Do You Believe in God?
I have always wondered, why people usually look towards the sky, when they refer to God?
As if there is a sky, and there is a physical entity, living somewhere beyond the clouds, looking down at the mortals, watching them, and deciding what to do with them, and when.
Maybe it’s because we subconsciously believe that God is someone, who is far away from us, almost in another galaxy.
Maybe we borrowed it from the scriptures which so frequently mention “heaven”, as a place “in the sky”, where God resides.
I don’t know what makes us look at the sky to look for God, but I do find it strange, in spite of the fact, that I do it myself, by default. But now, I have started noticing this behavior of mine, consciously.
I also wonder, when someone asks me that whether I believe in God or not. And I usually respond with, “Who is God, for you?”
Most of the people get confused by that question, and don’t know how to respond to that. They never really thought about their God. They took the concept of God, as handed down to them by their parents, teachers, environment and culture and let it just hang in there, without any inquiry into its nature, by themselves.
We all have a different version of God, programmed into our minds, and some of those versions are way off the mark, so much so, that people react by refusing to believe in any version at all. Atheism, in my opinion, is just such a reaction. When you fail to understand a concept to your satisfaction, you either take it as it is, or you simply let it go.
God is a strictly subjective concept, and as subjectivity goes, there is no single answer to the question of who God is. That is why I ask that, who is God for YOU. Your God is yours, just the way YOU choose to believe in Him (sorry but the English language has its limitations, so excuse me for the Him part).
So if you are expecting me to define God for you, you’ll be disappointed. I can’t do that for you. I can do that only for myself. As far as you are concerned, you have to do it for yourself, if at all you want to do it.
But if, at any stage of your life, you feel that you need God in your life, then I will encourage you to define God for yourself, before you start looking towards the sky. 
That will clear up a lot of mess, trust me. Mess, even if it is spiritual mess, is mess nonetheless.
And one more thing before I end this post.
Instead of asking, do you believe in God, consider asking this question: Does Your God believe in You?
SHARING IS CARING
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I was thinking a lot about this. For me, God is everlasting field of everything (and I mean – everything that exist, including you, me, animal, rock, “empty space”) – wherever I look there is – God, and all the knowledge that exist is God’s knowledge, and all the variety in Universe are God’s traits
.
Does He/ She/ It believe in me depends on that how much I, my subconscious that is in direct wireless connection (little computer analogy
) with everything and everyone else – believes in me, ’cause He/ She/ It is in me and work through me 
. Because of classic religious image of God I don’t call Him/ Her/ It “God” (so it wouldn’t be confusion 
), but – Universe, Field, Source, One… 
.
If we look in any religion, without interpretation that other people give us, we would see that every one of them say – God is everywhere, God is in you – so, basically, all religions are telling the same story, only details, characters, places and events are different.
But, why are we looking at the sky? Because, sometimes is easier to believe that there is someone else, much stronger, more powerful, wiser and less confused than we are, who will take care of everything. And that’s perfectly ok. Because, that is also a great way to calm ourselves and believe that we can do it (’cause, who couldn’t if such a great God is on his side
).
Darija,
Interesting take on looking towards the sky.
Yeah probably that's symbolic of a Being "much stronger, more powerful, wiser and less confused than we are, who will take care of everything".
Thank you visiting and commenting.
Abubakar
I particularly like the fact that you did not mention religion. I have been saddened over the years at the wars and killings done in the name of religion. My God is better than your God.
Who is God for you rather than who is your God is a much better place to start.
Your post reminded my of Lao-tzu and the first verse of the Tao Te Ching. The Tao is both named and nameless. God for me cannot be put into words but I live with an open and trusting heart.
Marion,
Religion has become a charged word and it is so overused and misused that I prefer to avoid it altogether in writing. Tao Te Ching is a great experience and really opens up your mind when you come to it.
Thank you for reading and your comment.
Abubakar,
Yes I think my god (my belief in him) believes in me. Some people are religious and some are spiritual. Like you said god is what we believe him (or her) to be. Religion is powerful, if it was not people would not have sadly fought over it.
Good to know that whatever God is for you, believes in you Preeti.
Thanks for your comment my friend.
I think God is "within." I do respect all other versions. There are many paths to the same place. Thanks for touching on this subject.
Exactly Tess, like you said, there are many paths leading to the same place.
Thank you for your comment.
Beautiful post on a very dear topic – no matter who we are and where we come from, we believe in something – most of us do anyway – I have always thought the phrase from Thomas Paine in his Age of Reason was brilliant and simple; I paraphrase: I believe in God but no more. It is an instinct to look up but it also makes us physically feel open, lighter (you feel heavier when you look down), floating toward the infinite skies, less insignificant perhaps in this galaxy of stars and universes, and you want to believe that God is bigger, stronger, all powering, all knowing, and he has to reside above you perhaps to be all that – I like to think he can reside within us too…….But we shall never know the real truth……
Thank you for the wonderful paraphrasing of Thomas Paine. Really enjoyed it.
Most people, I feel, equate god to religion. This is where the disconnect begins. Religion was made to interfere with your innate connection to your higher self and higher vibrating energies. The dogmas were entrenched into the psyches of generations to further disconnect us from reality. This is proven by the example that you so beautifully used – looking to the sky for god. Who told you god was up there? Who told you that god wrote the Bible? Who told you to go to church on Sunday? In my opinion, it just further separates us from "something" that we are divinely connected to.
Very well pointed out Ali that God is NOT religion.
You are also right in saying that dogmas created over the course of centuries have done nothing, but complicate the most simplest of relationships—the relationship of human beings with their Creator.
Thank you for leaving your wise comment.
Wonderful question & thought provoking post! what God is or means has changed for me rather dramatically over the years.
Yes God believes in me because God lives in me. We can call God by many names: spirit, universe, goddess, the divine. For me, God is the spiritual center of every living being and can be identified with or without religion or name.
when I catch myself looking up for God or help or inspiration it's a sign that I'm looking outside of me rather than inside which is where The Divine Spirit lives
Aileen,
The Human-God relationship is a dynamic one and keeps on changing, and good to know that yours has changed for the better. Way to go my friend!
Thank you for your time and leaving your comment.
Abubakar, A provocative question! I follow a Buddhist path, which does not hold a belief in God, per se. Central to my path is the idea that we all have buddha nature within, which is fundamental goodness and more, but could also be seen as the Godliness in us. I called my blog Always Well Within because in my tradition "Always Well" is the translation for the Sanskrit word for primordial buddha. In Buddhism, the sky is one analogy for the emptiness aspect of mind, the vast space from which all arises. In this way, looking to the sky is a great reminder of our true nature which is both empty but full of potential.
Thank you Sandra for your comment and adding new insights to the original post. I have deep respect for the teachings of Bhudda.
Hi Abubakar,
This question usually reminds me of a discussion my brother had with a friend of his. While my brother was trying to explain his belief in God, his friend said: "Well, I don't believe in a man sitting in the sky, looking down on us. But I do believe in a creative force in the universe."
And my brother replied: "Me too!"
The point is, "God" can mean so many things to so many people, so we can't limit the word to only a single explanation. I actually feel a lot more comfortable with atheists who respect reason, than Muslims who condemn the mind. I have a lot more in common with Buddhists who value spirituality, than with Muslims who focus solely on religious rituals.
Having said that, I'm not a big fan of subjective reality. Either God exists, or He doesn't. Just because someone believes in God doesn't mean that He will exist for that person. Maybe as a concept, or a belief, He does. But what we believe doesn't shape what exists in reality. Existence exists, irrespective of the contents of human consciousness.
And whether we believe in God or not isn't as important as what we believe God's attributes to be, and how these attributes are manifested in existence. For example, I believe in a benevolent God, and certainly don't believe that a single sin will guarantee a man eternal damnation. When I make a mistake, I don't think of divine punishment, but how I can learn from my mistake to grow personally. Compare that to a person who believes that God is tempting him to commit sins in order to test his faith.
There are so many ways in which we can understand God, and it's important to realize the sort of influences each outlook can have on our lives, and our connection to God.
p.s. One of the Imams of the Shi'a school of thought was asked why people looked up when they prayed, and he replied that people need a place to look.
Haider.
This is the best comment received on my blog to date. I agree with you 100% and won't say anything in response except THANK YOU, because I share your way of thinking exactly, and you explained yourself with clarity, balance and reason.
**blushing**
Michael,
I love Jung and find him to be one of the most profound thinkers I have come across on my journey of self-discovery. Thank you for sharing his gem of wisdom with us.
Excellent, refreshing, insightful, an appreciative thank you.
And to Haider for his outstanding response – thank you.
Your words — “And whether we believe in God or not isn’t as important as what we believe God’s attributes to be, and how these attributes are manifested in existence.” — made me feel a little like I had played one of those electronic games and all the lights, bells and whistles went off at the same time announcing something spectacular — suddenly I felt energized, hopeful…
Thank you Marti for your appreciation and encouragement. Glad that you found something of value from this article and Haider’s comment.
Wonderful article, Abubakar!
Haider’s words —
“what we believe doesn’t shape what exists in reality. Existence exists, irrespective of the contents of human consciousness,” hold vast wisdom.
“I’m not a big fan of subjective reality.”
When I hear the word God in any language, it seems to suggest the concept has personal human attributes, as does the notion that “he/she” needs us, or children etc..
In all honesty I cannot say I believe in God or even a Creator (both subjective, personal beings) but I do believe in, experience and cherish Creation or Existence.
I agree with you Celeste and Haider’s words are worth quoting indeed. Thank you for taking the time to share with us your thoughts.
Assigning attributes to God invariably involves the limited vocabulary of humans. All usual human traits said to belong to God, such as KIND, LOVING, MERCIFUL, CRUEL, VENGEFUL, CAPRICIOUS, JEALOUS etc., can be found in the Bible, which was written, after all, by humans.
We tend to skip the terrible contradictions in these traits, for instance, trying to make sense of natural disasters and the havoc and death they bring, almost always on the poor and helpless. That could be the CRUEL, VENGEFUL side of God. Then, when a baby is found alive after days under debris, or one passenger survives a plane crash that kills the rest of them, we call it a miracle and proof of God’s MERCY and LOVE.
To my simple mind, those reactions are just band aids to keep us from going insane.
God, by definition, is beyond human comprehension. The best I can do with this question is to say,” I don’t know”.
I agree with you. We have to start from, “I don’t know”. Thank you for your comment Ivan.
The most ludicrous aspect to all references to god is the blindly accepted practice of referring to god as male! No one seems to give it a second thought, or question themselves as to why this should be so.
I am so horrified at this brainwashed attitude! Male humans have physical, mental and emotional characteristics, females do too, but with substantial and visible differences between the two genders. Then why, someone please tell me, does every religion refer to god as god is a ‘him’ or a ‘he’?
It ‘s called transference..a deep need for an authority figure like a father, who is strong, has leadership qualities and can be cruel and loving. That’s the best explanation I can come up with, and it’s absolutely delusional.
Maybe when we stop trying to put god into a human shaped box, we will grow more in understanding about the impossibility of knowing, describing and/or depending on this trick of the brainwashed mind!
True and well said, “Maybe when we stop trying to put god into a human shaped box, we will grow more in understanding about the impossibility of knowing, describing and/or depending on this trick of the brainwashed mind!”
thank you so much for the article…..
you say exactly what’s on my mind….