Monday, August 26, 2013

Would I Play By God's Rules If I Knew He Was Real?

If I could know that the Christian God exists, would I worship him? Let’s explore the angles.

Why I should not worship Jehovah:

Regardless of apologetic talking points, the God of the Bible is imperfect. He makes mistakes and he contradicts himself. Between creating a talking serpent that thwarts his own plan and feeling the need to sacrifice himself (or his son, depending on who you ask) to change his own rules of eternity, God has done little to inspire worship. I would also have to excuse divine choices that I fundamentally disagree with--like allowing anyone to suffer infinitely for finite sins. I imagine some of those suffering I even knew in life. Complying with God’s wishes and humbling myself to him would be like a German with freshly dead Jewish friends admitting allegiance to Hitler.

Why I should worship Jehovah:

While their commitment to extreme punishment for those they consider distasteful is on par, God and Hitler have some major differences. God forgives and shows mercy as long as you follow his strict criteria. I doubt Hitler would consistently allow Jews to live even if they all agreed to become Nazis. Also, unlike Hitler, we wouldn’t be here if not for God. The man upstairs also managed to impart some positive life lessons, so perhaps the Almighty deserves at least as much respect as my parents. More than this, the nummero uno reason why I am compelled to worship Jehovah is because I will go to hell if I don’t. Yes, heaven also factors in, but the stick is more compelling then the carrot in this case.

Weighing the options. I completely understand the anti-theists who call God evil, but I wouldn’t go that far. Yes, he kills humans, but I kill bugs. I eat cows and chicken and delicious, delicious pigs. I don’t consider myself evil so I would be hypocritical to call God evil. We are inferior to him in all respects (unless you include human-centric morality.) I can call God irresponsible, unfair, even cruel--but not evil. When it comes down to it, I would be completely unprincipled and play according to God’s rules, yet I think I would. I’m not proud of it. I am fully aware how that makes me a Nazi, but I’m also aware how it doesn’t. I like to think I would have sacrificed everything to fight Hitler even as a German under the pressure of death and threat to my family. I think I would because I could have rationalized that Hitler could be overthrown and any contribution to that cause is worth anything. I can’t rationalize that the Almighty can be overthrown. It’s right there in the name, all mighty. I would worship an erratic tyrant and try desperately to convince others to follow suit because no cost or benefit in our x number of years on earth compare to the forever after. To keep some scrap of dignity I would tell myself that one day in heaven I’ll be able to talk some sense into God...that won't happen. Mostly because Jehovah doesn’t fucking exist.

10 comments:

  1. I don't think I could bring myself to bend a knee to the god of the Bible, even if he were real. This is a deity who slaughtered (or commanded the slaughter of) millions of innocent people, created a brutal society with capital punishment for petty acts, and upheld oppression in the form of slavery, patriarchy, and homophobia ... and that's just in the Old Testament! Furthermore, even if God is nicer in the New Testament, he never repents for the atrocities of his earlier career. Oh, and he still tortures people in Hell. Bowing to God would be like bowing to a war criminal accused of crimes against humanity at the Hague!

    Say we were to love and obey God. Our reward would be an eternity in his realm, stroking his ego. I'll take the flames, thank you very much.

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    1. I completely agree with you until the "I'll take the flames" bit. I'd rather be in service to a tyrant than be tortured forever (If the tyrant can't be overthrown, as I said, what's the point in defecting?)

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  2. If it could be positively proven that God existed, I'd believe. I wouldn't worship though, I would just acknowledge that existence. God is a dick and I have no interest in worshipping dicks.

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    1. I get the instinct, but if it meant I'd get everlasting torture...I'd throw my principles out. Just being honest with myself.

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    2. But that fails for the same reason that Pascal's Wager fails, you can't just choose to believe or revere something, you actually have to do it. Paying lip service to a being to get positive consequences doesn't work, especially in this case, surely God would know you weren't serious.

      You either actually believe and actually respect the god or you don't. I don't. I don't pretend to.

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    3. You can't just choose to believe or revere something? I don't know, I think you can, you just have to work towards it. I'm a big believer that if you "act as if" long enough it will become who you really are.

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  3. You and I have very similar views here. Almighty and forever kind of trump everything else. I think we could also take some stock in the fact that God is fairly human-like in character, and, while we like to point it out as contradictions, God appears to be able to change His mind and learn from His mistakes. So maybe such a God would be a fairly reasonable Fellow by the time we actually get to meet Him. ;-)

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  4. Hmmm, but would faking it work. After all God is omniscient, so he would know that you are faking it and its hell anyway. I agree with you, but would it be worth it if he knew I was lying.

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    1. Not faking it, I would legitimately try to feel towards God how he would want me too. It wouldn't come naturally and I don't know if I'd ever get there. The outcome may or may to be me honestly loving God, but it would be an honest effort.

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