God is a Metaphor for Self
Vivian A. Summers
September 27, 2001
A prologue before I scrawl my beliefs in God.
I respect the name and concept of God, but only out of respect for those that believe. The separation of God from the body/mind is where I have a problem. However, to some it is comforting to have an external entity as a separate higher power to depend on, and to others God is internal, the power within.
Throughout the ages the external God has been used as a sedative for the masses. The beautiful safe church has been a rallying place in times of crisis, drawing people together and reducing the collective egos to a commonality that bonds the human race and thus to action. I believe in God as a metaphor and would be willing to use His name within my family structure bookmarking his word in reference to a moral value that my family can put their arms around.
The occurrence of multiple religions, such as Hindu, Islam, Judaism and Christianity grew out of geographical pockets of human evolution. Take away references to the unique Gods of specific religions and the message is the same; respect the doctrines of morel ethics. Religion and God throughout history have been a necessity to remind people of these common laws of humanity. These laws are designed for one purpose: to create a safe environment, a safe country, community and home in which procreation can ensure the survival of the spices.
The US Constitution is the first document of its type to separate government from religion. With or without knowing it our forefathers have sheared off the top of the various religious doctrines that claim their god as the only god. This has in effect provided for a smooth evolution of spirituality from an external doctrine of religion to an internal one. Also, it has opened the door to respect for human rights by shedding the dependence on the various dogmas of the past and recognizing this truth as it always has been. It comes in the shape of the Constitution’s basic propositions that do not change. Only unique cultural preferences change. This inward spirituality, in my opinion, is the Second Coming of Christ.
Inward Technology
It is precisely my point when I say that God is mans ability to reason. It is reason anxious with fear, after all, that created God. Do you see any other creatures worshiping an unseen entity? I am probably the most spiritual person you will ever meet. I become filled with exaltation as I stand in front of man’s great structures. Structures man has created out of elements of earth, molded by his mind and hands into practical shapes. I become exalted when I am moved by music, and form a special relationship with art. I worship nothing more than the noblest virtues of man. In this context I hold a sacred reverence to the original, the pure creative process of man. It’s all an emotional reaction in which I choose to name; exaltation, worship, and reverence without degrading man to a place second only to an entity I cannot see; God.
It is our duty to be the noblest men and women we can be without compromise; upholding the moral virtues that religion has turned against man. We are not second to God, although religion tells us that it is so, we are here now and in the present, we take responsibility for our own actions. I do not blame and I do not use God as an excuse for my thoughts or conduct. Religion does not have a monopoly on moral ethics.
Osama bin Laden wants everyone to believe that he is carrying out the will of God. He is struggling within a conflict of truths and is backed into a corner by a modern world and faced with his own terrifying reality… that he is wrong. The universal values held sacred by religion are universal truths period. How many are there? Not many, they are evident in rational thought. If every human held these universal truths as the foundation of civilization then the individuals unique desires, choices, and cultural dispositions can be embraced and honored without fear that a human that looks like a central Asian Muslim is going to blow us up. Let individual uniqueness flourish from the same fertile ground of moral ethics.
It is humbling to rationalize how we know only a small fraction of reality. But to fear the unknown is irrational. The answer does exist and I just named the carrier of the answer: God. God is mans ability to reason and just as there was a god of the sun once upon a time, which notion we have objectively debunked, so to is it the time to debunk all religion. God is a metaphor.
We cannot “objectively” show the existence of reason and value but its existence can be demonstrated. 2+2=4 and gold has a tangible value in dollars. What does God have? The bible, an account written by man on the hijacking of moral ethics anchored by mysticism to exonerate the great unknown.
I personally have empirical knowledge of life after death. I am more open than not to the idea of telepathy and cell memory. I am not generally a believer in abortion. Does this mean I have to believe in a greater power than man? No it doesn’t, it just means that there is much more out there than we know.
Many believers say that, “We know God exists first of all because He told (tells) us so.” Who is us? What motive would God have to hide? Why does He pick only a few to “talk to.” How does He tell us?
And then they speak of faith. Faith, like value, reason, and love is an intangible concept, an emotion. But it can be demonstrated as a belief in oneself, not necessarily resting on logical proof or material evidence, but in confidence of ability, action, and their combined results. By the way, who hates the word faith? I have so much faith in myself and in my son it fills me with joy. Our mutual faith in each other is evidenced by my faith in you - that you will read this email. Emails belong to the realm of objective reality not in metaphors. God doesn’t water the wild flowers rain does.
And what of love you ask me? Love is a command to rise to ones highest potential the best and noblest vision of ourselves. Love is a reward the greatest we can earn granted to us by the moral qualities we have achieved in our lives. We cannot love anyone that we consider less than ourselves. Our choice of intimate companions must reflect the same values, mirror the same principals, and posses their own strength of purpose and self esteem.
Believers tell me, “It is not that God does not exist - it is that I just have never been properly introduced.” Nicely put, and until that day arrives I will be a firm believer in objective reality. Am I open, however, to the possibility that there is a supernatural entity that created the universe? Yes I am, but my search is over and I have found my philosophy, my faith, and my moral ground. Now I can spend my energy on creative and productive enterprises, such as my career and most importantly, my son, to raise him to live a morel, ethical and compassionate life.
Believers tell me that God has written his law on every mans heart. What is God’s law? Is it different than mine? Is it a set of values only he can conceive of and bestow to his loyal followers? Nobody approves of mutilating babies because that goes against our innate survival of the species syndrome. We engage in pleasure to make babies. Babies provide many things to the survival of man. Murder goes against yours and my universal truth.
Am I proud of my achievements? Only so far as they are mine and that I have proved to myself that I can achieve. I am not arrogant because I am constantly humbled being in the presence of the great achievements of other men. Have I screwed up? More times than I can count, but I am a man with a mission and I value the requirements of vigorous ethics.
Believers tell me that it is our sin that separates us from God. It’s not only sin that separates us from God but physical existence as well. With out a physical presence here on earth it would be hard to sin. So it is easy to say that God is without sin. What is a sin but a transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate. You and I are establishing a commonality to moral law between ourselves, but what about religious law. The first five commandments do not apply to me so if I am mistaken then I will be banished to hell for eternity. This is hypocritical, based on fear and therefor not rational.
Do I believe in miracles? Yes, my son is a living demonstration of a whole series of miracles. Do I believe in mathematics? Yes, all matter can be explained mathematically.
Believers tell me it is God that created the beautiful and graceful butterfly and that man usually makes noisy, smoggy, and ugly contraptions. This is a primary example of the fault of religion; the debasement of man. Remember, it is the reasoning ability of man that conceived of God in the first place. God would not exist without man.
We are God.
God is a metaphor for self.
Vivian A. Summers
September 27, 2001
