Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Tell Me All Your Thoughts on God

"Tell me all your thoughts on God,
cause I'd really like to meet Her."

Counting Blue Cars (1996), Dishwalla


My thoughts and ideas may be considered heretical by some circles. Just write me off as someone possessed by the Devil or Shaitan or whatever the Figure of Supreme Evhulness your cult faith has if you disagree with what I've written.


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Hey, why is science in there!

Now that I am repeating it, I'm sure my vernacular is by no means exact - but the essence is this; "So long as you're happy, you're in the right religion." Someone's grandfather told her father that, and she told that to me in turn. My interpretation of that line might be erroneous as well, but heck, that's not going to stop me from saying it out loud anyway.

I have often considered the idea of a creator, of a heaven, of karma, of final judgement and the ever after nothing more than an invention of man - something to make sense of everything we're doing right here, right now. It's a way for the mind to cope with... well, existence, basically. I get how impossible it can be to believe that there is no supreme plan, and that everything that we know and love and hate and suffered for are just some very random permutation of events that doesn't make any more sense than how a pane of glass shatters by the dint of a brick. Michael Swanwick described that futility of living without the belief that we are on our way to something better beautifully in his eerily haunting novel, The Iron Dragon's Daughter. It had lifted from being an outright atheist and dropped me into agnosticism; which was more than any Big Book of Godly Truths ever did. Limitations of my own mind have stopped me from, if the fanatically godless would excuse the term, 'progressing' any further than that.

What I'm trying to say is, having faith fills a void in our very human psyche. God makes us happy.

A few months ago, I've taken an interest in the notoriously unyielding policy of Islam in my own homeland, Malaysia (not that I'm saying it shouldn't be that strict, of course - I am grossly unworthy to opine). In the course of of my curiosity, I have come across a video of an Hindu Indian man and his cry for help - I failed in locating that particular clip again, however. He married a Muslim woman (who converted to Hinduism) in spite of the protests of her family, and they had a daughter together. Apparently, the woman's family have alerted the associated moral police and she was forcefully separated from her husband and dragged off to a correctional facility for wayward Muslims for indefinite incarceration. The child - no more than two years of age, I bet - was given into the woman's parents' care. They had very righteously declared in the video that the child would be brought up in the glorious tradition of Islam.

Like I said, I am unworthy to opine - it can be dangerous if I'm too free with my liberal (and most definitely bedamned) ideas. All I can safely say that in that debacle, no one was happy. The poor Indian man who had his wife and child taken from him, he was helpless to do anything. The apostate, the Muslim woman who renounced her faith for love, was miserable as hell being locked up. The Muslim woman's parents was angry, and might possibly be a bit smug after they have taken custody of their grandchild. I don't know about the li'l girl, but I bet she hated being taken away from her Mom and Dad - don't think she's old enough to get what this... this... 'tragedy' is all about.

On a very basic level, I think something went awfully wrong here.

Because no one was happy.

Of course, what does all this matter to me? I have free rein to worship any Being of Supreme Omnipotence I like (whichever gets me first) and I'm not dating someone who cannot marry me because I'm like, so going to hell (several thousand hells actually since I don't believe in so many different godheads). They shouldn't matter at all except that I know some of these people who got their happily ever after ruined by God on a personal level. Wait, sorry. My bad. It's not God's fault. For want of someone to blame, let's just blame whoever who was too stubborn to convert to the true religion, okay? Blame the infidels, right?

Everyone's going to someone else's hell, apparently.

I'm terribly surprised to discover that faiths that I have previously thought to be more tolerant - like Christianity for one - to be the catalyst of 'tragedies' similar to the one the Indian man, his wife, and his child had. It might be über pious parents. It might be the pastor and the church. I don't know. It might even just be because some jerkoff boyfriend wanted to axe a relationship and decided to sign the tab off to God. These creeps just disgusts me. Of course, by 'creeps', I'm only referring to jerkoff boyfriends.

Well, readers, you'll have to excuse me if i have stepped on any of your toes too hard - I distinctly felt some tootsies underfoot when I write this. Forgive my unlearned opinions and godless ideas. I'm just a creature of feelings.

And when no one's happy, I tend to feel that something is wrong.



Wanted in your God's hell too,
k0k s3n w4i

11 comments:

Vishaal said...

From an Article I Found over The Net...


Everyone wants to be accepted. It is evident in every detail of our lives. We strive to become what others would want. Some may try and deny this fact, but somehow they either end up forming some sort of subculture that accepts others who are attempting to live against the grain, or they live miserably and alone. We want to be accepted in our jobs, our marriages, within our peer groups, and so on. This need, this instinct, drives us to do everything we can to become acceptable. I believe religion is another human attempt to become acceptable.

Religion as society tends to define it, is a route through which human beings can come closer to God, or experience God. A religious person, no matter what religious affiliation, is always striving to gain acceptance from their god(s). Each religion has rituals that they follow in order to attain this. We’ve all experienced some type of religious ceremony and have met someone who has formed their belief system around a religion or religions. This has then caused us all to ask ourselves the question, “Do I believe in religion”, or some might ask themselves, “Do I believe in God”. Those two questions seem to correlate with each other.

I find this parallel to be rather unfortunate. Religion has become a man made attempt to find God, or to know God, and to be accepted by God. Humans have conceived thousands of ways that they believe will help them attain some sort of spiritual supremacy that they hope to be rewarded for either here on earth, in the afterlife, or both. Religion has become extremely exclusive, and for some it has caused them to give up on the whole idea of God or spirituality. Most of us have figured out that we just don’t measure up to the standards it seems we must meet before God will even give us a second look, and who wants to worship or serve or even admire a god like that?

What if we’re wrong? What if we are accepted by God without condition? What if we have been asking the wrong questions and God and religion have nothing to do with each other? Could we then break free from the limitations we have placed upon ourselves as a human race in need of acceptance and begin to live in the freedom of God’s acceptance?

Anonymous said...

You do realise don't you, tthat here's going to be a great big VACANCY sign in Heaven when The Day of Ultimate Reckoning finally comes round - after having taken its own sweet time too, I might add?

Simply because if every religion/ fall-down-and-worship-me ethos out there is correct in their assumptions, then EVERYONE is going to hell LOL.

Yes, yes, I am rather irreverent too about this subject. So sue me =) Or should that be, so let my ass fry in hell XD

Zzzyun said...

Everyone's going to someone else's hell, apparently.

classic!

imho, i believe tat God exists, He was the one tat created the universe or else how could creation be so wondrous? i don't think it was a random thing.

however, unlike existing religions, i believe tat God is just an observer in our daily lives. he does not grant miracles and gives punishment. he just observes.

and we little humans go abt bustling in our daily lives, oblivious to this higher being observing us. whatever fortune or tragedy tat might befall us, it was just a matter of fate and nothing more. maybe just a matter of being there at the wrong/right place at the wrong/right time.

i believe tat we ourselves dictate how our lives are gonna be.. and none of tat nonsense that God gave me this disaster so tat i'll be stronger. we just hvta be stronger for our ownselves.

we can be what we want to be if we believe. tat is what i believe..

i wonder what are ur thoughts on my line of thought on 'religion'?

k0k s3n w4i said...

@dr.vishaal bhat
Which was why I'm not really into any form of organized religion. They usually reek more of humans than divinity.

@michellesy
Book me a place in Purgatory Hotel xD
Oh well, at least I know I won't be lonely for all eternity. Bet there's no booze in heaven anyway.

@zzzyun
Ah, you're a deist :D

"we can be what we want to be if we believe."

And that's Cogito Ergo Sum; "I think, therefore I am."

The thing is, I'm still short of your level because, I haven't found a reason to believe that a God created everything. And I don't think I am able to believe either without being shown something that proves to me - beyond the last shred and shadow of doubt - that He or She or It exists.

To think logically is human.
To have baseless faith is also human. Terrible dilemma.

février said...

just so everyone knows the quote in the first paragraph is from me and po (k0k) was impartial to saying it was from me because he's prejudiced towards me, and is very disdainful.

u already know what i think.

Anonymous said...

I'll start off being anal retentive, Supreme Omnipotence = redundant?

IMHO, believing in God is not the same as being in a religion. I see it that you are skeptical about the medium. With that said, I couldn't agree more. Many church(or whatever house of worship)-goers I know are blatant hypocrites. Also, they usually suffer from Holier-than-Thou Scrotal Carcinoma with an ego of edematous proportions. Cough..

A friend of mine(with great perseverance) corrected me in that I should never try to assess or view the Lord through his worshipers. It suddenly struck me how wrong I was. I always remember this now. Remember that it is personal, it is between me and Him.

Would love to talk to you more about perceived happiness, though that is a topic for another time.

Bye 4 now

k0k s3n w4i said...

@beve
You didn't even remember that is was from you till I told you =d

@voon
I am fond of redundant superlatives. Look harder and you'll turn up more.
Of course, assessing what God really thinks is kind of pointless when I don't even know whether he exists or not. God is His worshipers (at least, to me). And the only effect of His supposed existence is the words and actions of his disciples.
You're a deist too, apparently. Good for you.

Anonymous said...

haiz... this country and it's religion issues. it can never be solved. sad case but true.


have to agree with you, if no one is happy, religion is no use either.

Anonymous said...

lol...have to agree almost all of your opinion...

your post is interesting to read...because it's inovative..and different...

we believe in what we wanna believe...there's nothing wrong with it....we should not have gone to hell for what we think it's right...after all....it's all in your mind...

after all, if everyone goes too hell...it wouldn't be so miserable after all....coz we only feel miserable when there's others who are happier than us...in this case going to heaven....so....if everyone is in hell...it's like a reunion....reliving what we live now in a different place....only probably eternally...

btw, i believe in God..if that's what ppl like to call it...i dunno why, i just do...and i do not intend to question why,how where...it's boring to ask those question coz i know i won't know the answer till i die...so i'll just hold on to my faith...:)

cheers

k0k s3n w4i said...

@gal
I don't really think our country is all that bad. There's just... room for improvement?

@thanatos
it's boring to ask those question coz i know i won't know the answer till i die
That's why I'm agnostic. It's just not knowable :)
I often found your posts to be very insightful, but alas, I haven't been going around reading blogs for awhile now. Sorry, mate.

février said...

u tok crapz

*spells stupidly to be annoying*