I just watched Religulous tonight — Bill Maher’s cinematic slap-in-the-face to every religion on earth — and I must say, I’m inspired. I have passion. I am fully devout. Never before have I been so firm in my undying belief that all undying beliefs are stupid.
So, I’m starting a contest. Starting right here, right now, I’m announcing that anyone who can convince me that there is a god out there who genuinely cares about my life will earn $666 of my hard-worked money.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But, Bill,” — let’s assume my name is Bill — “You’re obviously steadfast in your belief that there is no God. There’s no point in arguing with damned.” Look, Christian — I’ll assume your name is Christian — one of the basic tenets of all Judeo-Christian religions is that the word (or works) of God speak for themselves, that just by pointing out God’s omnipresent love, any godless, baby-killing sodomite can be saved. I could be wrong. Tell me if I’m wrong.
More importantly, tell me that there’s a place for religion in me. Any religion, I don’t care. Islam, Buddhism, Shinto, Scientology. I’d recommend staying away from Judaism; I forcibily studied Judiasm for about two decades and can only recognize myself as being culturally Jewish (i.e., I get to make the jokes ).
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But, Jared,” — I want to be Jared now — “How can we trust that you’ll actually hand over $666? Couldn’t you just lie to us?” I could. But that wouldn’t be very Christian of me. Or Muslim, or whatever. But if I actually had a force in my life that directed me and instilled confidence in me, that . . . well, that would priceless.
Start your timers now because this contest ends one week from now on Thurday, October 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 AM (Pacific Time). Leave a comment here with your best pitch or e-mail me through the link on the right side of the page.
Amen.
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Comments: 10
God reveals himself to those who are willing. If you don't want Him, He generally does not force Himself on us (Jonah is one clear exception).
One thing that is obvious to me is that things of a spiritual nature are not tied up in intellectual arguments. My knowledge of God is supported by intellectual process, but it comes mostly out of my own experience of God. I've had experiences of God because I have opened myself to Him - I desire to walk with Him - I fight against closedmindedness within myself to see more of Him and invite Him to unveil more of who He is to me. I'm seeking Him, so I'm finding Him - that's how it works: We have to be open to the mystery.
I am not writing to prove anything to you. If you will come to any understanding of who God is, you have got to do the foot work. You have to be a seeker. Only then will you find Him.
(Him, Her - I don't think God cares).
I can testify to what God has led me into, but that isn't your story. In order to believe, you have to be willing to surrender/give up.
I must run... but I'll revist later - ping me if I forget
Have a great day
SW
I think that we all, to some degree, want to be God - We want to be in control and we want our vision of things to be fulfilled. Until we can risk trusting Him with being God, trust his power and plans, only then will we begin to see Him.
If you have any questions let me know.
THanks,
Steve
I think God gave us free will so that we could make the decision between joining Him, or going our own way. You've studied Judaism - isn't that the whole point - God wants to guide and direct His people in the way that is best for them?
I think it is most fitting to use your free will in the way that will be best for you. If He created us and knows the best way for us, then it makes sense to trust Him. That is why bad things happen to people in scripture - they go their own way and suffer because of it.
You can try to be your own God - you are right - will it work out in the long run? You don't know the purpose of the universe. You don't know why you exist in this time and space. So, when it all comes down, you can operate with your limited understanding of your purpose and pretend that you are a God, but will that work? If God does not exist, then yes, it will be fine. If God does exist, then you will be a kid playing in the dirt making mud pies... If God does exist, and you can be connected to the purpose of the universe and contribute/cooperate with God in what He is doing, it won't be mud pies you'll be making. Mud pies do not last - if you join God in what He is doing, then your accomplishments in the here and now will have eternal significance. If He is there, then you get to develop a relationship with the real God... that has been my experience - that is what Jesus came to provide.
When its all said and done, you cannot be convinced. Some people have said that they were convinced by someone else that God exists. When I was 16 I accepted Christianity because it made the most logical sense to me out of all the other ideas that were out there. I was convinced that it was a very moral system of thought and possibly the most moral way of living - I wanted something to believe in. I didn't believe in God, I just believed in some specific theology.
It wasn't until I was 20 that I came upon personal proof of Him. I didn't want to surrender control to Him. If I'm honest, I was scared of it - it felt like if I did then I might just be stepping into becoming a mad person and If I was wrong, but I went too far in my mind, then I might become one of those crazy religious people that I hated coming upon on TV who seemed nuts to me (some still seem a bit nuts to me). I didn't want to give my idea of sanity away... but that is what I did - I didn't care if I lost my sanity, I wanted to be sure of God more than anything, so I let go of my desire to be in control and trusted Him. Life has become much more full and satisfying (for reasons I've already stated). I am continually becoming more and more the person He created me to become. Its a leap that makes all kinds of sense, but is scary nonetheless. No one can do it for you. You will have to make the leap yourself.
But from my experience, we're all here right now because of some very good luck. I appreciate the events that led to my existence, but I'm rational enough to realize that some things just happen -- life, death, fair, unfair, existence, voids. If God does exist, He's playing by the laws of the universe that I already understand. And if that's the case, there's nothing He's done for me personally to deserve my lifelong adoration.
Let me try to clarify some things and ask some questions.
You said:
"I understand where you're coming from, Steve. It's great to have something to believe in, to have an ultimate goal so far from your understanding that you can't even begin to fathom its purpose."
SW: Maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning here, just let me know if I'm getting you wrong,... while I understand God to be a mystery, I also believe that God wants us to search for Him and continually come to a deeper understanding. I believe we are meant to "begin to fathom" who He is, why He made the world and what we are here for. I believe I have been able to "begin to fathom" these things and that He is guiding me. Recently it has become fairly crystal clear to me that argumentation and theology only take us so far - when someone is not a believer, arguments/theology means one thing, but when someone believes, those ideas take on a whole new life. You can only know what being wet means when you are wet... and when you experience Him, then you know and no level of argument/theology will get a person to that level.
You said:
"I'm rational enough to realize that some things just happen -- life, death, fair, unfair, existence, voids."
SW: You seem fairly authoritative in your approach to fact. Of the knowledge that is out there, of what there is to be known, how much do you think you know? I imagine I know less than 5% of what there is to know. I imagine you are a lot like me if you are like most people. From what we know, can we speak so authoritatively about what is and what isn't really there? Can we speak with certainty if we have no connection to what is on the other side?
You said:
"If God does exist, He's playing by the laws of the universe that I already understand."
SW: Check out string theory. http://www.superstringtheory.com/
How much can we really understand about the way the universe works? Einstein was a genius and he only knew a little bit about the way the laws of the universe work... and he knew how little he knew about the laws of the universe. I think you've irrationally jumped to some fairly concrete conclusions. Please don't take offense to that - I'm just trying to be direct, not offensive.
You said:
"And if that's the case, there's nothing He's done for me personally to deserve my lifelong adoration. "
SW: Many people boil the Christian life down to eternal adoration and a get out of jail free card. Jesus was interested in the now. Jesus was not interested in the message of: one day you will... Jesus was interested in now you are here and this is how we can deal with the issues you are facing. Its a cooperative effort. We need salvation - not just for eternity (which is awesome), but also from today - we need to be saved from the troubles of the day we are in.
This is where it gets interesting - God wants us to call out to Him, so He can save us. As we experience Him, He invites us to join Him in what He is doing. If Jesus were you, in your life, how would He live? What would He fix? How would He treat the people in your life? How would this make everything in your life better (because it would)? He wants us to join Him in what He is doing - that is part of what changes us and makes life worth living - We get to be connected to the purpose of existence.
For me, He has done more than we could begin to grasp so that we can have joy and fulfillment and purpose and eternity - that is more than deserving my eternal adoration. He goes the distance and is always available.