A Few Thoughts...

Let me start this by saying I believe in God. It’s probably not the same God you believe in, as I’ve never run into a religion that saw god the same way I do. And I think the reason for that is that most Gods are too small for me.

I’ve never read about, or heard of, a God that seems capable of encompassing the size, brilliance, and wonder of the world I know. I’ve never read about, or heard of, a religion that even tried to take existence at face value. There is no religion, from the Judeo-Christian-Islamic triad to Buddhism to Scientology and Zermatism, or even my beloved Church of the Subgenius, that is more concerned with What Is, rather than What Should Be.

The God represented by most religions asks a man to ignore what he sees, and what he has learned, in favor of the reality presented by whatever tract is currently being referred to as ‘The Word of God’. It ask that man only push his intellect so far and no further, lest man commit heresy by questioning The Word, and thereby be cast out and damned. It tells you that your senses cannot be trusted, as they might see evidence that disproves The Word.

This is what confuses me. If you believe that man was designed by God, that every feature and aspect was placed within man for a reason, what possible reason could there be for not exercising each gift to the fullest possible extent? Why would man be designed with the capacity to build machines and structures of thought that allowed him to divine reality, from the smallest particle to the structure of the universe that contains us, if he weren’t meant to do so? What about our continued search for provable truth could frighten God, to the point where a line must be drawn, a point past which we aren’t allowed to go?

The answer is, of course, nothing. God, the creator of all, has nothing to fear from us, no need to shackle our marginal brilliance. Each new discovery, each instance of his creation’s ability to explore and discover more about the wonderfully complex and magnificent structure of which we are a part, has to please him, her, it. After all, doesn’t each new step, whether it takes us further out or farther down into the jewel of existence prove how much greater and more amazing the creator must be? Doesn’t each new wonder display the mind-boggling creativity of the maker to better effect? How can the demonstration of the endless complexity of the watch not reflect the greatness of the watchmaker?

To me, the obvious answer lies not in the mind of God, but in the hearts of man. God doesn’t fear our creativity, but men do. In some cases this is justified, for all too often the creativity of man is turned to perverse and destructive ends. But this misuse isn’t the basis of concern for those among us who would fetter the mind of man. The use of any creativity, of any non-sanctioned thought, is their bedrock worry. The mind that wanders into uncharted territory, to ponder a new idea, has begun to move itself past the point where it can accept lessons by rote. The mind that thinks, thinks about everything, and that is dangerous.

The men who run the religions of the world are threatened by the progress of mankind’s thought. It isn’t God, but ‘God’s Men on Earth’ who are afraid of what we might find if we continue to move intellectually. As the leaders of world religion, they are proponents of a view that is static, that not only doesn’t change, but cannot. God created the World, and laid down these Laws, and you shall follow them forever and ever, amen. God doesn’t want you to think, he wants you to toe the line and secure your place in the afterlife, where you will sing his praises eternally, or burn eternally. No middle ground, no ‘what-ifs’, no exceptions. And the deepest circles of hell are reserved for those who, having The Word given to them, chose to deny it.

The problem with all of this, for me, is that we have nothing but man’s word that this is God’s Word. There is nothing, other than tradition and the belief of millions, to lend credence to the teachings of the Bible, the Qu’ran, and the Torah. It is asked that you to take it on faith. But what are you asked to put you faith into? A single, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, transcendent God. A god who has planned out the existence of the universe in every degree, but who can somehow be driven into a rage by a man kissing another man, or having it’s name taken in vain. A God who loves you, and will unhesitatingly condemn you to hell for the smallest transgression. A God who, while omnipotent, becomes incensed when his earthly minions are questioned, and responds with widespread destruction of the believing and unbelieving alike in New York and New Orleans. It would be just as logical to think that he doesn’t like places with the word ‘new’ in their title. Look out, New South Wales.

Using my God-given powers of reason, I am unable to place my faith in such paradoxical demiurges. I derive more comfort from my picture of a God who isn’t watching every sparrow fall. A God that seems capable of creating the world I live in, and is too great to be concerned with each and every one of us. A God who is hugely beyond my limited ability to comprehend, and who is concerned about the whole lawn, but not each individual stalk.