Do you believe in the existence of a god?
If so, why? What makes you think such a being exists? I ask in all earnestness. My own existence, the nature of reality and the origins of life and the universe are things I have always enjoyed thinking about. So please, after reading the post, comment below and let's have a discussion ^^
During a critical stage in my own development in this regard (I was about 14 - and seriously starting to question religious belief), I started asking my school friends this question... "Does God know what you're going to have for breakfast tomorrow?" ...
The interaction generally went as follows...
Friend: "Uhm, of course he does. God is... God. He knows everything."
Me: "Okay... So then, what about next week. Does he know what you'll be eating for dinner next week Thursday?"
Friend: "Yep... As I said, God knows everything."
Me: "Ok well, bear with me, please... So God knows your immediate future. But tell me, do you believe God knows what you'll be doing on this date, at this exact time, next year?"
Friend: "Same answer... Yes, He does. It's God."
Me: "Ok ok, so then what you're saying is, God knows exactly what you will be doing, from a second from now, through to tomorrow, to next week, next year... Until the moment you die?"
Friend (the smarter ones with a puzzled expression, starting to get a sense of what this means): "Uhm... Yes. Exactly. God is God. The past, present and future are all known to Him."
Me: "So then, if this is true, then basically there's nothing we can do to change what is going to happen, right? I mean, if God knows what's going to happen, then it is going to happen, right, no matter what?"
Friend: "I guess... Yes, I think so..."
Me: "So what you're essentially saying is, there is no such thing as free will. We may all be under the illusion of free will, because we're bound to living in the present moment only... But if an all-knowing God knows every moment of the future, then no matter what we do, we will always end up doing exactly as it is laid out in the mind of God."
Friend: "..."
Of course, this dialogue wasn't always the same... Sometimes the friend would challenge me and say that even though God knew the future, we still had free will because we didn't know the future (that's the illusion of free will, I would rebut). And some friends actually changed their minds and said that perhaps God didn't know the future.
And of course this also doesn't really get to the question of the existence of a god.
But it did get my friends thinking about things they usually never thought about, which is what I liked... Asking a simple question like this got us talking about other very interesting things.
At the time, I wasn't as sure about there being no god as I am now, but the more I talked about it with people, the more I noticed that most people believe simply because that was the way they were brought up... They hadn't really questioned any of it because why would they? Does a fish question the water it swims in?
But it's exactly that which I think everybody should do: Question the water you're swimming in. Try to become aware of what you've been taking for granted. Try to grasp the paradigms that have made you who you are and just "look" at them...
It's difficult, but so very worth it in the end. Personally, I've experienced an odd sense of freedom from just identifying how much of what I think I know is actually not at all certain. The sort of freedom that makes you throw up your arms and smile, and say "Fuck it, let's see what happens!" ... 😄
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