said that God said let there be light and there was light…again he spoke it and it happened. You see it didn’t say he molded the sun with his hands he spoke, and it happened. Now whatever the process was to create light it happened and providing proof of this process to me does not prove that God had nothing to do with it. Now I think that we all know that the sun is actually a star and in school we all learned how a star is formed so again my point of view is God spoke it and it happened. If God is so powerful……… why would you doubt the complexities of what I believe are his designs.
I don’t believe that you need to fight for salvation, just respect the views and beliefs of other faiths; I also don’t believe that we should persecute others for their beliefs. Being a Christian I have never seen in the bible were it was instructed that Christians should kill for Jesus, and yes I am aware of so called “holy wars” but this was before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Now I believe that anyone can take all these theories and interpret them into believing what they want to believe so…. on one hand you can probably say there is no God and on the other you can say yes there is a God, be it Jesus Christ, Allah, Buda, Krishna or who ever else I failed to mention.
I believe in God and I believe that he created all things….
SoflyG35
Exactly SoflyG35. Everyone is entitled to their our reality of God.