How I See God

The Weird and The Wacky Meet

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How I See God

In the past I’ve thought long and hard about this topic. I am not sure why writing a three minute spiel about my beliefs is so hard for me. I am not sure if it’s because I have too much or too little to say, or if I am worried about offending people or not offending them enough. Last night I was reading all sorts of humanist quotes trying to inspire myself, and I realized that many people have much more eloquently expressed their thoughts on the topic.

There is a short answer for how I see God. I don’t. I don’t see any type of God at work in the universe or my life. I don’t see God in nature or in other people. God doesn’t exist in any shape, form, or ideal. In “Our Chosen Religion” Forrest Church was quoted as saying to atheists, “Tell me what sort of God you don’t believe in, I probably don’t believe in him either.” Well, I don’t believe in any of them. Not one.

So you’re saying, “Okay, she doesn’t believe in God. No shock there.” But you’re also probably wondering why. There are a lot of reasons to not believe in God, anger, rebellion, existential angst, but there is only one reason why I don’t believe in any type of God: The fundamental lack of evidence for any God like creature.

Usually, after I tell people that I don’t believe in God, they ask, “How can you be so certain? Is there any evidence proving god’s non-existence?” The answer to both is quite simple if you understand the difference between probability and possibility. Like an agnostic, I believe God is possible, so I’m not completely certain. Unlike an agnostic, I do not believe that the existence of God is equally probable to his non-existence. I am reasonably certain that God does not exist.

The second question, “Is there evidence for God’s non-existence,” is answered with a no. But how do you prove a negative? Is there evidence that unicorns don’t exist? How about leprechauns, fairies, and Santa? Why should God require a stronger negation than other mythical beings?

I also want to distinguish that that the God question isn’t that important to me anymore. When I first started to question the existence of God, it was huge. I had several friends tell me that I was hell bound and that there would never be any hope for me in my life. About five years ago, while negotiating the streets of Brooklyn in my tiny little Nissan, I had a revelation. I had made my peace with God.

There is a miniscule chance I’m wrong about God’s existence, but so what if I am? I’ve got my feet firmly planted in humanistic ideals that make my moral compass much more reliable. If I have a personal religion, it’s grounded in the faith of humanity. The idea that I am part of a larger community and by helping that community, I make myself stronger and make the community more of something to have faith in. If I’m wrong about God, so what? Would a superior being send another person to hell for not having faith, or would they take into account how one lives there life? Even the bible agrees with me here. Jesus is quoted as saying, “By your fruits you shall know them, not all who call my name will get into heaven.” There are different ways to interpret this, but I see the humanistic bent in the language. In short, even Jesus only looks at works to decide who goes to heaven. I’ve made my peace with God if I’m wrong.

The second comment I get as an atheist, is “Where do you find hope?” I find hope in humanity. I find more hope in humanity because I know it exists than I ever did in God. I mean, if this life is just a read through for the next life, then what’s the point? I think there is an important distinction between secular humanism and atheists. Atheism speaks to only one thing, a belief in God. While I don’t believe we should be apathetic to the question of God’s existence, I don’t think it’s the most important criteria to judge someone.

My humanism comes from many sources, sometimes they are straight out of secular mouths, like Carl Sagan, Robert Ingersol, or Bertand Russell, but just as often they come from traditionally religious sources like the Dalai Lama or our former minister with her post-modern process theology or even trying to find the good in traditional holy books. Sometimes I think about what I would be if I weren’t an atheist. First I’d be a Buddhist, and if not a Buddhist, than a Reformed Quaker. I firmly believe that we should find good in all beliefs, but at the same time, I have to say, let’s throw the bad away.

by Amanda Evans

Date: 07/26/03