What if God Actually Exists?

So, I shall get straight to the barrage of questions which Rick Wayne posed in his article entitled, “God a Figment of Primitive Imagination?” in last weekend’s STAR. It was never my intention to take a scholarly approach to my essays and risk boring my readers, some of whom are already complaining about the length of my articles. I shall therefore attempt to respond as succinctly as possible to a few of the pertinent issues. I am sure there will be enough time in the future to expound on the others.
Why did I turn to God? Like many people from religious families, I never got the opportunity to turn to God or to choose Christianity. I was born and indoctrinated into it. It was all I knew. I was made to believe that my church was the one true church and that all others were deceived and led by false prophets. Therefore, the thought of taking an interest in other religions never once crossed my mind. At the time, I had never heard of, or met, any atheist and the only mention I recall hearing of the evolution theory had to do with human beings descending from monkeys and scientists trying to deceive the masses. At the time I decided to get baptized I was on a similar quest as I am now, and as I have always been from as far back as I can remember, which is a quest for self-development; except, back then, I erroneously thought that God and religion were the only ways to achieve that.
What brought about my apostasy? If I had to put my finger on that one defining moment which first got me questioning religion, it would be premarital sex. Fornication causes guilt and cognitive dissonance, or psychological discomfort, which must be resolved one way or the other. Some people tell themselves God is merciful and will continue to forgive. Others rush to get married, while the rest of us manage to convince ourselves with a variety of reasons that premarital sex is OK.
I remember taking more of a scholarly approach by researching the origin of the word “fornicate” which comes from the Latin word “fornicare” or “fornix.” which describes an “archway” or “vault” where prostitution occurred. In other words, fornication originally referred to prostitution or other acts of sexual perversion—a classic example of the sort of rationalization that Christians engage in on a regular basis.
Higgs Boson and Quantum Mechanics If you asked me to explain what causes lightning, I would most likely respond with a blank, retard-like stare. So you can imagine my predicament if I were to attempt to discuss the Higgs boson or quantum mechanics. My ignorance of physics, however, is irrelevant to the fact that laws and principles of physics exist and can be demonstrated by those who are knowledgeable in the field.
I would definitely need faith to believe the incomprehensible theories and findings of scientists, but that “faith” is in no way synonymous with religious faith. Many people seem to be conveniently unaware that the word faith is used in two different contexts. Faith can mean “to have trust and confidence in someone or something,” which is the sort of faith one has in science. We trust the knowledge and intelligence of those who come up with the various theories and findings. We rely on the conclusions of other scientists who review, critique, debate, and sometimes reject scientific findings and we trust that they are all being as objective as possible. But we also have the choice to be skeptical and refuse to accept any scientific findings which are not conclusive. Religious faith, on the other hand, refers to the belief in things or ideas for which no demonstrable evidence exists. Unlike science, which allows scientists to adjust their conclusions in the face of new evidence, religious beliefs are generally unchangeable and set in stone, even when confronted with conflicting evidence.
The authenticity of Moses: While there are some theologians who still claim that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, there is overwhelming evidence to support that the first five books of the Old Testament were instead written by various authors and that most of the books were written centuries after the time of Moses. Those who assert that Moses was the author use scriptures from the same questionable bible to support their claims. In addition, a number of incidents in the Old Testament which are regarded as historical facts, such as the global Flood, and the enslavement and mass exodus of the Israelites, are also in contention as there is no hard evidence to substantiate them.
The authenticity of Jesus: I am sure that Jesus was a real ma—one of the many wise teachers who lived in those days. I find nothing spectacular about his life or his vague teachings, however. There is more danger than wisdom in turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, remaining poor and being meek, and forsaking your family to follow Christ. I would also have been more impressed if the Jesus character was an ordinary man and not the son of an almighty God. Ordinary men don’t do magic, or resurrect from the dead. Ordinary men sin, build character, and become wise from their mistakes. They fall in love and have sexual desire. Furthermore, Jesus was supposedly sent by God on a mission. It was impossible for him to fail because if he did, God would have had to go back to the drawing board again to come up with yet another “brilliant” plan.
The more pertinent issue is whether Jesus was indeed the son of a God and whether we could believe eye-witness accounts of his resurrection any more than the many people who have reported seeing Elvis Presley after his death, or the countless others who have gone on record as having seen UFOs and having been abducted by space aliens and ladjablès. If Jesus’ resurrection was a unique incident, which everyone at the time marveled at and felt inclined to record, I would probably give it some more consideration. But “resurrections” were apparently so commonplace that several saints came back to life following an earthquake which reportedly happened after Jesus’ resurrection, and no one except Matthew cared to mention it, even though the dead zombies went liming all over Jerusalem. It is interesting that many scholars are skeptical about the latter mass resurrection even though it is in the bible, yet they are convinced of Jesus’ own.
The lack of evidence, the reliance on hearsay from a period of time when mythology abounded, the fact that there is still debate about so many issues surrounding the authenticity and authorship of the various books in the bible, the fact that the books of the bible were cherry-picked from many other sacred texts via consensus and that an investigation into some of those books which were omitted would give a slightly different picture of Jesus, and reveal similarities between his teachings and that of other religions at the time; the fact that gods were being worshipped long before Christianity came into existence – even the Christian God often warned about other gods; the fact that God’s justice in the Old Testament was no different or any more humane than the savagery which occurred at the time, and that Christian practices are hardly different from other pagan rituals; all that should be enough to make anyone a skeptic, unless one believes that his ultimate fate hangs in the balance and one is afraid to die.
So, having said all that, what if there really was a God? Well my question would be,:“Which one of the many Gods would it be?” If it were a creator God who simply started the big bang and went back into hiding, then who cares? If it were the sneaky, tyrannical Christian God who chose to be mysterious, confusing, and absent for thousands of years, planning to make a grand appearance after I am dead to punish me for not believing, then who cares? My fate would all be part of his masterplan anyway, and saying “Forgive me Lord” would not save me from the fiery furnace!