Living As If God Does Not Exist Essay

Since ancient times, alongside society’s development is the widespread proliferation of the religious consciousness of mankind. Although primitive small-scale societies had always been depicted as animists and polytheists, the concept of the High God is a common theme that has already been discovered. Studies of ancient societies have revealed in the belief of a Supreme Being, although this was also coupled with worship of lesser spiritual entities since the Supreme God seems distant and uninvolved in daily concerns of men. Compared with modern men, people of the ancient past were mainly agricultural communities. They are basically more aware of their natural surroundings and the different forces which affect his sustenance and survival. Many of these forces are beyond his control and understanding. Early man was therefore more inclined to acknowledge the existence of a Great Being who is responsible for the existence of the world and the one who is in complete control over all. Worship, whether to God or lesser spirits, has often been closely associated with receiving favour and positive results, or to ward off negative conditions like sickness. But current mode of attitudes and perspectives that pervade modern men has increasingly being held under the spell of beliefs that exclude God and the invisible world from the realm of reality and day to day living. Such an approach to life however, is not entirely exclusive in modern times. This was already present in the distant past where there were critics of religious beliefs — for instance among some of the ancient Greek philosophers and the Roman Lucretius; in India, where most see it as a rich place of religious practices, materialism has already flourished at the time of the Buddha and for many centuries afterward which basically rejected all belief in a transcendent world; and in China, rationalist Confucianism often involved a rejection of religious doctrine. But these protests against the existence of and reliance of a Supreme Being or of spirituality in general, are only sporadic and never gained majority allegiance during its time. But this is now greatly pronounced in the modern period than ever before, since the powerful restatements of atheism and agnosticism have found a wide success in acceptance and following. The rise of the scientific discoveries and inventions, as well as the increase of intellectuals has made it more ideal to reject the existence of God and other religious values. Man sees himself as the ultimate controller of his destiny, as he experiences more control of the things that affect him. As greater understanding of the world around him is achieved, man sees a greater lack of importance in relying on an unseen and somewhat ‘distant’ God. Modern man is also pressed with many concerns. The large masses of manual workers that were born of out of industrialization in the big cities of northern Europe have caused them to become largely alienated from the faith of their fathers. It is both the social and intellectual forces which have thus combined to promote a widespread practical atheism. There are mainly anti-religious ideologies of modern man which has come to influence modern day thinking. First, was the growth of liberal humanism that principally influenced the western world. This philosophy is rooted in the scepticism of the eighteenth century; it received a greater momentum from the religious controversies of the nineteenth century. Second, was the spread of German type of atheism which were popularized by the writings of Feuerbach, Marx, and Nietzsche. Nietzsche even pronounced the death of God in one of his writings. He announced the death of God, as man is ‘awakened’ to the ‘reality’ that God is only a creation of the human mind. Today’s society is very much influenced, although mostly indirectly, by the banner of humanism that fiercely denounces the existence of God and His requirements. Humanism passionately proclaims that the acknowledgement of God is a declaration of war against life, against nature, against the will to live; and that Christianity is the formula for every slander against this present world and guilty of proliferation of ‘lies’ of a world beyond or afterlife. Out of this, came the atheistic Communist ideologies, which for some time in the past, has pronouncedly divided the world. Then, there were also the philosophical movement known as Existentialism, which ironically had Christian origins through the work of Kierkegaard, has nurtured within it a newer type of atheism, popular since the Second World War. Such a deluge of assault on the Christian faith would seem overwhelming and puzzling to those who profess faith in it. God and Christianity seem to have often called down upon strong denunciations. But it is not entirely out of reason. There has been the spectacle of inter-denominational strife, the growing cynicism towards the authenticity of those who were key figures of the Christian faith as against their extravagant lifestyles, memory of persecutions, and the political conservatism of many Christians — all these must be taken into consideration. However, what could be considered a more major reason for rejection is because of the more common association of Christianity with Puritanism. There have, indeed, always been pronounced ascetic elements in the Christian experience, although they are considerably less than in most other of the world religions. It can be said though, that Puritanism and ascetism obviously have important place in certain kinds and phases of different religions. Puritanism demands the population at large to conform to it. Central to the Christian belief is the submission to the Supreme Being, and His instructions. The world, as symbolized by Nietzsche, continuous to express a strong reaction against such beliefs. God and his laws are often received as restrictive, since man’s experience show that he possess desires and instincts which often goes in conflict to what God approves, and must therefore contend with it for most of his time. For most men, this seems to constitute a kind of conspiracy to confine human self-expression and freedom. It is not surprising then, to see an abundance of decay in wide areas of society, since unwillingness to submit to God’s authority is more appealing in order to gratify the self. God is therefore seen as an enemy against the fulfilment of the desires and plans of the self. In addition to this, many simply suspect that those â€Å"kill-joy† Christians, do make those impositions on others condemning jollification and gaiety, as an unconscious repressions and anxieties which stems from Freudian influence. The rejection of the divine and supernatural is not just a mere intellectual scepticism about the truth of God and Christian beliefs; it has also been an emotional rebellion as well. Social factors have contributed. As we have seen, the dislocations caused by industrialism in many Western countries, have produced the alienation of much of the working masses from Christianity. In addition, social forces have brought a distrust of the older forms of authoritarianism. This was already demonstrated between the World Wars, the rejection of being ruled by a higher force. Moreover, this has been heightened after the war where many younger folks have opportunities of work and spending that often creates a sense of being relatively independent. This new found independence rewards man’s desire to be the sole controller of his own life. Such an attitude was already displayed since man’s creation. Self-rule, the rebellion against God’s authority has become the norm. With this development, the traditional forms of Christian teaching and preaching and the presentation of the ethical side of Christianity as something fixed and God-given have not had a widespread effectiveness. What is more popular in many folks of today’s generation is the adherence to anti-authoritarianism and which continuous to stimulate anti-Church feeling, even to the political level. Various advocacies that are being presented with much militancy and following today (i. e. same sex-marriage) run in complete opposition to God- declared laws. It is therefore not an unexpected condition that those who support such advocacies will reject God’s authority and existence. God’s ‘in-existence’ would mean that man can do whatever seems right in his own eyes. Truth and right is therefore relative. Also, aside from the agnostics and anti-religious atheism, are those within the so-called Christian societies, are a large number of people who simply do not attend church or religious ceremonies (Smart, pp. 558-573). They are not necessarily lacking in religious belief, but nevertheless they do not feel themselves called upon to belong to any religious organization. They are people who live in a large, gentle twilight zone between religiousness and agnosticism. They have inherited much of the humanist movement, but they do not share the intellectual presuppositions. They include many, therefore, who, when asked, profess belief in God — or more vaguely in a Power which controls the cosmos. But they are not convinced of actively participating in worship of such a Being as something essential of one’s existence. They are not inclined to pray, seek God, read the Bible, though they might possibly do so in times of stress or great danger. They are, for the most part, alienated from the fellowship with God and the fellow believers. They are aware of the differences of teachings in different denominations, and are thus mistrustful of dogma. They have no wish to deny God’s existence outwardly, but they do not desire to seek and know Him. They have reverence for a Creator; but they feel that God is distant and detached. They respect Christian moral values, but they reject Puritanism. They do not have much sense of sin, but they admire saintliness. They are worried by death, and they hope to live for a better afterlife. But the division between heaven and hell they do not feel. Such people far outnumber the committed atheists and the explicit agnostics. For many members of society today, science possess greater prestige derived from the practical benefits of technology and the awesome mumbo-jumbo surrounding the expert, has superseded that of religion. The current civilization can be depicted in such a state. Although the blatant atheists and agnostics have been relatively few, the influence of their thinking has been formidable. Despite the ‘advancement’ in knowledge, man has generally been ignorant of God and His ways. What is generally esteemed as ‘wise’, those who reject God, does not see the pointlessness of their argument. Creation itself speaks as a witness to His superiority and existence. What is evident in creation is the presupposition of a Creator. If the world and the universe came out of chaos, scientific discoveries show that everything in it has a purpose and held with much order, which could not basically flow in congruence with the ‘accident’ theory. Also, the amazing functions of the human body, also defy such a premise that man was created by chance. For man to reject his Creator and His authority is one of the most miserable and worse thing that has occurred to man. Man indeed is very much in need of redemption from the futility of his own way of thinking. Reference: Smart, Ninian. (1984). Contemporary Religious Experience. The Religious Experience of Mankind. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons