My God is Real. How About Yours?
Is God Real?
Funny you should ask! Funny you should ask me, who rarely answers “of course“ or “certainly not!” about anything.
Does God exist? “Of course!“ I proclaim, since I experience that life exists. Don’t we all experience our breath and the extraordinary life force in all living things?
“Of course” does not mean I believe that a monotheistic deity is granting mercy to some but not to others. I answer “Certainly not!” to God’s existence if it means a monotheist’s deity who watches over only true believers.
Recently I was listening to a BBC radio show called Humphreys in Search of God. (You really must try BBC! When it comes to programming, they’re years ahead of NPR.) A world-weary journalist, Michael Humphreys, wants to believe in God but lost his faith after years of reporting from war-torn countries. Humphreys interviews an archbishop, a rabbi, and a Muslim academic. It’s not surprising the men of faith explain that the God principle is much bigger than we can understand, and that is where faith and belief must enter. When living with faith we should not necessarily expect divine intervention, but we should still honor God and pray.
This does not satisfy me. It only brings me back to the ever-present puzzle “either God exists or doesn’t.” It troubles me that with religion, I must use my imagination to accept God’s existence. I don’t need to use faith to see that nature is God. The natural world is what I can accept and honor.
I am also comfortable with Buddhism. Buddhism doesn’t require worship of a God or deity, although Buddhism certainly has spiritual beliefs. A metaphysical slant is not necessary to ascribe to the principle that karma from right actions brings right results. This karma may take many lifetimes to unfold, but that seems better than the concept of hell or salvation. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of Buddhism are pragmatic and have enough latitude for me to grasp.
Photograph by SJiong. Some rights reserved.
I sometimes envy people who have a firm belief in the traditional personal God, but are not overbearing about it. They seem to have a deportment, and maybe an entitlement to security that I lack. I work in a southern Christian African American community; answering machines routinely say “Have a blessed day.” If I questioned colleagues with ”Does God exist?” it would result in the response “Go read your Bible“ or “You better get on to church!” This community does not look at human suffering or injustice as proof that God doesn’t exist. Hardship seems to have shored up their faith rather than weakened it.
Questions about God’s reality are often asked of the scientific and intellectual communities. People far more intellectually-endowed than I ponder God. Einstein was deluged with letters asking his opinion on the existence of God. He said “I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation.” But I’m sure he was awed and respectful of the life concepts he studied.
I prefer what Norman Mailer, the recently deceased author, expressed about God. He said that he felt that God is an artist. I agree. The universe is a fascinating creation with a blend of good and bad. Furthermore, we were given brains so we can imagine whatever we want about our existence (and we do!).
Ask me! Is God real? Of course! My version of God exists for me. How about yours?
Submitted by Betty Story, a researcher, writer, and recovering librarian. http://raisondebettyii.blogspot.com/
