Is There A God? (part 1)

God. A word that has been the topic of debate for centuries, and has brought out some of the worst of mankind. Wars have been waged because of it. Many millions throughout history have been maimed, tortured, and killed due to it. What is it about this word that causes such controversy amongst mankind? In this study, evidence will be put forward that this controversial word actually has a real, tangible, rational being behind it. This study will be in two parts. Part 1 will be putting forward the reality that atheism proposes. Part 2 will be laying out evidence that a Designer is behind the design.

Before evidence is brought forth that our world has a creator, I must first put before you the dark contrast of life, if the world were to have no God behind it. Many people today do not even think about the serious implications that their own belief system can have, not just to themselves, but to the world that surrounds them. Many people reject the notion that there is a designer behind this world. What does this rejection actually mean? What are the consequences? Some people may have honest and well thought out objections to religion in general. There are many religions, and many claiming the path to God. There are horrible histories surrounding many of them that can taint and darken a message that a religion is trying to put forward. Some also may have bad experiences with religion which can often shut people away for good in trying to find answers to their heart burdening questions on their own existence. It can be confusing, even overwhelming for those seeking answers to life. For these people, my heart goes out to you. I can imagine how hard it is for you to have questions that have not been answered. I know this feeling very well. I want to give you, the reader, some comfort. This study is not dealing with religion at all. This study is focusing on a question. Is there a God? This is a question you likely have asked and may be wondering about. I hope this study at least answers one of your many questions you likely have. 

As before stated, many reject the notion that there is a designer behind this world. There is nothing wrong with that, if it comes from a well thought out process of analysation. Thoughtfully weighing up the evidence before you. What is alarming though, is how many people do not even question if there is a God. They live their lives having no thought of what their unthoughful belief system may do to themselves and to others. What effects will it have on their children? Will their lack of thinking and questioning affect their relationships with others? Today we live in a world of distractions. A circus. We're not even aware of the prison that has been created for ourselves, by ourselves. It is said that the worst kind of slavery is not knowing you are one. I would take it one step further. We created our own prison cell for our own slavery to be contained in, and we called it home. Home is usally a place of comfort. To be comfortable in your own prison, made by you, for you, to live out your days as a slave, to be the slave and the slavemaster all at the same time without knowing it, should be truly terrifying to all of us. The prison that is made by us isnt just for us, it's for others too. We are social creatures and most of us don't like to be alone. That prison will extend to those around that person. Even to those they love. You may be wondering what this has to do with the question at hand. It has everything to do with it. Those who do not question if there is a God, a being beyond themselves, someone objective, will form their own belief system through experiences, debates, social media, propaganda, conversations and even what has been handed down to them through childhood by parents. Their inheritance. With this belief system realized it is then passed on to friends in conversation, to family members, and to the next generation. What we believe doesn't just shape us, it shapes our world. The prison we create for ourselves is not a literal prison of bars, it is a prison of lies, ideas, a prison of beliefs. There is nothing wrong with belief, only if the belief enslaves you and others is when it becomes a problem. It is easily done when the beliefs formed are subjective. 

Does all of this matter? Not if their is no God. If there is no God, then the life you and everyone else lives doesn't matter at all. All of your desires, dreams, ambitions, are all in vain. Everything you have worked hard to achieve, all the relationships you may have put energy to, and the resources you may have gained for yourself and maybe for others is for nothing, it is meaningless. Everything you find meaningfull is meaningless, because you are here. You are an accident, a byproduct of chance.You will live an absurd life, and die in absurdity itself. What is even more cruel about this world view is that when you die, there may be people who will mourn your death. They will be at the funeral with broken hearts and much grief, not knowing or understanding the absurd life you lived, they themselves are living. They too are accidents. We all are. The absurd prison engulfs us all. Swallows us whole and leaves no remains. The people at your funeral will remember the good times they may have had with you, replaying the memories in their mind, wishing you were alive and with them, all for nothing. They too are bound to end in death. The experience of death and suffering, meaningless.  Everything you worked hard for, the good you may have done, the people you may have helped, the things you might have built, the children you might have bore and rasied, all for nothing, because this thing called life was an accident. If there is no God, there is no purpose for us being here. 

You might think that by having children, your legacy will live on. You might be right, for a time. At some point though, all life will cease to exist. The sun will eventually give out it's light and warmth. End of. There is nothing to live for. In this world view death is the sweet release. People should actually be happy when someone dies, because those who die, no longer have to feel the bitterness of a meaningless life well lived. We are told by scientists of various sorts that this world does not have a creator and will one day come to its end due to the universe expanding, getting colder or warmer, darker, and eventually not habitable to life itself. The sun they say, will eventually go out. They speak often of volcanoes, climate change, earthquakes, and asteroids also destroying the earth and all life in it. These views are then propagated and dispensed to society through Orwell's telescreen, newspapers, the radio, social media and even churches themselves. These ideas are taken so seriously that billionaire philanthropists are trying to find ways to take us out of Earth to establish us beyond the stars, underground, even in the depths of the ocean to escape what they beleive is to come. Even Hollywood takes these ideas and runs with them, The Martian film with Matt Damon, or Armageddon with Bruce Willis are examples. The warnings that the scientists themselves give are in vain, because there is no purpose for us being here. Why warn anyone of anything bad to come? We are not supposed to be here to begin with, what's the point? All ends in death forever.

The really sad thing is if there is no God, life becomes a very cruel joke. Think about it. You were brought into life, maybe with the ability to see objects, beautiful colours, to taste many wonderful flavours from many different types of food. To hear sounds, touch and smell. To form relationships and be aware of them, form memories. Experience joy and happiness from time to time. Have dreams and hope for your future. Have the desire for happiness, and ambition. To set goals for yourself. The desire to grow and learn as an individual and maybe share that with someone else. The desire to know someone and to be known. All for nothing. All that experience of life, wasted. All because this life you are living was never supposed to have happened in the first place. Some people may think that they are free without God, but as you can see, if what they believe is true, then they are not free at all. They are in a torture chamber disguised as an amusement park. Maybe Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini weren't as bad as most people think. How can we know? We can't, because if there is no God, there is no such thing as good and evil. Morality becomes completely subjective. A flavour or taste of opinion. Something constructed through a process of time to benefit the tribe. A social construct, or maybe a byproduct of evolution. Who knows, who cares. As life becomes a cruel joke, we become a sick joker. We masquerade morals having no basis for them. Nothing objective, beyond us. Is stealing bad? Maybe for the person getting stolen from, but for the thief? The thief just added to his stockpile of resources. Life is absurd remember, why wouldn't you be looking out for your own interests?

This brings me to my final point on life without a God. Those who reject God or dont consider even asking the question, or who don't know if there is one; many try and live a 'good' life (whatever that means). They try to help people, many take care of friends and family. They might even donate to charities. They reject God, yet they will choose to live as a Christian. Why not be consitent with your worldview? Why be a hypocrite? If there is no God, then these people are not jokers like the rest of us, they are unknowingly the guards of the torture chamber of life preventing everyone else from getting what's theirs by whatever means necessary. You see the painting without a painter isn't really a painting at all, its hell.

I know this first part has been a lot to take in, but I wanted to really explain or give a taste of the views of life being put forward by the established voice of atheism and what it's implications are. I wanted you to see it in all its glory. In part 2, I will be putting forward evidence that points to God. We go from the darkness, and now into the light, of course many people are used to the darkness. This first part was not to depress you by intention (although it likely did), but to make the darkness, well, darker, so that the light will really shine.

Questions For Reflection

1. What are your thoughts on the reality of life if there is no God?
2. Have you thought about this question before, 'is there a God'?
3. Do you want there to be a God?