Is There a God?

Is there a God,? The age old question that has been asked from the beginning of time. It has been debated by the brightest scholars, philosophers, scientist, and theologians in history. Yet today there is still no consensus. I myself have had no formal education or study in this area and don’t even pretend to know the answer. I have come to believe that the question itself is irrelevant. Just the act of knowing that a power does exist and that it resides in all is what matters..

Call it God if you like, or perhaps Buddha. If you prefer, choose your own name for it is of little importance. What is important is the act of truly believing, and the knowledge that it is real and that it resides in all human kind.

History shows us that man is most capable of committing the vilest of atrocities against his fellow man when it is done in the name of his God This applies as well to the most loving as exampled by Mother Teresa. The Islamic terrorist use passages of the Qumran to justify horrendous acts of barbarism. . The KKK used Bible passages to justify their bigotry and hate. Yet both religions profess that these holy books teaches us a message of love.

All organized religion insist that there is only one way and that is through their God. They have established ambiguous rules that must be adhered to, and because we are human we fall short quite frequently. Consequently when we fail we feel that we are lacking and unworthy. We are consumed by guilt and self loathing. The group leaders reinforce the notion that we must pay tithe and so we do, Some to the point that it takes food from the mouths of their own children I say you can not buy it for it is free. It needs not praise, nor hymns nor even prayer. To attain it you must only need to know that it is…

When we cross the paths with someone who knows this truth it is obvious. A parent who has experienced the death of a child, yet they find peace in the knowledge that their loved one no longer suffers. We see it in those who have nothing yet gladly share it with others. We see the peace that radiates on their faces and the love in in their eyes, and we are envious. So we renew are search or we deny the existence of any God entirely.

I believe religion can be used as a tool to help one find that , that comes with knowing.

Yet for to many it fails. They navigate from church to church, religion to religion, and still find no peace. It is akin to trying different diet plans hoping to get the results they are seeking. But alas the old saying is true, “where ever you go there you are.” but Plato said it best.

“We are like people looking for something they have in their hands all the time; we’re looking in all directions except at the thing we want, which is probably why we haven’t found it“ .(Plato, 380

Some of us have felt it albeit only temporary. Like those that tell of a near a death experiences that have changed their lives. Some will never find it for they are mired in their stale dogma and blinded by generation of indoctrination. Some of us want to believe, yet doubt ourselves to be capable of possessing such power.. I say it is real.

It is light, it is wisdom, most of all it is love. It is knowing we are all connected, in life and in death. It is knowing that we are perfect in our own imperfections. That we are unique and free of the constraints imposed by others. It sustains us with the knowledge that we are cherished and we belong to the universe. No less than the sun, the stars, the ocean, and the very air we breath. When you know this truth without a seed of doubt., then and only then will you have found your heaven on earth.

Whatever God’s dream about man may be, it seems certain it cannot come true unless man cooperates.

Stella Terrill Mann