At This Moment
At this moment, where is God? There are many claims of the existence of a God by the thousands of religions in the world. Most of the 7.5 billion people in the world believe in one of the 4,200 religions in the world. Not one God of any of those 4,200 religions, not one, has ever been seen and documented in any secular historical record. A God only appears in a religious writing and then only by a select few individuals.
For this exercise in provocative thought, I will only consider the Christian God in this discussion. The following questions and comments could apply to most, if not all, of the other 4199 religions in the world. So, I ask again, where is God?
At this moment, the Christian God only exists in the minds of those who believe in that God. That belief manifests itself from reading a book written at a time when humankind had little or no scientific knowledge of the world or universe. As a result, to explain unexplainable things, man created the idea of a God. As humanity learns more and more about our planet and the universe through science, a God becomes less necessary to explain why things happen or exist.
“We cannot disprove God, just as we can’t disprove Thor, fairies, leprechauns, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.” ~ Richard Dawkins
In Christianity, the story goes that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Did God give up his one and only Son to death? Not really.
Death is final, the end of existence. God did allow the torture of his Son, but according to the story, it was not death that fell upon his Son, merely a passing from one world to another. What father would allow the torture of his Son for any reason, especially when it wasn't necessary? The torture and crucifixion of the Son of God weren't necessary. Certainly, there were other less dramatic and bloodthirsty ways to "save" humankind. One way would have been not to condemn all of humankind for the fault of one or two.
At this moment, I find it hard to believe that the mythical Christian God, if he were real, loves the world at all. In our world of reality, where, as far as we know, no God governs, human births with grotesque deformities happen nearly every day. If God exists and loves the world so much, how could he allow such hideous deformities to occur? Only a God without compassion would allow such torture of innocent souls.
I know Christians and Christian apologists will say their God works in mysterious ways, and we don't know his plan, and we can't possibly understand why he allows horrifying deformities. Some Christian apologists and theologians will give an answer to why God allows such things to happen. They provide excuses for the lack of compassion their God demonstrates in allowing such a cruel fate on those innocent children born with shocking deformities.
If one has doubts about my charge of a compassionless God, just Google deformities and look at the pictures of those abandoned by God if he exists. I challenge you to excuse your God after seeing those pictures. Warning, looking at the pictures of humans with deformities might very well give you cause to fall "out of love" with your God. How can anyone love and worship a God that allows such horrors in the world as human deformities? It is certainly sickening to know that a God that could prevent such heartache and torture of those poor souls does nothing to stop it.
“The human wish to credit [to God] good things as miraculous and to charge bad things to another account is apparently universal.” ~ Christopher Hitchens
If God exists, as the one described in the Bible, he is responsible for creating such nightmares for humankind, for the Christian God is the creator of all things good and bad. That is not my opinion, for Colossians 1:16:1 says: "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
Of course, the answer to why God allows such atrocious deformities to occur in humans is because God does not exist. At this moment, no one can provide credible, verifiable evidence God, of any religion, exists.
At this moment, where is God? Christian healers make claims all the time to heal, through Jesus Christ, people with cancer, blindness, or other various ailments. There isn't one credible documented case of a "healer" healing an amputee or those with horrible, grotesque deformities.
Don’t mistake God’s patience for His absence. His timing is perfect, and His presence is constant. He’s always with you! Deuteronomy 3:16 God's absence, if he exists, is inexcusable, no matter the reason for his absence, when it comes to children and their pain and suffering. Why do those who practice "healing" or those who have undeniable "faith" not heal all those innocent young children in hospitals around the world from their pain of cancer, other diseases, or crippling deformities? In fact, why would a loving, compassionate God even allow this to happen in the first place?
After all, John 14:13-14 says: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
Inevitably, those of faith have asked Jesus to heal the children. Sadly, it doesn't happen. In my opinion, the glory of God falls short in the healing of children. I think it is despicable that an all-knowing and powerful God would even allow children to suffer in the first place when He could easily prevent it. Of course, God hasn't failed to heal the children, for God does not exist.
“God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand his wisdom, but we must trust his will.” ~ Arthur Unknown
Yes, at this moment, I don’t understand the wisdom of creating a single-celled parasite called Acanthamoeba that feeds on bacteria found in the eye as well as the eye itself. Why would a loving, compassionate God create such a micro-monster for humankind to endure? Again, the answer is that God did not create this monster because God does not exist.
Let us not forget if the Christian God is real; he made the parasite Acanthamoeba. Again, I refer you to Colossians 1:16:1: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” God made all things that are good, and, what Christians ignore, God also made all bad things.
As Christopher Hitchens suggested in his quote above, a God is given credit for all that is found right in the world. You never hear contempt for a God responsible for all that is wrong in the world. Evil is credited to Satan, yet, according to the Bible, God is in charge of all in the world and heaven, including evil and Satan.
At this moment, I don't believe there is a God. Not because of all that is wrong in the world, which, as the Bible proclaims, is God's creation. It's understandable to reject his existence out of anger and denial because I didn't want to believe a loving, compassionate God could be so cold-hearted. Still, I accept the world's dangers as the natural elements of this world and not made by a God. I don't accept God as real because, at this moment, there is no credible, verifiable evidence God exists.
"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear."
~ Thomas Jefferson
At this moment, I cannot rule out that there is a God, for anything is possible until proven otherwise. I am open to the existence of a God if proven. However, it would be disappointing that a God would create and allow all the destructive forces in the world—disease, deformities, and evil—to exist. Until God proves his existence, I choose not to believe at this moment.