Published by With so many religions and their gods, is there a real God? I think no human being will be able to answer this question for a long long time. But before that question, some will ask if there is a God at all???
Well, it is obvious that we, or everything in this universe, need to come from somewhere or someone. Thus, to our human mind, we need an answer to the question, “Where did everything come from?”. Hence, our need for the assumption that there must be a Creator.
At the same time, when science unravels the fantastic beauty in nature and living things on earth and in the universe, there is a compelling reason to safely conclude that there is great design everywhere, and many are beyond the imagination of our human minds.
It is thus rather safe for us to assume that there is a Creator of all things, and let’s call him God.
Then other questions come into the puzzle..
Is our assumed God alone?
Is there only one true God?
Or does God have a race of His own, or a family?
Does God possess a body like us, or is He pure energy and omnipresent?
If we are searching for a God, then He must be omnipresent to fit our expectation of someone who is worthy of our worship.
Thus, my next assumption is that God is omnipresent. But whether He is alone or not, I got no idea.
So my assumed God so far is formless and omnipresent.
Can we access God?
Up to now, there are no conclusive proof that we can access God in any way. Different people have different experiences, backgrounds, bias, etc in life. Each person imagines his own God in his own way. A person who has an Out-of-Body experience and sees a bright light will interpret the light source as his own God, viz,
- A Christian will say it is Jesus
- A Buddhist will say it is Buddha or Goddess of Mercy, etc
I heard of a person in Singapore, who believed in Sai Baba. He had the picture of Sai Baba hung around his neck all the time. One day, he met a terrible accident while driving. When he woke up from a short fainting in the car, he was not badly hurt, but the picture of Sai Baba was broken into two. He interpreted it as Sai Baba saving his life. so to him Sai Baba is his God.
Some people attend healing rallies by Pentecostal Churches and got healed of their sicknesses, and so they believe in Jesus.
Some receive enlightenment through meditation, and believe Buddha is their God.
Scientists will say all these belong to the world of imagination and self-belief.
So we are not sure if God is accessible or not, or those whom we think we access are God or not.
The Image of God
I have assumed a God who is without form, omnipresent, and not accessible to us.
But in the Bible, which had been accorded some authority on the subject of God, it is stated that god created Adam in his image. There is thus a conflict between my assumption and what the Bible says. Which means that I cannot agree with the Bible.
If we were created in the image of God, then God must look like us!! That is not quite likely the case. That makes me wonder if the god of the Bible is no more than an advanced race of beings who were into genetics, and who created or produced us in some way, and our image is like theirs. I am quite convinced by the theory proposed by Zechariah Sitchin, that we humans are the product of a very advanced race years ago. Please read his books (try searching at Amazon.com) and broaden your thinking.
Is There a Devil?
Must truth follow our human logic that if there is a God, then there must be a devil? There is totally no basis for this. But that does not mean it is wrong too. However, I always keep in mind that our brain is very finite and many things in existence are beyond our comprehension, just like the fact that scientists still cannot unravel the reason for a seed to be able to germinate when given water, sunlight and soil, while it remains a seed when left on its own.
If the devil exists, then was he created by God? If not, then our assumption of God as the beginning of all is wrong. If yes, then why would a perfect, holy God create the devil? Or did God create a being who thought he was powerful enough to challenge God? I can’t imagine that to be true, as we human beings won’t be a match for such a powerful being.
There is thus no basis for me to make any assumption as to whether the devil exists, so I will leave it alone. Some preachers use the basis of light and darkness to support the existence of the devil. It is not convincing, really.
Benefits-Driven Beliefs
From my observation, many people believe in a god for personal benefits. For instance, a medically-verified childless couple who prays for a child and gets it will give the deity they prayed to the status of god. Most Christians believe in the Biblical god as they have the fear of ending up in hell drilled into them. They think that going to church every Sunday will ensure them a ticket to heaven. I often wonder what would happen if the Bible does not mention hell; will we still see people going to church every Sunday? Will they still give their tithes?
I am not for this concept. As a human being with many shortcomings and subject to the mercies of the many destructive forces of nature, we tend to look for help and protection. But if in the quest for God we have the aim of getting personal benefits, then we are missing the point.
I am seeking the true God. To distinguish this being from all others, I prefer to call Him the Supreme God. His existence is independent of my personal life and benefits, independent of the existence of hell and heaven.
Religions
When talking about God, we cannot ignore religions. But talking about religions can be a very risky and even dangerous thing to do, as we can see from what has happened and is still happening in the world. Look at Rushdie Salmon. 911. The Middle East wars. In fact, one author of a bestselling book has even accused religion of being the main cause of most of the world problems.
First, I need to point out that all religions are man-made. Most, if not all, religions were started by one man (no woman, if I am not wrong) who somehow could influence others with his words and build a following. It is safe for us to assume or even assert that in those ancient times, people were rather ignorant and easily influenced. Today, it won’t be easy to anyone to start a new religion as people are better informed.
Most religions also quite obviously try to keep their followers using some kind of instilled fear using some kind doctrine, such as the threat of hell, or harm to your future generations, etc.
Thus, I am seeking the Supreme God and not a religion. I want to have a relationship with Him without any fear.
Would God Create Hell?
In our human expectations of a god, one of them is that he should be holy, another that he should have unconditional love. Maybe these expectations came from the Bible, and most of us had been somehow influenced to think that way.
If that is agreeable, then would such a god create Hell to punish his creation (as the Bible claims) ? How can a holy god of love think of Hell in the first place? How can he condemn some people to burn in Hell forever and ever? This is beyond even the human imagination of cruelty.
Would God Write a Book?
We have the purported books written via inspiration from god, such as the Bible, The Book of Mormon, etc. I don’t think the Supreme God would write a book, because,
- Not everyone is literate
- There are too many dialects and languages, and too much time is needed for translation
- There will be errors in translations
- There must be an original kept for reference, and this is difficult to achieve
- Books written are subject to interpretation, like the Bible being interpreted in many ways
- Someone must be appointed to give the correct interpretation
- As languages and dialects evolve, a book can get outdated
- Some people will not have the chance to read the book
- The book will probably be used for commercial purposes, which means the poor will be disadvantaged
- People will be fighting to have ownership of the original book, like what is happening today in some places
- It will take a long while for the book to reach the whole earth
Thus, my assumed Supreme God will not choose to reach us via a book.
Will I ever find the Supreme God, I wonder?
