Why the Existence of God is Irrelevant to Me
One of the larger characteristics a person holds is their view on the existence of God.
Obviously this can range across a slew of models from the Judeo-Christian, a more natural mother-earth sense, none or something completely different. All in all I see this as a way of viewing the hows and whys of life, meaning and the universe as a whole.
Now I want to first let everybody know that I have and still do find the existence of God to be a fascinating question and have (and still do) think about it. It's one of my favorite taboo topics to bring up in discussions with people, trying to understand their stand point (because there really isn't a right or wrong here.)
However, in the end (to me) I do find it to be an irrelevant question. Honestly trying to live by my morals of what I feel is (subjectively) right, the end effects are identical. Whether it's due to a mandate mandated from some higher being or if it's just what I find on my own to be the best course of action, the answer is identical.
If a person tries to be and do good (obviously subjectively) then what drove them there, while interesting, didn't change anything whether seen as a communication from a higher entity or just from themselves.
The best label I have for my own views fall under agnosticism. Just because I say I don't know doesn't mean I don't search and study. I find it important to know what I don't know. Besides, often once an answer is absolutely ingrained for most people, the search stops. I want to keep the search going for those things I find interesting.
What I choose to do and how I determine what's subjectively right is the same whether a God exists or not.
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Yeah I agree. You can live a good life without religion and the results in this life would be similar. Religion just promises a future reward for good living, which makes people feel more secure.
And I really like what you wrote here
"Besides, often once an answer is absolutely ingrained for most people, the search stops."
There is something I don't understand. If you find it irrelevant, why would you say that the it's important for the search to continue?
Personally, I understand the agnostic position well and I used to hold it until I realized that three is no convincing and/or objective evidence to prove the existence of god, so there is no real reason to give the concept such extensive benefit of the doubt beyond what we do for other concept that we have zero real evidence for. We don't do it for anything else like leprechauns, ferries and Zeus, why should we do it for the general concept of god.
Still, I reject the idea that the fact that I judge the current evidence available to suggest that a theistic god does not exists means that anything is ingrained in my mind. The second there is some real evidence, I'd be open to changing my mind much like I changed my mind from theist to deist, then to agnostic and currently atheist based on new ideas, information and arguments I have been exposed to. If somebody catches a real leprechaun or god decides to clearly reveal themselves to us like they supposedly did for instance in the Bible, how could one remain aleprechaunist or atheist?
I also like the idea that if you want to be moral or good and you do your best, believing in god, not knowing or firmly not believing is absolutely irrelevant. Unfortunately, in the real world, a lot of the god belief leads to outcomes that I often find immoral and even reprehensible. A lot of the anti-science, anti-truth and anti-progress (be it societal, moral, technological or even connected to liberty) actually stems from religious dogma and this is why I find it important to speak out on this matters and share my views.
I guess, I am already way too old now as to absolutely be convinced that the primal confusion and key issue here around these divine matters between believers vs no believers in Higher Entities aka Gods & Goddess, Aliens & any other imaginary creature of little hair as the responsible of driving our goodness and best feelings/behaviors as humans.. It just reside in the BIG difference between those who always tend to look/point/aim with their index finger upwards, to the sides, outside, outdoors, ¡everywhere else! in any other direction but toward themselves.
Being able to aim steadily & decisively your index finger "Towards Your Own Chest" indicating that this Almighty and Omniscient being simply sits on the throne of your holy inner insides Is what makes the difference in how to label yourself. :)
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Wow... what is super interesting about this moment is that this may actually be the first time I have ready anyone put the issue like this... which is almost exactly how I look at it, myself.
I find the question of "Is there God, or not-God?" endlessly fascinating, but the question itself (and any potential answer) is of little importance to me and how I live, and how I conduct myself in the world. You might say I am "self-directed."
The interesting thing about it (which I'm sure you have encountered...) is that such a stance makes most people incredibly uncomfortable. They want to know how I can be satisfied with "not-knowing" and how I can honestly feel the same if irrevocable proof of "God" OR "not-God" were presented to me, tomorrow.
Very cool to read this!
I don't see why people would be uncomfortable with your stance, because no one really knows even if they are religious or atheist.
I've met some people who just can't wrap their heads around anyone's life not being completely enveloped by (their) religion. Admittedly, I have just as hard a time being in a strict dogmatic state of mind.
I do think though that people find it easy to judge somebody purely on their self described religious label...fitting into a stereotypical box of sorts. Personally, I think they have a hard time or dislike of having to work to individually find who each person is at their essence.
Thank you!
Most people I get in depth with on this topic don't have a hard time understanding the 'self-directed' aspect of things...luckily. I'm sure part of this is due to who I choose to talk with on things like this though...so definitely not generalizing it out fully.
I have ran into this...usually the more dogmatic people. While I can't really argue anything with them, it's a pair of shoes I just can't jump into myself, commonly ending with the paraphrase of "If it's not in the name of (insert deity here) it doesn't count."
Unfortunately that tends to end conversations for me. Not because I'm going to say they're wrong, but instead boring. Lol
Yes, everybody have own God version. It is complicated to explain this issue, but we must respect the difference point of view about God. :)
Exactly!
I've always enjoyed the idea that we are all seeing the same thing through our own symbolism. I totally agree though...we've gotta respect eachothers take on this. In my opinion the search/questioning is WAY more important than the answers.
Putting aside the issue of "subjective" vs "objective" theories, that is pretty much what I was trying to express this way in a comment yesterday: