Rethinking God
(Sneak Peak) Excerpt from my book, “Rethinking God” …
Occasionally, I attempted to communicate with this mysterious Creator, but I never knew if He was listening. I believed He was connected to all things, but why would He want to communicate with someone as inconsequential as me?
Could God hear me? Would He hear me?
All the religious literature I perused seemed to teach that there was some special path to enlightenment—some mysterious and rigorous process that only a few select gurus are disciplined enough to pass through.
I was deeply disappointed by my own inability to grasp pantheistic concepts such as, “God is everything, and everything is God.” I just couldn’t wrap my mind around this. Initially, the coloring page about God and Spinoza’s version of God had appealed to me, but after more thought and reflection, I couldn’t harmonize these ideas with my understanding of reality.
In Hinduism, I read grand stories of myth and legend—tales of Krishna and other Indian god-men. The tales were fascinating, but didn't seem true. Buddhism also seemed disconnected from reality. I couldn’t seem to attain the necessary quietness or holiness essential for life-changing meditation. If this kind of enlightenment was the goal, I was destined to remain in darkness.
I read that the use of specific words or chants could enable connection with the divine—but nothing I tried seemed to work. Although I never became an atheist, I gave up on the idea of ever understanding or connecting with God. He seemed like an impersonal paradox—close but still distant, aware but still indifferent.
So there I sat, day after day, in the library—aimless, confused, and starting to despair. My safe haven started to feel less safe each day. God—whoever He was or wasn’t—didn’t seem interested in me.
I gave up on the idea of ever understanding or connecting with God.
Good God, Bad God
Throughout the history of humanity, scores of gods have existed in the minds of millions of people. Yet today, very few (if any) of us wake up thinking, What does Zeus want from me? or What sacrifice should I offer Moloch? We don’t worry about Baal's demands or strategize about how to avoid the lightning bolts of the Norse god, Thor.
Most of us are only aware of a small fraction of the gods that have existed in religious systems and cultures throughout history. But this is actually to our benefit.
Why?
It’s really good news that Zeus isn’t trying to seduce your sister, that Moloch isn’t demanding you to sacrifice your children, and that Ares isn’t starting a war with your nation. These gods are so selfish and evil that the world is a better place without them.
It’s good news those gods don’t exist, because the character of those gods are so vile and evil, that the world is better without them, then it is with them.
The world is better off without those gods, then it is with those gods.
We’re better off in a world where we don’t have to appease devious divine entities. We’re better off living free from the guilt and fear they produce. We’re better off not having to tiptoe around gods who punish our every mistake.
It’s an easier psychological activity to live with no gods, than to live with those depictions.
One can understand why some people choose atheism if this is all they understand. But are we better off with no God at all?
What about the God of the Bible? Should we toss Him out too? Of the thousands of depictions of gods, the God of the Bible makes up less than 1% of the total number of beliefs. Should we throw this proverbial baby out with the bath water?
Isn’t this God supposed to be good news?
Little did I know that I was about to find out…
(This short snippet is from my testimony, which I include in the book. If you are interested in reading more, please buy the book! I tackle subjects like the problem of evil and genocide in the bible, plus so much more)
