We’ve all asked the question at one point or another. Is there a God? You can take the word “God” and rephrase it as you like. God. Goddess. Gods or gods. Assign a name in its place. Yahweh. Krishna. Great Father. G. Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat. Whatever you want, and whichever makes you feel more comfortable. But the question remains. Is there some kind of Supreme Being who looks over the Universe and keeps everything running like it should?
Depending upon whom you ask, there are a lot of different answers to that question. But since it has been put to us directly, I’ll try to answer it. Of course, I’m arrogant enough to believe that I have the right answer, and I refuse to get into any lengthy arguments over the substance of my answer. Not because I don’t want to defend my contentions, but simply because each of us perceives this thing we call “god” through our own preconceptions and understanding. It’s necessarily going to be very different for each of us. If there’s a difference between me and a lot of other people, it’s that I concede that my conception of god is not the only valid conception.
So… is there a “God”?
Yes, there is a god.
Beyond that simple statement, though, there’s actually very little any of us can prove. Atheists, of course, would scoff at this idea, but for most of us the basic truth of the matter is that we’ve felt the presence of this thing we call “god”. While we may not all have been aware of it, we’ve felt this presence since birth. We know god is there in the same way we know that gravity is there. It just is. However much we might argue about the true nature of gravity, it’s still there, and it doesn’t listen to us as we try to define it in ways which suit our own purposes and arguments. Neither does god. But at some point in our lives we start to become aware of a god, or presence, that lives in every fiber of every living thing, and which we are all a part of. You are as much a part of god as a cell is a part of your body.
My intent here is not to provide a definitive answer. I know that when someone asks a question like “Is there a god?” they don’t expect the answer to be left at “Yes”. They want more of an explanation. They want more details, and the why and where of it all. But whatever theology I, or anyone else, might come up with, it would all be theoretical. As such, our individual opinions are like our preference in clothing. Wear what you like, and don’t worry about whether it fits in with someone else’s ideal of fashion or aesthetics. None of that matters.
Accept the basic premise that all spiritual and religious thought begins and ends with acceptance of the existence of god, and the rest is really easy. It’s only that first, central question that matters. It’s the only one that will ever matter. And whether you decide to define god as a holy, unnameable creature set high in the firmament or a being closer to home in the form of Thor, Odin, Yahweh, Krishna, Great Father or G. Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat, there’s only one thing that matters. You’re right. And so am I. And so is everyone else. We are all using our own comfortable terminology and theology to describe the same thing. Just because we disagree on the particulars doesn’t mean that any of us are wrong. That’s like arguing over a favorite color, and just as pointless.
There is a god.
That’s all that matters.
The rest is just semantics.
[artwork by Isra2007]
