Blind hope in God, good or bad?:
I saw a very precarious bumper sticker this morning. It was a play on the TV milk ads. It said, 'Got hope?' It's a very simple statement, or is it?
In all honesty, it very much frustrated me. There is nothing wrong with hope, nor promoting such an idea. I too have hope that humans can regain their humanity. However, when that concept turns into a hard and fast rule on how one lives their lives, it both saddens and upsets me.
Too often I feel humans place undue emphasis on the notion that 'God' will intervene in the world's affairs and instantly all the troubles, past present and future, will be wiped out by the divine hand of creation. What once was will be no more, and all those faithful ones, who kept their 'hope' alive will find justice and favor in god's eyes.
Sounds harmless enough, but what does that concept equal in human actions? Humans tend to start acting like the lab mice failing to find the cheese at the end of the maze. They know it's there. They've searched for it. They've hit plenty of walls. But rather than continuing they simply stop and wait for the scientist (god) to say the test is over and give them their cheese.
At what point did humans become helpless? At what point did taking action and contributing to society (whichever society one is one is a part of) equal saying certain prayers and attending religious services in order to win god's favor while waiting for a reward that is "due" to them?
At what point did two, both equally extreme ideals begin to take shape? The first group who very much see and feel an "evil" in the world, but trust that if they sit back peacefully and walk the straight line their religious leaders have drawn for them, that god will save them and correct the wrongs of other humans. Or the fanatic action takers who see the only way to do god justice is to take on the fight themselves, killing innocent people for their right to paradise?
Do you think that the Sunday morning televangelist asking for your money for his holy ministry is any better?
Perhaps you fancy the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons who knock on your door spreading their good news for your future.
In all of these scenarios what is the common denominator? A human taking an action because they've been told that's what god wants them to do.
I ask you, if god put humans on this earth to perform specific deeds to gain his approval, why give humans free choice? If the ultimate purpose for faithful humans were paradise (whether in a physical or spiritual state), why would god create humans in that environment, only to take it away and tell them to now work for it?
Based on Bible education, hence the basis for "Got Hope," humans have the capability to disrupt god's plan. Let me repeat that, HUMANS have the capability to disrupt GOD'S plan. God did not force Eve to "sin." Satan did not force Eve to "sin." Adam and Eve CHOSE to "sin," thereby creating, all on their own, an imperfect and mortal species. That being the case, why does that same species now thousands of years later wait for god to say, "Wait, I was just kidding. You can be back in paradise now?"
Humans as they stand right now are responsible for their own state. They created themselves. Humans are responsible for the good and the bad on this earth. Regardless of ones belief system there usually is a light and a dark, a good and a bad.
Many use these same polar opposites as explanations for what goes on in the world. If something good happens, it's because they've been blessed. If something bad happens, it's because they've been damned.
The last time I checked, humans in general do not walk around completely possessed by the good or the bad, unable to make their own choices. In fact the very notion that everything that happens is governed by good and evil, god and the devil, is giving that same power of choice back to the very god that it came from in the first place.
It would be the same as the mouse giving the cheese back to the scientist saying, "I'm not sure if I should eat this, so here have it back."
There is a plethora of belief systems on this earth. Each having it's own roots and sacred texts. I am not here to debate on anyone's beliefs.
I simply feel that "hope for the future" could aid much better if the basis of that hope was not divine intervention, but instead the proper use of power and energy that the human race created and continues to operate on as a collective species.
In simple terms, we all bleed the same, we all use the same brainpower, and we all want to be happy.
Do we not have the power to change what we've already created?
I saw a very precarious bumper sticker this morning. It was a play on the TV milk ads. It said, 'Got hope?' It's a very simple statement, or is it?
In all honesty, it very much frustrated me. There is nothing wrong with hope, nor promoting such an idea. I too have hope that humans can regain their humanity. However, when that concept turns into a hard and fast rule on how one lives their lives, it both saddens and upsets me.
Too often I feel humans place undue emphasis on the notion that 'God' will intervene in the world's affairs and instantly all the troubles, past present and future, will be wiped out by the divine hand of creation. What once was will be no more, and all those faithful ones, who kept their 'hope' alive will find justice and favor in god's eyes.
Sounds harmless enough, but what does that concept equal in human actions? Humans tend to start acting like the lab mice failing to find the cheese at the end of the maze. They know it's there. They've searched for it. They've hit plenty of walls. But rather than continuing they simply stop and wait for the scientist (god) to say the test is over and give them their cheese.
At what point did humans become helpless? At what point did taking action and contributing to society (whichever society one is one is a part of) equal saying certain prayers and attending religious services in order to win god's favor while waiting for a reward that is "due" to them?
At what point did two, both equally extreme ideals begin to take shape? The first group who very much see and feel an "evil" in the world, but trust that if they sit back peacefully and walk the straight line their religious leaders have drawn for them, that god will save them and correct the wrongs of other humans. Or the fanatic action takers who see the only way to do god justice is to take on the fight themselves, killing innocent people for their right to paradise?
Do you think that the Sunday morning televangelist asking for your money for his holy ministry is any better?
Perhaps you fancy the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons who knock on your door spreading their good news for your future.
In all of these scenarios what is the common denominator? A human taking an action because they've been told that's what god wants them to do.
I ask you, if god put humans on this earth to perform specific deeds to gain his approval, why give humans free choice? If the ultimate purpose for faithful humans were paradise (whether in a physical or spiritual state), why would god create humans in that environment, only to take it away and tell them to now work for it?
Based on Bible education, hence the basis for "Got Hope," humans have the capability to disrupt god's plan. Let me repeat that, HUMANS have the capability to disrupt GOD'S plan. God did not force Eve to "sin." Satan did not force Eve to "sin." Adam and Eve CHOSE to "sin," thereby creating, all on their own, an imperfect and mortal species. That being the case, why does that same species now thousands of years later wait for god to say, "Wait, I was just kidding. You can be back in paradise now?"
Humans as they stand right now are responsible for their own state. They created themselves. Humans are responsible for the good and the bad on this earth. Regardless of ones belief system there usually is a light and a dark, a good and a bad.
Many use these same polar opposites as explanations for what goes on in the world. If something good happens, it's because they've been blessed. If something bad happens, it's because they've been damned.
The last time I checked, humans in general do not walk around completely possessed by the good or the bad, unable to make their own choices. In fact the very notion that everything that happens is governed by good and evil, god and the devil, is giving that same power of choice back to the very god that it came from in the first place.
It would be the same as the mouse giving the cheese back to the scientist saying, "I'm not sure if I should eat this, so here have it back."
There is a plethora of belief systems on this earth. Each having it's own roots and sacred texts. I am not here to debate on anyone's beliefs.
I simply feel that "hope for the future" could aid much better if the basis of that hope was not divine intervention, but instead the proper use of power and energy that the human race created and continues to operate on as a collective species.
In simple terms, we all bleed the same, we all use the same brainpower, and we all want to be happy.
Do we not have the power to change what we've already created?
1 comments:
"they simply stop and wait for the scientist (god) to say the test is over and give them their cheese."
I love it! I feel the same way about it. I'm all about making things happen for myself and not waiting for some divine intervention to come and simply take my cares away. My own personal experience has shown to me, that nothing (god) is going to help me out, I need to help myself.
Taken to an extreme, imagine if everyone did that we'd all be sitting around blinking at each other wondering when the food was going to magically arrive.
Ok, too extreme...but you get my point.
"God helps those that help themselves..." - I'm helping myself.
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