Search for the Divine

Introduction:

Created in God's image, this thought puts an old man in the sky looking after us in the hearts of many. But why can it be so hard to find God for so many if we are among his favorite creations, so much so that he created his son in our form to redeem us? I do not believe many theologians out there would disagree that the Bible portrays us as some of God's favorites, and it has raised some questions I wish to address below.

Discussion:

Why is the universe so vast, and how do we reconcile that with religious beliefs? Humans will likely never explore it all, or even appreciate it all, given the limited observable universe compared to what may be out there. If we are so important to be created in his image, and he sent his son to earth to die for our sins, what is all of this other creation for? Kant says that an infinite universe is only fitting for an omnipotent God. I argue it calls focus into question and just how connected as a species we are with God. The same thought can be extended to animals; why create these as they are? With an innate ability to suffer needlessly, as if they will be redeemed somehow, but how could that be? Does each animal get their own Jesus to provide them the doorway to salvation? The only answer to this I can think of is that all of creation is created in God's image. This raises questions for me. Genesis calls for us to act as stewards for animals; are we then morally required by God to forsake all forms of animal suffering? Are we to be vegans? How do we reconcile the killing and suffering of animals if they are also created in God's image?

Next, I would like to tackle morality and the Bible. The Bible is rich both in moral storytelling and complete moral blunders. Would this be the case of a text with divine origin? Is this building toward a singular greater truth as Jordan Peterson puts forward? Can one not imagine creating a hypertext like the Bible, and the text being far more moral? Would the creation of such a text nullify the divinity of the Bible? Taking pieces from the greatest philosophers, the most ingenious scientists, and historians, I believe we could create a text more coherent in its morality than the Bible. Could we not scientifically and with careful debate agree to not talk about beating a slave as a moral truth? There are verses that endorse genocide; couldn't we as a species write a text more clear that outlines this as negative? If we take my hypothetical text drawn up from the brightest minds in history and raised a society on it as its religion, would it not be more morally relevant than the Bible? I questioned this in my time as a devoted Christian; I didn't understand how God's words could be so vague that it could be used to justify tragedies. Then it is also so vague that it can claim any moral story one could deem to be beneficial as solely its own.

If I made a vague post about how balloons are round, could I then claim for the rest of time that I was the oracle of balloon roundness? That I was divinely inspired, that only my ideas could be straight from God? I leave an example of Job, a story about leaving comfort so you may grow, even though this may cause you to suffer. I believe most people can say this idea predates the Bible, as this was known to cavemen. If our ancestors stayed in comfort, we would have never developed into the species we are today.

Conclusion:

The lack of evidence for a Christian God has been long and commonly spoken of. What I bring here is some of the arguments for the lack of logic in one as well. Would we not take a page out of Nietzsche's book and handpick the moral stories we find value in, instead of trying to explain away the obvious flaws in books being pushed down on us from these mega-organizations? I find it surprising that right-wing commentators are so likely to forgo their own investigation into moral truths and place trust into such a large organization. They lack trust for pharmaceutical organizations and the government, but not the church? There are costs to your faith you may be blind to see. If you believe in a God, I challenge you to think if God would want us to act in the everyday depicted in the Bible. Would he want you to go against what you believe in your soul to be true because of a story handed down through the church? Or would he be more likely to plant some of what he expects from you firmly in your gut? I do not intend to commit genocide, beat slaves, stone rebellious sons, hurt women, then pay their fathers to marry them. Instead, I trust my moral compass, and careful thought and debate with those I love on actions I take in this world.