THE MIND OF GOD
THE MIND OF GOD
A Contemplation
By Joe Rice
My reason for writing this is simply because I have come to question the beliefs of millions (no, billions) of people who believe a lot of things that have never come to reality in real time or real life.
Mankind’s belief (faith) in a god mostly flies in the face of reality. Over centuries, we have been taught that we “should” believe in one that has greater control over our actions, decisions and outcomes than we do. Mom and Dad were mostly responsible, although there were also powerful influences from everyone in our town. Logic (reason or common sense) leaves the household, just like Elvis left the building, and that seems to be okay with the believer, who takes an easier route to thinking and figuring out why his or her life is the way it is. Mankind will go to great lengths to “prove” what he/she believes when it comes to God/Allah/whoever, because it is actually easier to accept that something besides you and I are responsible for whatever happens to us. Blame it on God. It was God’s will that he/she died so early in life.
Religion has taught them (us) that we should (must) believe in …no!... accept!.. that a god exists that has love for us and control over us. Because we have been taught from so many angles that this is the only way mankind will survive to the end of days and reach a happy ending to our lives will be to believe in a powerful, fear-inspiring super being know in various civilizations as God, Allah, another deity, supreme being, Jehovah, Master, or 99 other names representing who (we mostly believe this is a very, very big person) has ultimate power over us. Man has actually created God in his (man’s) own image. God is seen as a man (referred to as “He.”) and He seems to be whimsical about the favors he passes out, and is indifferent to virtually all prayers. What do we think then, that he’s too busy, or the prayer wasn’t loud enough or convincing enough, or that the one praying is not worthy of favor, or it was not a sincere prayer, or a thousand other rationales for not getting lucky.
Because we can’t get our arms or minds around this giant being, men have decided to elect individuals among us (actually several) who have purportedly spoken to and are in touch with this supreme being. Dozens, maybe hundreds of these beings in human (super human) form who are named by men – not by some incommunicado supreme being – to represent a go-between who would, because they (he) are in tune with our beliefs, they can pass along our begging and pleading for favors, simple or complex. These hopes and dreams (prayers – AKA begging and pleading) may come in the form of a baseball player crossing himself before he bats, literally begging God to look down of him favorably to give him a hit rather than a ground out or strike out. The pitcher may have done this very same thing (crossing himself) begging God to look down favorably upon him so the batter will strike out (best because strikeouts benefit the pitcher’s overall record, thus adding to his dollar value next season).
One woman recently, during a horrible accident where dozens of people were killed, said of the five members of her own family who survived, “It was God’s blessing that my family was saved. Jesus H. Christ!!!! Give me a break!!! Such a thoughtless, stupid and outrageous comment is the same as saying “Those others deserved to die. They didn’t have God’s blessing. It was God’s will that they die.” I don’t want any part of a god who picks and chooses who gets it and who doesn’t.
I was raised in a home that was not particularly religious, but because my pals were singing in the church (Methodist) choir and doing fun things at the youth fellowship gatherings, I decided to join. That led to my convincing my parents to join. Join they did, and became an integral part of the church life – Dad ultimately becoming a member of the church board. My church activity waned significantly through college, but as an adult and parent, I began to be more active again, this time in a “liberal” church where, as one bumper sticker stated, “To Question, That is the Answer!” The Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship was a much more comfortable place for me and my family. We chose to explore the broader aspects of religion and ask lots of questions about our own religious beliefs and those of others, as well. It was a place where lively discussions followed every presentation (speech, maybe, but never a sermon). Our little fellowship grew large enough to build a church and hire a minister. Things began to get sticky. Prayers and hymns and other rituals crept in, and gradually it felt like I was in a liberal version of Methodism. I don’t go there anymore either.
Let’s look at some situations that actually fly in the face of logic and reality, and yet garner enormous support from seemingly thinking, educated, responsible and reasonable people who choose to deny that these things are the reality. The rest is simply a mental manipulation or rationalization.
Who/what do we believe God is? Because even the clergy are not certain about that, we all thrash about, trying to make sense out of this being. Here are a handful of questions that occur to me.
How much power does “He” possess? Why is it a "He"?
What is not God?
Who is able to speak to and receive messages from God?
What/who gave them ( who speak to God or get messages from God) that power that you or I don’t have? Why would a supreme being tell any one of us to go and take the life of another human being?
Why do so many prayers we have heard and not heard never get answered? How can you tell that a prayer was "answered" when in fact it was just the way the cards were dealt (by chance).
Why do literally tens of thousands to millions of people (seemingly good or simple people) die for no apparent reason year after year from tragic circumstances? If God loved them, why would "he" dispose of them in such a horrific way? The clergy dances around these questions a lot, or has some idiotic explanation that people in the congregation nod agreeably to, but NEVER question, or never get up in the midst of a sermon and take issue with the speaker!
Why do the supposed “bad guys” we label as such not get annihilated by God to keep our earth happy and at peace, when on the other side of the earth, people are thinking the same thing about us?
Christians keep claiming that they are part of the one and only “true” religion. Is there another god for all the other religions? Is this one valid and the rest invalid?
Why are so many wars fought about the differences between religious groups, sects, etc., and why are there so many religious leaders who condone and even encourage killing others who don’t agree with them?
Why do some religious groups evangelize? Why do they have to prove somehow that they have the one and only “true” religion, and the only leaders who can actually “speak to” and “receive direct messages from” God? That the Mormon church send out boys to evangelize is ludicrous! Listen to the music from the Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon," and get a better sense of the whole comedy of Mormon life. and the very idea that the Mormon church spent millions and millions in California to "Eliminate Rights of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. Initiative Constitutional Amendment; called California Marriage Protection Act." GOD DAMN THEM! So much for loving your fellow man. And the Mormon church has continued to chase away and condemn gay boys and men, keep girls and women in a secondary position, considered incapable of being leaders or forming laws. And African Americans have been second rate members (even after finally being accepted into the church a few years ago).
- Let’s look at reason for a time. If there truly is a god, it only makes sense that it must be the only god. A Supreme Being means there is no other greater – actually NO OTHER – period! It means there are no others, even demigods – defined as a male being, often the offspring of a god and a mortal, who has some but not all of the powers of a god.
- An inferior deity; a minor god.
- A deified man (as in J. Christ of biblical fame).
. Ultimately, if we have been created somehow, there is nothing that is not God. NOTHING! There can be no separation from this supremacy -- God reproducing itself in infinite form. This being the case, everything is always already perfect simply because it is the one and only. We live and die as part of the whim of this supreme being. The dying is then no big deal. Nothing really dies. Everything is perfect. Everything is safe. Everything is at the will of the boss.
WORSHIP
When a god is supreme, there is no need to worship. Why would such a being require worship? I can’t imagine it’s a needy, selfish, jealous or expectant of being idolized.
This supreme being doesn’t expect to be loved unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess. Neither does Jesus or any of the other surrogates. Churches are a waste of time, energy and money. The need for them has been devised by man, often out of innocence, but also frequently out of greed. Those who begin a movement out of greed with the intent of deceiving others are not punished by any true god. Look at all the pastors, priests, ministers, rabbis, faith healers and others cheats with similar titles who have, over centuries, hoodwinked the stupid and vulnerable – taken advantage of them by taking over their minds, wills and bodies. Billions of people engage in rituals and acts intended to get the attention of their god and show they are worthy of … whatever! Someone who claims he/she is right and all-knowing is to be suspected every time. Not just suspected, but also rejected. As I've said before, the atheists and the ignorant of the world live just as peaceful and happy life as the fervently religious, just like the "bad" people frequently get by just as well -- sometimes way better!
EVANGELISM and EVANGELICALS
My take on evangelism is that whoever chooses to evangelize is being incredibly arrogant. What this person or religious group has decided is the only true and right religion and all the others are wrong, or misguided, so they need to be saved. They seem to be saying that they are the ones chosen by God to go and do his work because he cannot speak for himself. What utter arrogance and pumped-up sense of worth these idiots carry around! Think about the innocent, peaceful people in the Hawaiian Islands who were nearly wiped out by those fucking missionary evangelists who basically invaded the islands, either converted the natives to their version of Christianity or killed them when they didn’t. This attitude is the main reason tens of millions of innocent people throughout history have been slaughtered at the hands of (for example) Christians against Jews, Muslims, during the Crusades, Protestants against Catholics (and vice-versa), Nazis against Jews in WW2, Muslims against Jews for centuries, WHAT IN HELL IS THIS INSANE HATRED?? IS IT HELL ON EARTH??? Nothing but a god who is sound asleep, or is it perhaps that this is a god that is busy creating at all times and places, and that in this case, everything is in fact perfect, ALWAYS AND ALREADY PERFECT. There can be nothing in between. Evangelicals stress a more personal relationship with God at the individual level; as well as activism based upon one's biblically-based beliefs. They may be fervent in their belief, but it is truly a one-way relationship. Neither messages coming back, nor exhibits of greater proof of its existence by making an appearance, or producing a convincing miracle that wasn’t just blind luck. They may tell us they spoke to God and “he” said thus and such, but it’s simply a thought generated in their mind in hopes it came from this personal god directly to them. Or it might very well be one of the many deceivers who prey on the ignorant, fearful and blindly devoted followers of God or Christ.
CREATIONISM
And the stupidity goes even further when people try to re-dress stories from the Bible into a universal education that says God did all this we call “creation” only a few thousand years ago by touching the earth, building a garden and saying “Adam! Yer the first guy, and Eve, yer his girl.” Now that this is settled, he’s in charge. Excuse me cuz I’ve got other things to design. This whole business of “intelligent design” holds absolutely no water unless everything – the good and bad, the beautiful and ugly, the true and false, and every other contrast or opposite – is the Supreme Being itself, not by or from the S.B. but ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!!! It cannot be any other way. All that is and all that is not is the same. AND it's driving me crazy that there are now so-called "charter schools" are teaching such bullshit as intelligent design as truth, flying in the face of the constitutional separation of church and state. Prayer in schools, guided by the teacher, is becoming more common in some states like Louisiana, where Gov. Bobby Jindal says it's okay, and even directs state money to support these Christian schools as if they were public.
RELIGION AND POLITICS
How dare a minister like Jerry Falwell, or a group of conservative religious types meddle in the affairs of government and politics? Religion should be a private matter with each individual, and should not be meddled with by government any more than the opposite. To insist that prayer be a part of a public school daily routine, that something like the ten commandments be placed in a public (school or governmental) place, that religious thought or other hokey ideas like “intelligent design” be included as an alternative or balance to science and evolution in schools is just as insane and stupid as it possibly could be. All we have to do is look at Iran Saudi Arabia
I have a sense that some states, primarily across the southeasteeern part of the US, plus Kansas, Utah, Texas, and Arizona are done for. The ignorance (gleeful stupidity) in politics, religion and social issues dominates everything there! Totally hopeless, it seems.
SATAN, SIN, HEAVEN AND HELL
Satan, the devil, Lucifer, Apollyon, Abaddon, antichrist, Beelzebub, Belial, evil spirit, old serpent, probably over time, almost as many names for this bad boy as for God. It seems incredible to me here in the 21st century that people would still believe there is an evil being whose creeping into man’s minds and making them do bad things. This concept suggests there is another god equally powerful to God – meaning that there is no supreme being, but two smaller gods who are basically equal in strength and influence. One is continually doing bad things, forcing people to be inhumane to their fellow men, while the other one is pretty ineffectual in his efforts to combat the bad stuff that happens worldwide – wars, hatred, killing, stealing, lying, fornicating, cheating, ad infinitum – and the only justice comes from the courts, not from a god who is concerned and willing to do battle with the devil. It’s all very silly…and sad.
CHRIST – THE SECOND COMING
What utter horseshit! If the Christ were to show up in this truly secular society we call Christianity, he (or she???) would be looked upon as some stranger talking strange talk to people too busy to listen. This Christ would be laughed at, not ever recognized as legitimate by those who most fervently pray for his return, and the rest of the world would pay little or no attention. The Bible is full of misinformation, confusion and editing by imperfect humans, each of whom had their own slant on Jesus, the church, the Disciples of Jesus who wrote their own chapters, and what they wanted future readers to accept and live by. Chapters written by others from that time were purposely left out because they created conflict with established beliefs and established rules of the church. With ever edit and reinterpretation, the Bible lost whatever value it held at first. Jesus was a pretty good spiritual teacher, just like a fairly long list of others dead and alive who learned to put their egos aside and dwell in a reality-based state. Basically, the Bible is a not so interesting and onbly sometimes relevant story book. And all the so-called "miracles" are just stories, too. If they happened before our eyes, perhaps they might mean something, but the events in that book are thousands of years old, and they are not based upon reality unless they are reproduced in our lifetime. They are meaningless. Our pastors, ministers, priests, rabbis, etc. can tell the stories like they were real (and should have some lasting impact on us), but they are still just stories, and if they cause you to go glassy-eyed, raise your hands to the roof and say "thank-you Jesus," "praise be," "Allah is great," or simply begin to shake, quake, pass out, roll around on the floor or speak in gibberish (otherwise known as "tongues"), you're not in any sort of reality. You're placing your mind in a hopeful place.
GOD’S WILL (“IT’S GOD’S FAULT”)
How many times have you heard “It’s God’s will” most often used in reference to someone’s misfortune that couldn’t be interpreted any other way – especially someone else’s misfortune, not mine or anyone really close to me. Recently, I heard or read about a woman whose family was saved from a terrible bus crash that killed a number of others. She thanked Jesus (and God) for saving them. She didn’t mention how Jesus and God may have smiled on her and condemned the others who were killed or maimed. If one was correct then the other must also be.
THANK YOU JESUS! AKA: Our secret friend
Total focus upon the man, the teacher, doesn’t make any more sense than that “God’s will…” horse shit. To name Jesus as the one responsible for anything is idiocy. Jesus was a man – a spiritual man who learned some very helpful things to help people get through life a little more easily. He was no more a god than all the other myriad spiritual teachers alive and dead. I believe all of them had something important and helpful to say, but absolutely none deserved worship. His devotees were not anything more than people who bought into his wisdom and tried to pass it along. Today, we have to live in the 21st century and try to get along with our fellow man. Basically, Jesus was trying to teach people to live in the present, respect God and be civil to others. When I hear someone having good fortune (getting a part in a play, striking out a batter, getting a base hit, winning a lottery, etc.), and saying “thank you Jesus,” they are giving Jesus credit for smiling down on them. Bull shit! When something bad happens, do you think they’re going to say, “Hey Jesus! Thanks for nothing!” or “Jesus Christ, where were you when I needed you?” Things get lopsided in that way, and yet someone who says “Thank you Jesus” is doing it mindlessly. It’s just words that excuse them from taking responsibility for either the good or bad things.
THE EXTREMES OF RELIGION
Religions are senseless exercises for the most part. Often, churches do good and generate helpful things for people in need. However, even people who don't attend church get involved in activities of care and concern without the need of guidance from above.
Labels: Mind of God, religion
posted by Joe Rice @ 8:09 AM
1 comments
