Beef with God? (UUR 1)
Alright, I feel a rant coming on, so be prepared...
Before I get started, let me just say that what I'm about to carry on about for what's sure to be an excessive amount of time is not necessarily my actual belief, but rather just thoughts. I think too much, I know, and I also know that many of you will find nothing of interest in what I have to say and some may take offense, but it's my blog so whatever. This is the first of what will probably be a series of unorganized, uneducated rants (UUR's), consisting simply of ideas and thoughts, as I pointed out before.
To begin with, I'm not exactly the most religious person in the world. Although I was pretty much raised Christian and attended some church and bible school when I was very young, I didn't do so long enough to develop a strong foundation, I guess. Sure, I always said a prayer (in my head, if not out loud) before each meal and when I went to bed through much of school, but it was down to just at night by the time I graduated and now I hardly ever pray at all. There really wasn't any question in my mind as to whether God and Jesus really existed because I never thought about it early on. But, looking back, I prayed out of habit more than anything else, and my prayers consited entirely of begging for God and Jesus to take my troubles away and grant my wishes. I took it for granted that they exist as Christianity teaches us. But now, I have a much more logical outlook and I'm not sure what I believe anymore.
I recently (in the last five years or so) developed a bit of a grudge against organized religion in general, thinking that, in a nutshell, it's more brainwash than anything else. It's extremely difficult for me to accept that anyone should feel guilty for instinctually thinking, doing or feeling something that a book or pre-existing set of rules tells us is wrong. I've known people -- good people -- who have truly struggled and tormented themselves, thinking they must be going to Hell because of something or things they've done -- things that were obviously natural. The idea that, whether it's the intention or not, we're taught to feel like a failure for being human and experiencing human emotions (some of which are referred to as "sins") is absurd to me. It seems to me that our instincts and emotions are as out of our control as the physical features we are born with. So, in that sense, to condemn someone for feeling a certain way or for not abiding by a certain set of morals or beliefs wouldn't be much unlike Hitler looking down on those not of a certain height and not having blonde hair. That's how I feel anyway.
So say there is a God and Jesus...like I said before, I'm uneducated when it comes to all of this but, if I'm not mistaken, it's taught that God is the creator, all-powerful, and we should live our lives according to their will, correct? Well that isn't sitting well with me either, at the moment. Say there is a "God" and he really is our creator...who or what's to say our God isn't simply one representative of an entire race of entities just like him? How do we know there aren't as many different Gods out there as there are humans? Maybe creating a world such as the one we live in is simply something some of them fancy, while others have different hobbies and interests or jobs to keep them busy. I know, it sounds like something that could be thought up by a sci-fi writer, but it's no less likely a scenario than the one we're taught, as far as I'm concerned. Seriously, the universe is enormous, maybe immeasurable...so, if God is the all-powerful creator of it all, then why would the bible not discuss or even mention anything outside of the planet we live on? Or, maybe it does and I'm just not aware? I mean, to me, it's not any less likely that aliens and superior beings exist than we ourselves do and to think otherwise would be closed-minded and maybe even conceited. Anyhow, I think it's pretty widely accepted that no one person is truly any better than the rest -- we're all "created equal" -- and none of us should be treated like a god...so what would really justify there being one almighty being at all?
One last thought: This is something I've brought up in discussion with a few of you before, but I'll say it again since it pertains to this particular post as well. Christianity, to my understanding, teaches us that we're to seek and ask forgiveness for our sins by The Lord or God. But, if I'm not mistaken, the only forgiveness that can truly heal is our own. We have a conscience and that's what really tells us what's right and what's wrong. Not God, not Jesus, etc. Sure, not all of us share the same views, but I believe we all have a conscience and that could be what we're truly trying to appease. So, if you follow that train of thought, we are each our own God in a way. But, again, whatever.
I could go on like this forever, but it's five in the morning and I'm about 99% certain that most of you couldn't care less about any of it and are probably bored out of your skulls by now, if you made it this far. So I'll call it a night and save anything else for another post.
Thanks for reading.
Before I get started, let me just say that what I'm about to carry on about for what's sure to be an excessive amount of time is not necessarily my actual belief, but rather just thoughts. I think too much, I know, and I also know that many of you will find nothing of interest in what I have to say and some may take offense, but it's my blog so whatever. This is the first of what will probably be a series of unorganized, uneducated rants (UUR's), consisting simply of ideas and thoughts, as I pointed out before.
To begin with, I'm not exactly the most religious person in the world. Although I was pretty much raised Christian and attended some church and bible school when I was very young, I didn't do so long enough to develop a strong foundation, I guess. Sure, I always said a prayer (in my head, if not out loud) before each meal and when I went to bed through much of school, but it was down to just at night by the time I graduated and now I hardly ever pray at all. There really wasn't any question in my mind as to whether God and Jesus really existed because I never thought about it early on. But, looking back, I prayed out of habit more than anything else, and my prayers consited entirely of begging for God and Jesus to take my troubles away and grant my wishes. I took it for granted that they exist as Christianity teaches us. But now, I have a much more logical outlook and I'm not sure what I believe anymore.
I recently (in the last five years or so) developed a bit of a grudge against organized religion in general, thinking that, in a nutshell, it's more brainwash than anything else. It's extremely difficult for me to accept that anyone should feel guilty for instinctually thinking, doing or feeling something that a book or pre-existing set of rules tells us is wrong. I've known people -- good people -- who have truly struggled and tormented themselves, thinking they must be going to Hell because of something or things they've done -- things that were obviously natural. The idea that, whether it's the intention or not, we're taught to feel like a failure for being human and experiencing human emotions (some of which are referred to as "sins") is absurd to me. It seems to me that our instincts and emotions are as out of our control as the physical features we are born with. So, in that sense, to condemn someone for feeling a certain way or for not abiding by a certain set of morals or beliefs wouldn't be much unlike Hitler looking down on those not of a certain height and not having blonde hair. That's how I feel anyway.
So say there is a God and Jesus...like I said before, I'm uneducated when it comes to all of this but, if I'm not mistaken, it's taught that God is the creator, all-powerful, and we should live our lives according to their will, correct? Well that isn't sitting well with me either, at the moment. Say there is a "God" and he really is our creator...who or what's to say our God isn't simply one representative of an entire race of entities just like him? How do we know there aren't as many different Gods out there as there are humans? Maybe creating a world such as the one we live in is simply something some of them fancy, while others have different hobbies and interests or jobs to keep them busy. I know, it sounds like something that could be thought up by a sci-fi writer, but it's no less likely a scenario than the one we're taught, as far as I'm concerned. Seriously, the universe is enormous, maybe immeasurable...so, if God is the all-powerful creator of it all, then why would the bible not discuss or even mention anything outside of the planet we live on? Or, maybe it does and I'm just not aware? I mean, to me, it's not any less likely that aliens and superior beings exist than we ourselves do and to think otherwise would be closed-minded and maybe even conceited. Anyhow, I think it's pretty widely accepted that no one person is truly any better than the rest -- we're all "created equal" -- and none of us should be treated like a god...so what would really justify there being one almighty being at all?
One last thought: This is something I've brought up in discussion with a few of you before, but I'll say it again since it pertains to this particular post as well. Christianity, to my understanding, teaches us that we're to seek and ask forgiveness for our sins by The Lord or God. But, if I'm not mistaken, the only forgiveness that can truly heal is our own. We have a conscience and that's what really tells us what's right and what's wrong. Not God, not Jesus, etc. Sure, not all of us share the same views, but I believe we all have a conscience and that could be what we're truly trying to appease. So, if you follow that train of thought, we are each our own God in a way. But, again, whatever.
I could go on like this forever, but it's five in the morning and I'm about 99% certain that most of you couldn't care less about any of it and are probably bored out of your skulls by now, if you made it this far. So I'll call it a night and save anything else for another post.
Thanks for reading.