What do You Believe About God, and Why?
As you can see, I'm slowly dipping my toes back into Ricochet, but as you can probably also see, my mind is troubled. The Middle East is still roiling, but I feel far apart from the ordinary world, still--it all seems to be taking place in a galaxy far, far away. My mind is still back in an apartment in Washington where nothing seemed real but one elderly woman's final days. And those final days were slow indeed, a time out of time. It was one of those weeks--or maybe two weeks, I lost track--that drew back the curtain of denial we all place over reality in our efforts to stay sane. The plain fact is just staring at me now, impossible to forget: We age--we really age--then we die--we really die--and then somehow we disappear. We're just gone.
Somehow in our culture the iron wall between religion and state has been transmogrified into a wall between religion and society. We never discuss religion in much depth in mixed company. Someone who comes up to you at cocktail party and discusses his relationship with God--or his lack thereof--is considered maladroit, a violator of an unspoken taboo. The conversation feels awkward and one instinctively changes the subject. (This is not so in Turkey, where it is not uncommon, within minutes of meeting someone, to be asked what you believe about God and challenged to a debate about your beliefs.)
Well, enough of that. It's on my mind, and this is an interesting group of people.
What do you believe about God? What is God? How did you arrive at your beliefs? How do you defend them against competing claims, and why? What standards of evidence do you use? How strong is your faith? When has it been challenged? What restored it?
Do you believe in an afterlife? If so, what is its nature? Why is it so hard to communicate with the dead?
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Comments :
Jan '11
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
With a 200 word limit? Not possible. Anything I would say would be utterly superficial ... and I don't think that's what you really want right now.
One thing I do know about religion: it has to be done in person.
Short of that, I offer my condolences, and I offer my prayers. May God bless you and your family, and keep your grandmother close.
Edited on Feb 26, 2011 at 4:36pmOct '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Claire,
First, let me say that I am sorry for your loss, it sounds like she was a remarkable person. I was brought up Catholic but I had a major crisis of faith when I was 23 or 24. It was partly due to personal difficulties, but also due to encountering the higher-criticism approach to the Bible. A book by Bruce Vawter, 'This Man Jesus,' an examination of Gospel historicity, was critical to slowly restoring it, at least to the point that I now believe that Christianity is basically true. I am very analytical however, and am often plagued by doubts. One person who helps in that regard, even though he is a Reform Jew, is Dennis Prager, and I would recommend checking out his web site and radio show. A Catholic theologian, Michael Novak, wrote a book that devoted a page or two to qouting Prager.
Edited on Feb 26, 2011 at 4:48pmMay '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
I believe that God will reveal Himself as the manifestation of your worst fears. In other words, if David Duke and Jesse Jackson stood before God at the same time Duke would look upon the blackest man he had ever seen while Jackson would see the whitest Jew he ever met. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi will be shocked that God looks just like George W. Bush.
And then God will show them justice, though I am not in a position to say what that would mean for any of them. I have my own prejudices and sins to worry about.
Jan '11
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Interesting, and personal questions. My cohort is large - those who grew up with religion as a major part of their early life, but who through adolescence drifted away. In later life, there seems to be a tug back towards from whence I came - although not a pillar of the church, I would like to view myself as a buttress supporting it from the outside. Despite my ambivalence, I despise those who decry and mock Christianity. I have great respect for the devout and don't expect perfection; we are all human.
My first qualms were early - in SundaySchool the story of the camel and the eye of the needle was recounted. I realized that I was a hypocrite, because there were others starving in the world, and since this was the beginning of the age of jet travel, that problem could in theory have been easiliy remediated (I'm more sanguine now).
Re afterlife - for me, it's nice perhaps to hope and dream, but who I am may live for a short time after me in my children, my family, the people I meet and the friends I make, and that seems to be enough for me right now.
Jan '11
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
K C Mulville - with "SundaySchool" - ?! - it's 200 words exactly! :-D
May '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
I believe in God and pray frequently. I have not seen the inside of a church since my brother's wedding in the early 1990s. I don't defend my belief against competing claims. Any "evidence" would be completely beside the point. Nothing is more inane that an argument about God. I suspect He set it up that way.
Jan '11
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Agreed.
As it happens, I do not believe in a God; I have no quarrel with those who do, and am ready to posit that they have been privy to a spiritual enlightenment that I haven't experienced.
If there is a Supreme Being, I think it would be insulting to Him to pretend a belief I don't truly feel.
May '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Meddling with the floodgates of Ricochetian disputes I see.
As far as the afterlife goes, I'd like to recommend the recent debate between Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Rabbi David Wolpe, and Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson that I posted yesterday.
Personally, I think religious discourse has been considered taboo because discourse regarding religion inevitably leads to criticism of it which, until quite recently historically, has been unwelcome. Criticizing another's religious beliefs is distinct from criticizing another's political or scientific beliefs. Religion makes promises that no other worldview does. Criticism of religion amounts to "do you realize that you've been wasting your life on a mistaken conviction(s)?" There is no pleasant way of saying that; there's no non-offensive way to tell another that you don't believe Christ died for their sins or that they will go to heaven.
Now the concept of God is distinct from religion but the two are, more or less, inextricably linked for the most part. Needless to say, I'm not convinced that a god exists, given the characteristics attributed to it, or that we require the concept of a god to explain the nature of existence.
Nov '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
My basic position on belief in a god of ultimate creativity is that, to be intelligent about it, one both believes and doesn't believe. This is different from simple agnosticism. Basically it means (echoing a certain famous, seemingly glaring contradiction in Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia) that there is a profound moral need for belief in God, but yet a profound political need for secular government, for the privatizing of faith. In a world already shot through with modern natural science and Christianity (I'll go with Nietzsche and many others that the former is a permutation of the latter), what would it mean to really know something as opposed to believe it?
Edited on Apr 21, 2011 at 7:12pmJul '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
That taboo against discussing religion is not universal in this country. In the South and in flyover country it usually comes up fairly early and easily. Here in DC the taboo definitely exists, along with a taboo against discussing politics at work. On the road, I am happier there than in the tedious techie ego arena of silicon valley or the bumper car world of Boston. Some of my best times on the road have been at church socials, dining with race car drivers, rocket scientists, and charity executives.
Growing up, the most stable and grounded branches of my family tree were solid in faith and, when the time came, I received a classic 20 lb. family bible, King James version, with genealogical entries for remembering grandparents through grandchildren. This at a time when no-fault divorce was popping up and the Congress was stoking the marriage tax in the income tax code and welfare benefits for single mothers made for broken families. The contrast was not lost on me. Family is the primal building block of society, the "sophisticates" who spit on the Bible clingers sow the wind, as always.
Jul '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
I don't know who God is, but I do believe that Jesus Christ is the way to him. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of any church.
That being said, I also firmly believe in reincarnation; both because of my own personal experience in early childhood and because Jesus told his disciples that John the Baptist was the prophet Elijah reincarnated.
Jul '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Well, as subjects go this is quite a groaning board. God is unfathomable, of course. So many cultures, so many guesses. Some are probably right, some may be wrong but will still get credit in the final. Is there God? I believe there is; actually, I'm pretty sure. I don't believe God is a He or She but a combination of the both and then some. I wasn't raised in religion but had an experience as a child that I have posted about here. Standards of evidence? Who reduces questions like the meaning of life and its cessation to the level of a science final or courtroom argument? I mean other than atheists, those furious Savonarolas of a secular humanism whose roots you find in nihilism if you dig deep enough. I don't defend what I believe against competing claims. What would be the point, as proof is impossible? Such discussions are mere exercises in forensics. Is anyone ever convinced by another's arguments on this subject? Pascal's Wager says the better bet is God exists. Look what you win if you believe compared to what you lose if you're wrong. Easy call.
t
Oct '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Religion is an attempt to express and develop the deepest and most mysterious aspect of being human. "God" emerges from the human heart and and mind and helps to set them--and society--on solid ground. People may pooh-pooh the idea of a supernatural being if they wish, but few atheists recognize the degree to which their religious feelings simply shift to other objects.
To this I add that I have never discovered a box labeled "God," let alone opened it to discover nothing inside.
May '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Ms. Berlinski, I wish to offer by condolences for your loss.
I would certainly recommend Dennis Prager for clarifying faith, Jewish and otherwise, but TeamAmerica is gravely mistaken to describe Prager as a "Reform" Jew (except, with the most lower case of "r"s). Prager, like me, is kind of a sui generis observant Jew who finds all official branches of Judaism lacking. Many, if not most Reform Jews are closer to culturally Jewish agnostics or atheists.
I would assume from your family name you hail from a Jewish family. I will also go out on a limb and guess that your background is "kinda" secular (as is/was mine).
I grew up with little observance (taken to a Reform shul by my parents). Since college, I've become progressively more observant, and the primary cause would seem to be my encounters with the Lubavitcher Jews ("the Chabad Jews").
Too much to explain here, but I would strongly recommend getting hold of a copy of the book Towards a Meaningful Life, and checking out the Web site of Rabbi Simon Jacobson, http://www.meaningfullife.com. For me, Judaism has gone from something dry and boring to something deep, alive, amazing.
Feb '11
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Wish I could help. You will be in my thoughts.
May '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
I don't believe that Pascal's Wager appeals to Christan thinkers the way it once did. Theologian Douglas Wilson calls it the "fire insurance approach" to God and argues that it won't earn the wagerer the salvation he/she intends to secure.
Edited on Feb 26, 2011 at 6:02pmOct '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
As a follow-up, I'll add that death often prompts thoughts about the purpose of life. On this topic, the poetry of Robinson Jeffers is worth reading, particularly Flight of Swans. I'll just quote from the end:
Knowing that your angry choices and hopes and terrors are in vain,
But life and death not in vain; and the world is like a flight of swans.
Edited on Feb 26, 2011 at 6:01pmJun '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
I guess I believe in God because there's no other explanation for people like Mother Teresa.
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness, kindness in your face, eyes, and in your smile." --Mother Teresa
Nov '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
Claire, I am so sorry for your loss, and for what sounds like a grueling couple of weeks in DC.
I came to faith in childhood in a very personal way, became more conscious of my faith in adolescence after a period of doubt, and have been a believer ever since. After all these years, my middle-aged heart does not always have the confidence in God or an afterlife that my head does, but that's the way I think God is with us. He helps us more when we don't know as much and are starting on the road of faith, and as time goes on we have to follow through with more obedience and less emotion.
Intellectually I find solid arguments for the belief that there is a good, personal God who loves us deeply, and that there is an afterlife. But I don't think that intellectual arguments necessarily help one arrive at faith. I actually don't believe that we can do much at all to arrive at faith except be willing to let God find us. If we have that willingness, then I am confident that He will do so.
May '10
Re: What do You Believe About God, and Why?
I believe God is a loving being who accepts us back into the fold after death, just leaving the survivors to grieve and give fitting tributes and memorials.
As evidence of God's love, we have a Member named TeamAmerica.
One of the three times I cried as an adult was the death of my grandmother. She wasn't ready, and who ever is? But that's what I honestly believe about God. And see, I gotta Little Sis (Cleopatra Licentia Smith) hooked around the elbow. Life goes on, inexorably.
Edited on Feb 26, 2011 at 6:24pm