God Thinks

I consider myself a spiritual person. Not religious, mind you, although I was raised as a Christian and identified myself as such for most of my life.

I have been following with some interest the latest developments in the world of faith and religion. In the Muslim world we have protestors bombing Christian churches due to the use of the word Allah as their preferred name for God. According to these radicals, only Muslims have the right to call God Allah.

I really have a problem with that. I have a problem with any group that claims their path to God to be the "Only Way", especially when they are cruel to others who don't subscribe to their particular brand of religion. What gives these people the right to lay claim to exclusive use of the name Allah for God? This is a very personal thing, something that nobody else has the right to control. A person should be able to call God by any name that they choose according to their own understanding of the Divine, be it Yahweh, Allah, Jesus... or even Isis!

From what I understand of the Muslim faith, Islam began as a peaceful religion. It is sad that in our world today that factions of this religion are the face of terrorism. Instead of striving to live in peace and harmony with their fellow man, they are committing countless unspeakable acts of violence, all in the name of their God. It is happening on a daily basis.

In America we tend to be a little more civilized. We don't use bombs to strike at our enemies. We use words! Take for example TV Evangelist Pat Robertson. With the recent earthquake in Haiti it is feared that over 100,000 are dead. Mr. Robertson, speaking the words of God, stated that the Lord brought his judgement upon this nation that signed a pact with the Devil.

It infuriates me every time I hear this man speak. He spews such poison and hatred and claims his message to be from God. What upsets me even more is that he has sheep who follow him blindly, hanging on to his every word. Too weak to think for themselves, these people believe this man and give of their time and money to his causes.

It is humorous that people like those mentioned above claim to know what God thinks. The Creator of the Universe only loves certain people, while others he decides to punish in horrendous ways. What a loving God! But one thing I have discovered in my life: People who claim to know God and treat their fellow man with malice are liars.

There is a song that comes to mind every time I hear about such nonsense going on in our world. In his song "God Thinks" the artist Voltaire sings to such people "God thinks you're an idiot. God prefers a heretic. God thinks all people like you are hateful. God thinks all people like you are an embarrassment to creation. Self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw a stone and use His name for your own agenda."

You can watch him perform the song live in the video clip below.



So many people are disillusioned with organized religion, myself being one of them. And yet, I feel drawn to the Divine. I have my own personal way of relation to the Creator, and for the most part, I keep it very private.

I have heard enough of other people telling me what God thinks, including where I should go to church, what music I should listen to, what books I should read, what movies I should watch, where I should eat, who my friends should be... and the list stretches on and on. Whenever somebody tells me that their holy book or their view on religion is the "Absolute Truth" I immediately tune them out. This kind of thinking has caused so much damage to our world.

So what are we to do, those who still believe, yet refuse to play the game, not conforming to the standard organized religions of our day?

Yesterday I treated the family to the movie Avatar in 3D. I have to say that the special effects were awesome, more beautiful and realistic than I could have imagined. I went to see the movie, not knowing the spiritual truths that would be conveyed. The story is ageless, and has been told in many cultures, in many ways. Yet the truth behind the tale is essentially the same. There exists a peaceful people who live in communion with Nature. Their deity isn't up in Heaven somewhere sitting in judgement over them all. Their Creator lives within them, and within every animal and tree in the forest. They have learned to truly listen, and to see. They are a community with deep reverance for their Creator and all living things. Then outsiders come. Insisting their way is the only way, they do whatever it takes to convert the natives to their brand of thinking. When the natives refuse, they are massacred, their sacred sites destroyed, and they are forced to move on.

My wife Patti asked me the other day what I believed. After watching Avatar, I told her that this is the closest thing on film that I have ever seen that I can relate to as far as my spiritual beliefs go.

In my opinion, the native peoples had it right. The Native Americans, Druids, and other indigenous peoples lived in harmony with Nature and their Deity. Yes, we tend to romanticize these ancient peoples, glossing over some of the attrocities that they commited. Yet at heart, they understood the truth. God wasn't just Father to them, but Mother as well. Nature and Her creatures were sacred. They loved and honored their elders and ancestors.

How far we have come. We have trashed the planet, fought over the correct way to worship God, and consider animals and trees soulless things without value. I often long for a simpler, more peaceful time. I am still searching for a people, a community, who lives in harmony with Nature and honors their Creator in a loving, non-judgemental way. Maybe someday...