This is somewhat inspired by the similar thread about god presenting himself in the modern day.
My main reason for not believing in organized religion is that I am supposed to believe the second-hand accounts of observations thousands of years ago. I know people that can’t keep their story straight for an entire day.
If god really cared, and wanted to be known in the most direct sense, it would surely reveal itself on a personal basis.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, and later Timothy Leary, were right; Divinity Lies Within.
It is the only thing that could make sense to me. Don’t be afraid to create your own morality.
If god revealed himself directly and unambiguously, most people would be so freaked out, they would shut down and stop trying at all. The nice thing about a hidden, mysterious god is deniability; you can outwardly claim faith and trust in an invisible lord, but keep a teeny, tiny rational spark, so as not to be overwhelmed by a certainty of an all knowing, all powerful being who makes everything happen.
A lot of it does come from within and from our own personal experiences. The thing is, as in all types of knowledge and wisdom, there is use for the experiences of others as well. We should not blindly accept the works of a proclaimed wise man as fact if it does not sync up with our own experiences, but if their words ring true, it can be a source of more experience for ourselves.
Even as a theist myself, this is where I think organized religion fails, because while I do believe most of it started as genuine divine inspiration, the initial followers were willing and able to accept that, but in time it becomes dogma and gets mixed with what others thought were good ideas. And the farther it gets removed from that source, the more people just take the ideas on authority rather than really relating the teachings to their own experiences, and they can stray away far from the original intent.
Part of that problem is also the filter of our experiences, expectations, desires, cultures, etc. That, I think, is supposed to be part of the idea of organization, that if enough people share similar ideas with eachother, its easier to help control for those aspects and get to the original intent.
The OP is pretty much the reason why growing up I never found religion convincing, even as I went through catholic school.
I can understand why a god might want to remain hidden, or might wish to reveal himself to all. But sort of letting us know in a very hands-off way, such that I only hear about it as a legend (which sounds much like any other work of fiction)…nah, don’t buy it.
One issue with this is that it is not the case that we all get the same subtle message. Some people don’t hear anything at all of the “right” religion. While others supposedly have spoken to god, had an NDE or seen a miracle etc.
I always thought that if an omnipotent deity had created us, and wanted us to know it had created us and had a plan for us, we would simply be born with that knowledge. No freak outs, no competing religions, no alleged prophets, none of that crap.
Correct me if I am wrong…but since when is Christianity the most popular religion on the planet?
Also - I’m not talking about the “god gives me a sign, and therefore I should read the bible and follow scripture” kind of relationship.
I am talking about the divine one - god itself - showing itself to you in an undeniable way. Picture it showing you the inside of the sun, or walking through the sky; anything that would be unbelievable outside the scope of divine intervention.
If god wanted for us to follow in it’s purpose we either inherently naturally know it, or the rules are given to us plain to see without any plausible deniability, without hearing a story about something that happened a few thousand years ago.
Therefore I personally assert that god must NOT want that - it must want us to do this ourselves. In a universe where everything is already known perhaps it is entertaining or redeeming to see something unknown.
Czarcasm I posit that if god hasn’t given us a clear set of rules to live by it must be up to each individual to decide.
Inside of the sun and walking through the sky aren’t even close to good enough to imply divine intervention, IMHO. Either could be the result of significantly advanced technology, and neither would confer certainty that this being has an advanced handle on morality, etc.
Or, (and leaving out as beyond the OP “there is no god”), there are multiple gods with differing agendas. Or, if one insists on monotheism, god’s plan is not homogenous; god’s plan, rules, restrictions, and permissions for me are not necessarily those of my neighbour. Why should god’s rules be universal rather than tailored to the individual.
For some reason, the deity in question refuses to enter into any kind of relationship with me. So, no: some of us can’t have what you say the religion promises.
