Torbay weblog davecathy

Look, I believe in God as much as anyone - more so than many. You cannot go through this life without being in awe at the wonder of nature, the beauty of this world, this universe, that make the works of mankind so puny and ugly in comparison. 

But I do have trouble accepting the visions of God offered by all the main religions. I was raised as a Christian, so shall speak about the religion I know most about.

My friend Jamryn tells us that God chooses not to do away with evil, but instead gives us the gift of choice. She may well be right, but how does she KNOW that? Has God told her that himself? Or has she been told that by someone ? If so, how do they know that ? It is 'knowledge' that comes from the bible, handed down unchanged for 2,000 years and more. It is foolish to believe everything you read, whether it be from the bible, George Bush, Tony Blair, or the sex exploits of Hollywood stars. Unless we have absolute concrete evidence of something, we must treat what we read with caution, using reason and common sense to sift the truth from the lies or silliness.  If I write that the moon is made of green cheese, and that the moon landings only took place in a studio, what intelligent person would believe me? If the bible were to be written and published today, it would be treated with scorn as unbelievable rubbish, full of inconsistancies and too far-fetched to be taken seriously.

So who is the biblical God we are all supposed to believe in ? Is he to be loved or feared? Is he the jealous and angry God who killed everyone except Noah when he was displeased, or again, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? Or is he the loving, caring, forgiving God that Jesus tells us of, who weeps at our sins, and listens to each and every persons prayers?  

Every mother who sends a son into war must pray to God for his safekeeping, yet obviously, many of those prayers are not answered. Bullets and bombs still kill their sons all toO frequently. Is it because the bullet kills randomly, or is it because the mother did not pray hard enough or was too much of a sinner? Every woman who finds she has breast cancer, or every person contracting Aids must pray to God for deliverance, yet it is plain that many of those prayers are not answered, and they die, often after terrible suffering. God's choice ?? Is it God that decrees that while American children are overweight and over-indulged, African children die of malnutrition, Aids, malaria or even leprosy? Is that the child's choice ?? 

The worlds great despots, such as Hitler, Stalin, Sadam Hussein, etc, sought to control our actions, often on pain of death, but apparently, God seeks to control not just our actions but our thoughts (Covert not they neighbours oxen, or his wife), not just on pain of death but by eternal damnation. Should I love such a man, who also demands constant worship. Like the wife, he keeps asking 'Do you love me?' Does he have an inferiority complex or something?

I will in time set out my personal vision of God, but for the meantime, I ask you to think things through yourself, and ask all the questions I have not space to write of. I repeat, I am not godless or against God, just the Christian version of Him.

1. The Nature of God

2. The Nature of Jesus

3 The Nature of man

On this minor planet, our humanity unites us, our religion divides us. All my life, I have watched people die in the name of God, Muslim, Jew, and Christian amongst others. Even within religions, divisions cause bitter conflict, Catholic against Protestant in Northern Ireland, Sunni against Shiite in Iraq for example.

Like most British people, I am a secular person, agnostic rather than heathen. I believe in a higher intelligence, but cannot subscribe fully to the teachings of the Churches, whom I find increasingly irrelevent and self absorbed. Jesus brought a fresh approach to religion, and his teachings were radically different to the Old Testament idea of God. He was a man of his time, yet today, Churches are apparently stuck in a time warp, their ideas set in concrete, unable to provide meaningful spiritual leadership for the modern, more complex world. If there is a God, he gave us a brain, and must surely expect us to use it. Yet those who are religious are expected to put reasonable questions to one side, and just have totally blind faith in a book that was written by mortal men who disagree with each other, and was in any case written long after the event. Even in this age of television and scientific investigation, look how the controveries over the deaths of Kennedy and Princess Diana spawn many alternative myths.

Over the next few weeks, I intend to put on this weblog some ideas which are designed not to persuade anyone, but to make them think a little more deeply. starting with a question posed by Epicurus in 300 BC (ie he predates Christianity)

IS YOUR GOD ABLE TO PREVENT EVIL?

IF NOT, HE IS NOT OMNIPOTENT.

IS GOD WILLING TO PREVENT EVIL?

IF NOT, HE IS MALEVOLENT.

IF GOD IS WILLING AND ABLE TO PREVENT EVIL,

WHY DOES EVIL EXIST?

IF GOD IS UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO PREVENT EVIL,

THEN HE IS NOT A GOD.

........................

The foolish believe in religion.

The wise know religion to be false.

Those who seek to rule know religion to be useful.   

More to follow. Your comments welcome

Dave Cathy