God in the courthouse
Today I read about a man who proclaims to be an atheist because, according to him, he "hates the sights and sounds of religion" because people have done ungodly things to each other for the sake of religion. He once believed in a god, but now he rejects the idea of any gods because muslin extremists blow people to shreds just to get into heaven, or the religious right/conservatives who would gladly condemn gays to hell, reject any science, and only want to force their brand of "God" onto everyone else. God failed him.
I feel for him, and I can totally see where he is coming from. I agree with his angry sentiments, and his disgust with humanity, and I ,too, can easily declare myself an atheist - except for one saving grace.
God gave me a brain. With this fantastic brain I can reason and think for myself. I can think for myself and make my own judgement. And that is so wonderfully beautiful.
With this brain I can think and question. I don't have to accept everything as it is given to me. The christian fundamentalists would like me to think that their shit don't stink. And at the other extreme end, the liberals would like me to think that yes, everyone's shit does stink but we should all embrace it, share it, and take a good whiff because it is all equally good. No thank you.
Right now I am thinking, and my thinking leads me to separate the creation from the Creator. I will admit that I find people disgusting. I am profoundly and continually amazed at the meanness, selfishness, and ugliness of people. Strip any person down from the fake layers and the essence of their depravity is the essence of man's evolution from the self-centered caveman to the self-centered modern day empire builder. People are self-centered. They pretend to serve God so that God will serve them.
God is as separate from His creation in as much as I am separate from my children. I have total sympathy for God. I, too, have had moments of extreme disbelief as the dumbest things that my children have done to each other. And I, too, have had plenty of people angry at me for the destructive things my children have done. There have been times when one child is so hurtful to another child, that the hurting child would wish total annihilation and banishment be imposed on the offending sibling. As much as I may have shared my hurt child's anger, I still deeply love the unpleasant child. My love for my children will always be there for them. But their interactions with each other are for them to work through, learn from, and live with. No parent can make their children love each other, try as they may.
It's easy to be angry at God for the evils of ones neighbor because anger at God is a release valve to a complicated world. People want someone to blame. It's like one of my children screaming and hollering at me because they were played a mean trick by another sibling. I am the release valve for them to vent the injustice of having to share a home with other irritating people.
Therefore, if I could beg God's case to the man who has rejected God, then I would ask him to reconsider and look from a different angle. Sometimes a shift in perspective can be as profoundly illuminating as shifting a prism to bend light to reveal it's many bands of colors.
I feel for him, and I can totally see where he is coming from. I agree with his angry sentiments, and his disgust with humanity, and I ,too, can easily declare myself an atheist - except for one saving grace.
God gave me a brain. With this fantastic brain I can reason and think for myself. I can think for myself and make my own judgement. And that is so wonderfully beautiful.
With this brain I can think and question. I don't have to accept everything as it is given to me. The christian fundamentalists would like me to think that their shit don't stink. And at the other extreme end, the liberals would like me to think that yes, everyone's shit does stink but we should all embrace it, share it, and take a good whiff because it is all equally good. No thank you.
Right now I am thinking, and my thinking leads me to separate the creation from the Creator. I will admit that I find people disgusting. I am profoundly and continually amazed at the meanness, selfishness, and ugliness of people. Strip any person down from the fake layers and the essence of their depravity is the essence of man's evolution from the self-centered caveman to the self-centered modern day empire builder. People are self-centered. They pretend to serve God so that God will serve them.
God is as separate from His creation in as much as I am separate from my children. I have total sympathy for God. I, too, have had moments of extreme disbelief as the dumbest things that my children have done to each other. And I, too, have had plenty of people angry at me for the destructive things my children have done. There have been times when one child is so hurtful to another child, that the hurting child would wish total annihilation and banishment be imposed on the offending sibling. As much as I may have shared my hurt child's anger, I still deeply love the unpleasant child. My love for my children will always be there for them. But their interactions with each other are for them to work through, learn from, and live with. No parent can make their children love each other, try as they may.
It's easy to be angry at God for the evils of ones neighbor because anger at God is a release valve to a complicated world. People want someone to blame. It's like one of my children screaming and hollering at me because they were played a mean trick by another sibling. I am the release valve for them to vent the injustice of having to share a home with other irritating people.
Therefore, if I could beg God's case to the man who has rejected God, then I would ask him to reconsider and look from a different angle. Sometimes a shift in perspective can be as profoundly illuminating as shifting a prism to bend light to reveal it's many bands of colors.
Comments