God and Religion
The notion of God— the almighty, all knowing, and creator of the universe— has been commonly adopted by humans, of all cultures and races, for thousands of years. Religious people may attribute themselves to monotheism, believing in only one deity (i.e. Christianity, Islam, Judaism), or polytheism, believing in two or more deities (i.e. Hinduism). Collectively, the masses subscribe to these religions for one reason: the explanation of the unknown— why we exist, how to live life the way god intended, and most importantly, what happens after death.
Humans naturally question existence at distinct points in life— existence is a strange, unexplained phenomenon. None of us remember anything before birth, and none of us have witnessed a dead person come back to tell a tale of the afterlife— so, the afterlife remains a mystery. Mortality is evident and frightening— how can I cease to exist? I am the center of my universe; thus, if I cease to exist, then the universe, to me, ceases to exist. Abrahamic religions assure us that life is nothing but a stepping stone to the hereafter, and that I shall exist indefinitely— immortalized in heaven to live lavishly and happily ever after. It seems like only fools would not adopt theism or participate in religion. Why would I not believe that I could be immortal?
One of the hardest feelings to cope with is loneliness, especially loneliness in the company of others — which is possible due to the feeling of not belonging. We want to feel that we are part of something greater that adds value to our lives. Drug addicts do not abuse drugs because they want to feel the high of the drug, nor do alcoholics drink because they enjoy being in a drunken state on a daily basis. They do it because they feel like they connect with something. They are missing affection and compassion in their lives— hence, they resort to these dopamine sources to try and counteract the holes in their lives. Religion plays a similar role in depleting the existential loneliness humans experience. Being part of a group that has billions of subscribers that share, experience, and think the same way as you adds great security to your life. You stop feeling that you are stranded on your own in a vast universe. It should come to no shock why the overwhelming majority affiliate themselves with a religion— even if they do not consider themselves religious. The security that is achieved is not a result of the integrity or validity of a religion, instead it is that we feel the sense of belonging.
The ‘Need to belong’ is not unique to the spiritual sector of our lives, and as a matter of fact, neither is it unique to humans. The overwhelming majority of animals cannot function as individuals, and instinctively group with others because they find power in numbers. Life is what it is today because we are subconsciously aware that we are better off in groups. So, in many cases, we allow ourselves to be disadvantaged for the greater good of the group. Certain jobs require we work overtime for free, and without hesitation, we sign the contract. Similarly, to achieve existential security, religion gets to dictate the way you are supposed to live— you are required to give up natural urges, curiosity, and, to a certain extent, the will to question. The core foundations of religion (i.e. the afterlife) rely on belief. You have to believe that what are you being told must be real, otherwise it quickly loses its effect. This is extremely interesting because many people consider themselves to be people of facts, yet still believe god is real with no tangible proof. That is because, in this case, belief is made possible by exploiting faith in god.
Contrary to popular perception, belief and faith in god are not equivalent. Believing in god is to trust and hope that what you have been told is true, while having faith in god is to accept and surrender to god. To maintain belief, You must accept that reality is defined by the propositions presented to you by the religion, followed by an attempt to hold a static overview of the world. However, to have faith in god, you will never feel the comfort that stability brings upon you, due to your views being constantly influenced by your environment. When you accept and surrender to god, to the world; you allow it to drive you, even if the destination is not a favourable place. In a way, you trust that god will lead you to what is meant for you. So, why does it seem that almost all religious people have belief in god rather than faith? Human lives are littered with tragedies that cannot be prevented nor predicted. Belief, unlike faith, gives its beholder a blanket to hide under when tragedy strikes. Religion has a database of tragedies and how its victims are going to be compensated for them in the afterlife. If you tell people that their tragedies, no matter how trivial, are remembered and acknowledged, they will accept their destiny to be smitten by the tragedy, as misfortune does not discriminate between individuals and everyone will receive a similar distribution of tragedies.
This allows for controversial tragedies to be accepted as justified actions of god. Consider the fictional scenario of a child called Ella, not even past the age of 4, with terminal cancer.
Ella wakes up everyday in attempt to do what she should do: be a child. She wants to go play with toys, run around in the playground, watch TV, or play tag with her neighbourhood friends. Unfortunately, Ella is barred from doing so due to having to visit the hospital on regular intervals. Instead of spending her childhood being nurtured and bonding with the environment, Ella is now imprisoned in the walls of the hospital, and her best friend is the one she sees the most: the pediatrician. Ella starts feeling ill. Ella asks her mommy why she is feeling weaker as time passes by, and her mom is at a lack of words. Her mom eventually breaks down in tears and informs her of her condition and that she is not expected to live for long. Ella is shocked and cannot comprehend the reality that she is dying, that soon enough, she will be no more. She begins crying and begging her mom that she wants to go back home and play with her friends. She tells her mom that she does not want to die and she is scared. She screams for someone to save her. With her very young brain, she assures herself that this is only a bad dream, a nightmare, because who would want to let a small, innocent child suffer tremendous pains and eventually pass away?
Ella passes away a few months later, and a ceremony is held in her honour. At the ceremony, the pastor assures that she is now god’s angel and that this tragedy was an action of god— a premeditated action. Her mom and dad are emotional wrecks and claim their hearts were ripped out of them. The nurses and pediatricians, that took care of Ella while she was still alive, are in-therapy for emotional trauma— the trauma that comes with witnessing a child crying for help, screaming and declaring her want and need to live, only to be struck down with pain, sorrow, and death.
Why would God allow for a child to be born, only so that she may suffer and pass away a few years into her life? If you were to ask any religious person, they would shun this question to saying only god knows, as they themselves cannot justify this for you without sounding evil. So, does this mean if you were to accept god’s action to torture and claim this little child, it also means that you admit you believe in a god that is inherently indifferent?
I wrote this piece to provoke some ideas and not to convince you of any ideology. Thank you for reading.
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