Sunday, July 7, 2019

God is an Atheist

Your God, my God, it doesn't matter, is an Atheist. If you are a believer, you are obviously going to be upset or even incensed by this statement. If you are not going to setout on a mission to eliminate me from the face of this earth, i can possibly engage you in an argument, as to why this is true.

First, let me set a basis for what i mean by an atheist, and i am not about to twist the generally accepted meaning. Provided below is the meaning from Webster.
atheist (noun) athe· ist | \ ˈā-thē-ist \
Definition: a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods.
Now, that's not how most people use this word tho. Usually, people use the word atheist, to refer to a person who questions their current practice of faith. To further elaborate this, any person who questions the existence of God, does not agree with a particular religious philosophy, does not conform to the current practices within a particular religion, or simply were to provide a different argument for God is referred to as an atheist.

The largest religions around the globe today, that have more than 500 million followers, are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. All of these, with the exception to the Hindu religion, is based on a monotheist philosophy and were begun by a single proponent of the idea, a century or more ago. Let me dive a bit deeper into the beginning of these faiths, and present a case of atheism.

Jesus questioned the practice of the Jews. He ridiculed the practices followed in the temple. He was found guilty of crimes of religion(?), and then finally crucified on a cross like a common criminal for this belief.
Islam emerged from the shadows of Christianity and Judaism, with the proselytizing by Mohammed. He was not recognized as a Prophet immediately and had to undergo several threats and attempts on his life, because of his attempts to change the current belief system.
Buddhism is attributed to the teachings of Buddha, and his teachings questioned the current philosophy practiced, at that time Hindu or the Vedic religion. While many concepts and constructs were similar or adaptations from the Vedic religion, it did present a strong basis to discredit the current thinking and practices of the Hindus.

Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, where several gods and goddesses exist to serve the needs and faiths of the large groups that are generally clubbed together as Hindus. And by definition, while there are several commonalities and similarities in all these groups, there are also regional, linguistic, and even Vedic basis that creates enough differences. Theoretically many Hindu philosophers agree that this religion is inclusive of any and all, and even atheist. But i am not so sure that the atheists will completely agree. The biggest example in Hinduism on the existence of Aethism is the story of Krishna and Goverdhan, where he professed to the people in his village, that it is not necessary to pray and pay obeisance to Indra.

All smaller religions have similar basis of existence, specially the ones that were founded by an individual. These are usually a reaction against a current practice and an attempt to improve or alter the thinking. Sikhism, Bahai, Falun Gong, and any of the new groups or faiths.

All of them began on the basis of a quest of something better and different. And hence the God we profess faith too, is an Atheist.

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