A Skeleton Of Truth - Can God Be That Good?
"I believe in God but I don't like what people do in the name of religion!"
Division and Death! If you ask some people why it is that they feel there is no truth in God, many will tell you that it's because of what they see other people doing in the name of religion! When someone discovers something that feels good to them, it is perhaps perfectly natural for them to want to try and give others the benefit of it also. However, forcing opinions on others, punishing or bumping them off if they don’t share your particular belief, is not a particularly good way to spread the word. Most would surely agree that encouraging discrepancy, division and death in the name of God is not very clever. Even so, it is surprising how many people have done this over the years and it is still going on, even now. It is no surprise then that some people feel put off! However, if people can see something is good and that you are onto a good thing, they will want to know more. That is human nature. Everybody wants a bit of something good!
Lead By Example! Whatever the case it is surely much preferable to have a world full of atheists that get on with each other and live side by side peacefully, than a world full of religious people who fight and argue over individual interpretation and belief! If religion is such a problem that people can’t share it without fighting and arguing, it simply can’t be that good. Unfortunately, we have seen far too much of this kind of thing over the years! Perhaps the best way is simply to lead by example. We all have heroes and we all respect the talents and abilities of those who work hard and hone their skills. Be nice and encourage others to be nice if we can.
Contradict Common Sense! A major problem is that too many people put total emphasis on the old religious books and what they have been led to believe - even to the extent where their interpretations can contradict common decency and common sense. The Bible, as we know it, was never perhaps intended to be taken quite as literally as many people would have us believe. Its messages are often portrayed in metaphor and parallel principle and are intended to be interpreted in such a light in order for the true meaning to be understood. The Bible is not the be all and end all that so many people make it out to be and although it may have been inspired by, and contain some essence of God's word, it was, as we know, written by man - and a long time ago.
Exclusive Rules! In fact, over the years the Bible has been written, translated, edited, interpreted and even perverted by men and as such, the writing, the translation, the editing and the interpretation are all subject to, and can all reflect the imperfections, ignorance and biases of men. Many of the meanings portrayed in the Bible can be interpreted in different ways - not all will be correct. We can see the proof of this in as much as the way religious organisations are so disunited, both in themselves, and in their interpretation of the truth. We can also see that many such organisations have tended to make their own exclusive rules and laws that are perhaps nothing to do with God's intention and they try and justify these by putting their own slant on certain Bible or Koran elements.
Personal Biases! The discrepancy in religion has caused terrible wars and suffering and has divided our world and its people. This fact reflects the imperfections of men that have read the Bible or the Koran and concluded wrongly much of the message or simply perverted it for their own ends. From our very own lack of understanding, personal biases and hang-ups, we have created a world full of division and even hatred all brought about our religions and religious organisations who, all too often, adversely confuse the minds and feelings of people and actually do the world and humanity no favours at all. God cannot be impressed by that!
Cannot Agree! It's not hard to see that if all our interpretations of the Bible and the Koran were accurate, we would not have all the problems that we currently do in this world. In fact all people would have more freedom and more freedom of choice and mankind on Earth would be truly united. So we mustn't be too taken in by the people that set themselves up in the name of God, dressing up in robes, parading and preaching differences of opinion. The simple fact is that all the time we cannot all agree on what is right, we should not think that we have the answers. We obviously don't!
Don't Blame God! If we continue along these lines, using God as an excuse, we are accountable for the hurt, imposition and confusion that we cause along the way and for getting it wrong. We ourselves may have to face God one day in that light and he may not be amused for being misquoted and unjustly being given a bad name. We should not therefore be remotely judgemental, dictatorial or oppressive in the name of religion and blame God for it. That is not fair on God! God cannot be seen to be that good all the time we are badly letting him down and putting him in a bad light. Something most of us would surely agree, he doesn't deserve!
Light Of Truth! We must allow people the chance to search inside themselves and come to their own conclusions and we must allow freedom of choice on all such issues that only affect the individual - they are for the individual to choose. In all such things, we must not lay down the law or impose our views in the name of God or otherwise. We must instead encourage and guide people to do the right thing through their own understanding and self-realisation. The light of truth is very bright, but even so, people would see it much more clearly if we didn't obscure it with so much disagreement in religion and in the name of God!