Why Everyone “Believes” in God
Isn’t it a wonder! Without any scientific proof of the existence of God, huge temples, cathedrals, and churches have been built throughout the ages in His honor. Such mammoth efforts require tremendous commitment and devotion. Such resolute dedication is attributable to something far beyond blind faith.
Modern physics provides us with some rational understanding of how it could be possible that one thing underlies everything in existence. Ever since Einstein’s breakthroughs in understanding gravity, scientists have been working toward a unified field theory to encompass all other fundamental forces in the universe. Even though a theory has yet to be proven, with the emergence of string theory, “theory of everything,” it seems there is one unifying field that births, underlies, and connects everything in the universe. With this understanding, we have at least some rationale around the notion of God.
Even among atheists, there is a strong sense of our universality or interconnectedness with other people and all of life. The sense of universality and connection is common to all cultures and all religions. It is a deep inner feeling, an inner sense of knowing.
The unified field of modern physics is the one thing out of which all things manifest. It is the essence and the depth of every individual. Scientists theorize that the human mind functions not only on the surface of life, but also on the depth, the unified field level. It only makes sense that the unified field is the scientific correlation to what theologians refer to as “God” — the one thing that is the universal source of everything.
To have some knowledge of the concept is a good first step. But to have the experience of it firsthand (through meditation, for example) is life changing. Such an experience revolutionizes one’s understanding of what it means to be human. We can all access this deeper level of reality, whether we consider ourselves deeply religious, atheist, or anywhere in between. No matter what we call it (universal energy, God, the depth of our being, etc.), we are talking about accessing a deep sense of our own universality. This can be done through proper meditation.
At the depth of our being, we come to know God. It is only what people associate with the word “God” that triggers people and makes this difficult for them to understand. There are many ways to say it: “The kingdom of heaven dwells within,” “You are one with God,” “Divinity dwells within you as you.” Take your pick; they all mean the same thing. They are all experienced by our inner sense of human decency, morality, integrity, and all laudable things found deep within our soul. Through that, we know God. The problem is not with our experience, but with our definition of the word “God.” If we have a problem with that, it’s time to redefine the word. Through proper meditation, we come to know that deepest level of our being more fully. This is where our sense of human decency, morality, and integrity comes from.
The question of belief in God has more to do with definition and dogma than substance. Every person has an ingrained sense of morality. For example, no one in their right mind would think it okay to pick up a gun and start shooting people. A sense of morality is universal, even though on the surface of life there can be a great deal of confusion around that sense.
It is not that people don’t believe in God. Rather they do not believe in the dogmatic perspectives that have been imposed upon them since childhood. Bias, dogma, and confusion around the word “God” has compelled many people to reject the very word and therefore the whole concept behind it.
Brushing away all dogma and bias, that universal moral sense has throughout time been called God. Instead of attempting to discard the word, people would do well to discard their issues with the word. Proper meditation is a good first step in this process.
By allowing ourselves to feel that inner moral sense ever more deeply is to be able to put clearer words and a better description to that experience. Throughout the ages, the word “God” has been assigned to the experience of sensing divinity — that one thing that lies at the essence of the individual. Isn’t it remarkable: that sense is so strong, that even without a clear intellectual understanding, people throughout the ages in every culture have dedicated their lives to it?
Clearly there have been great distortions around the notion of God. Fanaticism has been an epidemic in every culture, from killing in the name of religion to general intolerance of other expressions of God. Such irrationality and extremes have caused many people to reject the very notion of God. Nevertheless, that inner sense of knowing exists within everyone.
Belief in God (no matter what you want to call it) is an innate inner sense inherent to the human physiology. As an individual’s biases and dogmatic indoctrinations are worked out, the understanding becomes more refined and more clear. That process is referred to as spiritual evolution. We’re fortunate to live in an age where an understanding exists that invites even the most analytical minds to be open to the underlying nature of life and existence.
Isn’t it remarkable that people’s own inner knowing, inner sense of divinity, of God, is so strong that all over the world throughout time, people are compelled to build great temples and shrines in God’s name? That inner knowing does not come from outside themselves as objective or scientific proof. It comes from within them. Isn’t it tragic that the dogmas, distortions, and intellectual knots we tie ourselves in have so overwhelmed us that many find it difficult to rest with that inner sense of knowing? Isn’t it magnificent that by opening to that inner sense, the grandeur of life and the wonder of existence can be known from within us? We then come to know that spirituality is not a matter of indoctrination, but a matter of inner knowing, inner awakening, inner realization, Self-realization.
Dr. Michael Mamas is the founder of The Center of Rational Spirituality, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the betterment of humanity through the integration of ancient spiritual wisdom with modern rational thought. From personal issues to global trends, Dr. Michael Mamas helps individuals and organizations develop a deeper understanding and more comprehensive outlook by providing a ‘bridge’ between the abstract and concrete, the Eastern and Western, and the ancient and modern. Dr. Michael Mamas has been teaching for 35 years (including the U.S., India, Europe, and Canada) and writes on a variety of subjects on his blogs, MichaelMamas.net, DrMichaelMamas.com, and RationalSpirituality.org.
