If god exists, it would…(Part 1)
Everyone has their own interpretation of god. Our environment, our experiences, and what we were taught all play into whether or not we believe in god, and if so, what it looks and acts like. Well, I figure I might as well join in on the fun and lay down my version of a personified god if one were to exist.
I have to preface this by saying that I don’t currently believe a god actually exists, but since I haven’t ruled out the possibility all together — you know, the whole open-minded thing –, I’ll give my reasons as to why I’m not shitting my pants out of fear I might go to hell: Because if I have any ‘faith’ at all, it’s that god is more like my list below than the tyrant depicted in the Bible.
So, if god exists…
1. It would favor reason and intelligence over blind faith and complacency
It just makes sense to me that intelligence wins out over ignorance in terms of basic survival. No matter how strong or ‘faithful’ a person is, the person that knows how to build a gun will no doubt win every time. The intelligent person is more likely to find a cure for a disease, find better ways to clothe and shelter themselves, and find better ways to store and cook food.
All of these things tell me that god if god exists, that it wants the people that use their brains to survive than the ones that ‘have faith’ and ‘hope’. It would prefer people think for themselves than rely on someone or something else to guide them. I guess you could say I would believe in a god that wants us to be individually responsible. Crazy, right?
2. It would not care about worship
The most humble people the world has ever known are the ones that continually say they don’t want any thanks for the great things they do. They don’t want the spotlight. They find an inner sense of gratification based on their actions rather than needing external praise from people. They do it because it’s the right thing to do and not because they want people to bow down to them.
Well, it only seems reasonable to think that god would be like these people, but even better.
If god created us, I don’t believe it did it because it wanted to win an award, or to be famous, or to have people kiss its ass for all eternity. Only people want that crap done to them…very, very narcissistic people.
I think a world created by an egomaniac would look a little different than it does now. It would look exactly like it did in the Bible: Anyone that didn’t comply with the vain god’s orders would be instantly terminated. At least the Bible was consistent with the demands of the egomaniac god and his actions: He demanded worship, and if he didn’t get it, he would either destroy the entire creation, or he would destroy individual villages or people. Supposedly, this ego maniacal god still exists, but he just stopped throwing tantrums I guess.
Well, rather than read the Bible and think that god is so vain as to send people to suffer eternally for non-worship, I’m just going to go ahead and say that if god is real, he would never demand worship in the first place. People blashpheme today and do the same things that got people turned into salt back then, but I see no repercussions. Either I’m to conclude that god just changed his ways, or maybe god was never like that in the first place and the Bible was fiction.
3. It would base any possible eternal reward on reason, kindness and overall contribution to society than worship
We all know that working together produces better overall results than an ‘every man for himself’ philosophy. If god created the world this way, then this must be what it wants us to do. If that’s what it wants us to do, then the people that work toward doing that would probably be in the best favor of this god.
4. Morals would come from our sense of compassion and reason and not from the god
This goes along with the using your brain, which god obviously wants us to do. Depending on what your goals are, it’s easy to come up with a moral system that accomplishes that goal the best. If your goal is to increase everyone’s happiness while decreasing their suffering as much as possible, a lot of things would be considered morally corrupt in that system: murder, theft, rape, infidelity, etc.
If god exists, there’s a reason why it gave us brains. We’re more intelligent and capable of coming up with our own brilliant set of morals then religious people give us credit for.
I think I’ll write more as it comes to me, but for now, I’ll just leave it with those four.
No related posts.
To address your first point; if intelligence and reason were the only factor, God is undeniably seen as true based on the validity of Biblical history and the complexity of creation. However what it really comes down to is an issue of the heart; simple unbelief and the fear of giving up control to someone other than ourselves. Each person is created with a purpose in the likeness of God and each persons spiritual quest would be complete in finding the one true God in Jesus himself instead of trying to fill the void with material or physical pleasures like we do. Second point; God is the only one entitled or worthy of worship; Jesus was the only man that walked through life and did no sin according to Gods standards. All MEN have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God therefore no mortal man is worthy of worship. Third point-haven’t you ever heard the golden rule-do unto others as you would have them do unto you? From the Bible; Gods Holy word. Treat others how you want to be treated…as for the fourth point why don’t you just ask the brilliant Bernie Madoff about that one? And it’s not about RELIGION, the things we do; but a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus who saves us from our lives of sin and destruction by grace and nothing we do of ourselves so that no man can boast…
Thanks for the post, but I honestly don’t know how to respond to most of it since I don’t understand what you’re writing.
There seems to be a common thread between Christians that use “God speak” to discuss issues like this rather than communicating so we can understanding one another.
But I’ll do my best to respond to your points.
If intelligence and reason were favored over blind faith, God would reward nonbelievers for being skeptical of something that they have no evidence for it’s existence. God belief requires faith. There is no more evidence that God is real than there is for Santa being real. You say creation is evidence that God is real, but how do you know Santa didn’t create our universe? The Bible is the only evidence that says God created it, and last time I checked, people can make stuff up when they write books. I require more evidence for God’s existence the same way you require more evidence for Allah’s existence.
There is no fear. Just no evidence. You don’t fear giving control to Santa…you just don’t think he’s real. Well, the same applies to your God. I have no evidence for him, period.
This is your opinion based on the Bible. I don’t personally feel like I need a spritual quest. I don’t feel like I have a void, so I don’t fill it with material things any more than Christians do, that buy homes and clothes the same way I do.
This is what your Bible says, and like I said above, people could have just made that up. You choose to believe it as truth because you were either raised to accept it as the truth or chose to accept it as the truth later on for whatever reason.
Again, hearsay. No truth to this. Just blind faith that it’s true.
Yes, I have, and I live by this rule far more than you can even imagine. I know you think nonbelievers are heathens, but instead of not killing because someone tells me not to or I will go to hell, I choose not to kill out of respect for my fellow man and for the fact that I don’t want to be killed myself. Pretty simple concept when you use your brain and think. Stealing sucks because I wouldn’t want to have my stuff stolen. Rape sucks because I wouldn’t want to be raped myself. Adultery sucks because I wouldn’t want to be cheated on, etc etc etc. I don’t need to have someone tell me that, and for you to assume that that concept if Christian is nuts. You should probably research a little more and realize that that “rule” existed well before Christianity even existed. Christianity is one of the youngest religions.
More hearsay and “Godpeak”. I think you start with the assumption that the Bible is the truth when you have no other reason to believe it is other than someone at some point told you that it was the truth and you accepted it. If someone told you they had a fire-breathing dragon in their garage, you would want some evidence of it in order to believe them. Same with anything other fantastical things people tell you….you either brush it off as untrue, or you want to see some evidence before you believe in it. All I and any other nonbeliever has ever asked for is evidence when someone tells us that a virgin woman gave birth, a man walked on water or that the world was created 6,000 years ago. Those seem pretty far-fetched and no one has any evidence to support those claims other than the Bible, which could have easily been made up by people.
You choose to believe for whatever reason and hold to your blind faith. That’s fine, but this post was to show you what I essentially have blind faith in. I have blind faith that IF a God exists, that it would be completely different than your concept of god. And both of our “guesses” are equal at this point since we have no evidence to back our positions up. Only, your concept of god sounds a lot more vengeful and all-around selfish since it demands worship from people or they’ll suffer forever. Sounds man-made to me.
The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years, by 40 different authors from all walks of life, in 3 different languages, and on 3 different continents, and none of it contradicts itself. As a matter of fact it actually interprets itself meaning that something that is not understood clearly in one part of the Bible will be explained somewhere else.
The books of the Bible were written by man but the words were inspired (defined as “by supernatural or divine influence”) by God himself. And by the way, the roots of Christianity are found in Judiasm which dates back to the time of Abraham in 2085 b.c.; a good 1000 years before ANY other world religion.
The unique characteristic of the words of the Bible are that they are “alive” which is why it causes offense to many who don’t seek to understand it. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’”
There are many instances in the Bible where truths about the earth and universe are spoken of and which were written hundreds to thousands of years before they could be proven scientifically by man. The Bible refers to the “springs of the deep” (Genesis 8:2), “circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22), “as countless as the stars of the sky” (Jeremiah 33:22).
The real question that needs to be answered is the question of “absolute truth” (a universal truth; an unalterable fact) Or is truth relative (not absolute or independent) Thank goodness the laws of our land are not like that…and why do we expect a god to impart no consequence for negative actions/behaviors and freely accept a ticket for speeding, or to discipline our kids when they disobey us. Do we just want out of a “god” all blessings (a special favor, mercy, or benefit) and kindness but no consequences for negative actions? And how would our country be different if we were founded on Sharia law instead of the principles found in the Bible?
I worship the God of the Bible because he loved me even before I loved him with unconditional love despite all my faults and failures. When I decided to make him the Lord of my life (meaning I look to his words from the Bible and spend time talking to him [prayer] before I make the decisions in my life and let him constantly change me into a better person) he promises to love and care for me for all eternity. He is a “father” to me meaning I attempt to obey what he asks me to do because I want to please him just as I did my earthly father (the one who gave me birth). What could be better than that? Eternal life is my “inheritance” for being his child; would your parents give their “inheritance” to someone who disowned them?