Where is God?

4/4/2024

It always seems to be the same discussion going on in Social Media. If God is all-powerful, or all-knowing, or all-good, why is the world in such a mess? That’s the 64,000 question, isn’t it? with all of the problems there are in the world, why doesn’t our perfect overseer fix them?

I am going to preface the rest of this by stating that I am strictly monotheistic. My worldview is one God responsible for our creation and development on this planet. That does not throw shade on others who believe differently — in many gods or no god at all. It is the window in which I see my spiritual nature. What informs that is the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is the lens through which I bring my spirituality into focus.

If you follow the Bible story — God created everything. God is perfect. Why isn’t Earth? What sort of a cruel bastard would put his shining creation into a world full of heartache and suffering? Why is the human race the most uncivilized of all of the species on the planet? Why does he allow SoCal to burn to ashes? Or blizzards to put us in deep freeze? Why do people go hungry at night? Why do children die of horrible sickness, or get blown up in war zones around the world?

The list of complaints goes on and on and on… which leads to the conclusion that what humans are truly the best at is — whining.

The Evangelicals and Fundamentalists (as well as a surprising number of other Christians and faiths) have the answer locked up in the doctrine of “original sin”. You know, Adam & Eve, the snake, an iPhone (or some sort of Apple…) — we disobeyed God, so now we are damned and will spend all eternity in Hell because God is a toddler in his “terrible 2s”. But don’t worry because God came down to have himself brutally murdered so that he can sacrifice himself to himself, so he can forgive us. If you believe. Only if you believe. If not, you’re screwed.

Yeah, No.

The God of the Old Testament, Yahweh, was a thug. Not at all like Jesus explained God to be. Jesus called him a “loving father.” He spent his time not warning about our impending damnation, but teaching us to love and care for each other. He called people to leave their old way of living and to start living as he taught and by his example.

He spoke early and often about the poor and the marginalized, he forgave “sin” with impunity. He called out people on their selfishness and pride. He turned away no one. He often turned to those on the outskirts of society to follow him and made them also great teachers of these simple concepts. We were to transform “here” into a better place while waiting for whatever happens later. He rarely spoke about “Heaven” other than that God has a place for us there. He spoke on Hell less, and usually in reference to the hypocritical teachers of the law who liked the perks, yet led people astray in their teachings and demands.

How do we reconcile the two states of mind in Christian schizophrenia? How does one answer the dichotomy between what Jesus taught and the thug of the Old Testament?

I think that we have entirely the wrong concept of what God does. God is not some nanny coddling us, or the arbiter of every detail in your life. God does not care about most of the stuff that the “holy rollers” have deemed “sin”. All cultures share the same great taboos — do not murder, do no harm to others, do not neglect your family, and do not take more than you need at the expense of others. Do not steal. Do not beat on innocents.

The rest of it is all of the societal norms in a given culture from 1500–4000 years ago. This explains the differences between the various religions which grew up and developed in geographically isolated areas. What was common practice in Israel, was not in the birthplace of Buddhism or the Gods of Greece. Perhaps Jesus was trying to update our thinking 2000 years ago, and well, we don’t do change well in large groups

God, in the most divine truth of all, would like us to have fulfilling lives, in compassionate care of others. God gives life, intelligence, reason & creativity. He put us in a place that has everything we require, & we have done wonders. We have gone from wandering around and hunting our food with crude weapons to creating vast technological societies. We, as humans, created these societies, with the skill, intelligence, and creativity that God has gifted our species with. These societies are the foundation for the greatest good that the world has ever seen, and conversely, also the greatest evil.

In all of this God’s only request of us, which has been made clear in nearly all religions, is an expectation that we show compassion among ourselves. God is not gonna fix your hangnail. That’s what we made nail clippers for. God does not start or end wars — humans do. God does not instill hatred — we do that all by ourselves, in treating others as chattel or less than human.

A physical universe has physical requirements to keep running — even on our planet. These requirements are part of keeping the whole in balance so that it supports life. Earthquakes and storms are part of it. Drought too. Death and disease are also part of that balance because if no one died, at some point the planet would no longer be able to sustain us. We are to use our knowledge and creativity to work together for the benefit of all. Not to be greedy, hoarding bastards. That directive is given in every major religion on the planet.

I, for one, do not think it is God’s job to fix our human screw-ups. Let us put those of us who are loving parents (as Jesus describes God) in God’s shoes. As parents, it is up to us to provide shelter, food, opportunity, and care for our families. This is done to foster the development of our children into people who can go out and make their own way in the world. We all have different methods of doing this — based some on our own experience and some on how we think of God, as the one in charge. I am also thinking none of us do this perfectly, 24/7/365.

A very small percentage of families have angelic children who instantly and constantly do as their parents please. The rest of us have children with a sliding scale of challenges that they throw our way. Most children fall into the “normal” range — good kids who generally try to please you, but who screw up on occasion — either while learning or just out of stupidity. Stuff happens. You have to remind them to clean their rooms. Or do their homework. You protect them as best as you can, but sometimes they get in trouble anyway.

Sometimes children develop a rebellious attitude — especially in their teens, when they think they’ve learned all there is to know. It manifests in different ways from just being uncooperative pains in the ass who don’t give anyone else consideration, to actual criminal behavior.

How many of you as parents clean your teenagers’ rooms? Or police everything they eat or do? You sort of expect a little common sense after a while right? I think God expects the same from us. If God is a “loving parent”, we are spoiled-rotten brats who really need a time-out.

Whether we wish to credit God with creation or not, we live in a self-contained, dynamic, and self-perpetuating biome that has everything we need on it. But this is not a hotel, and we are not on vacation.

Does the contractor who built your house come by to clean it? Or to fill your fridge? No, because this is your home, not a hotel. It is your responsibility.

We are graced with the ability to fix almost any problem that arises or to create adaptations when the problem is not fixable. Our complaining to God to fix everything is the supreme cosmic cognitive dissonance. The direction of God to “love your neighbor as yourself” is an implicit instruction to go out and fix these things. Us. You and me. To elevate our humanity to its best possible state, by caring for those who need our help.

The job is given to us so that we may learn to become our best possible selves. In doing so, one day at a time, one person at a time, by reaching out in love, we slowly but surely improve the world a little bit every day.

It’s time to stop bitching about what God isn’t doing. It is humanity’s job to fix the problems humanity creates. God may appreciate our “worship”, but the best “worship” is to treat our fellow humans with compassion, and to clean the messes that we ourselves have made.

If we choose not to, we are nothing more than display animals in a divine zoo.

In Faith, Peace, and Love

Ecc.RL Brandner, New Ecclesiastes Ministries