Why Do We Argue With God?

I want to expand on a point I made in the last posting. We human beings live in two worlds. One world is a world of certainty. In this world we know everything that we need to know. The other world is one of uncertainty. We know some but not all of what we need to know in this world. Christians believe that the Bible answers all questions. Without discounting the importance of the Bible, it takes little understanding to realize that it represents a metaphor rather than an explanation of the nature of things. To stretch it into the final authority on life is counter productive to true growth and maturity. In truth, the Bible has to be read in light of our understanding as it presently exists, not the understanding of those, however inspired they might have been, who actually wrote it. They lived in a time when the understanding of the universe was limited and public mores were very different from our own. Those limitations are found constantly in the narrative and can only be overcome by looking for the fundamental truth, not the actual words which can be highly provocative according to modern standards. Most theologians understand and accept this point. Hence, appeals to stone teenagers for disobeying their parents are rightly ignored and would even be unlawful in most jurisdictions. The underlying truth is that teenagers ought to honor their father and mother as a matter of course. The lesson is given but the stoning part is ignored. As we mature and understand more of the world we live in and the universe that contains it, we have an opportunity to grow. Indeed, we have an obligation to grow and mature. We now possess weapons of mass destruction. Image if Genghis Khan, who loved to watch his prisoners die in great numbers, possessed the atom bomb. More to the point, imagine if Adolph Hitler had possessed the atom bomb. The whole rationale behind religion is to make us more mature and sensitive to the needs of our fellow human beings. This is reflected in the golden rule. That rule reflects the positive rather than the negative. Unfortunately, religion tends to favor the negative aspects. Many Christians are now in love with the idea that we are living in the times outlined in the book of Revelations. The truth is that the original author of that Book was talking about Rome, not the United States of America. The horrible events predicted in that Book are metaphoric and will not happen. It is time for the religions of the world to grow up, mature, and move past all of the apocalyptic nonsense that passes for religion these days. Given the awful results of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is madness to wallow around in such thoughts. In addition, the world is a dangerous enough place to live in as it is. Fifty million people died as a result of World War II. In October of 1962, the world came close to a nuclear war that would have taken far more lives than World War II did. Also, the economy of the world has the ability to take millions of lives all by itself. If we don't solve the disparity of income and hope among all of the nations of the world, we will see mass starvation and all of the attendant ills that would arise from that. It is time for the words of Jesus admonishing us to take care of the poor and suffering among us, to be taken seriously. That is the true goal of religion; not to foresee some pie in the sky answer to all the ills of man, but to use the assets and abilities that God has given us to solve the many problems that we now face. If we try to shoe horn the answers into some pet theory on how things are going in the world, we will worsen our situation and accomplish nothing good from it. The gnostic takes God at His word. He wants us to take charge of the world and make it a better place. He wants us to grow and mature which means nothing more than to learn to love each other and live with each other in peace. He wants us to take care of the biota and make it thrive, not suffer as it currently is doing. Finally, he wants us to become more like Him. Not the God who wants the Israelites to murder everybody in the City they conquer, but the God of Jesus who clothes the birds and adorns the lilies of the field. The God who loves us and gives us the means to love ourselves and others. America is turning into a pig sty because all we do is shout and scream at each other, often because of our religion. God wants us to grow and mature. Lets stop arguing with Him and do it.