GOD: Creator or Created?
This was a spontaneous piece of prose, without any planning or preconceived ideas. Religion is, naturally, a very controversial issue, and I thought it best to simply let the thoughts tumble out of my head, so that I didn’t miss any points.
I have always been very doubtful as regards the existence of a God or higher power and have since chosen to be atheist. Since I’m 16 this could be a passing phase, but at the moment it is hard to tell.
*Please let me know all your thoughts as regards this issue- I am ready to take any form of criticism, because I know that I’m probably wrong :) *
GOD: Creator or Created? belongs to the following groups:
AtheismWhy do we need God? The idea of God, of a higher power, someone watching over us, untouchable, ready to protect us, love us, punish us if we go wrong somewhere along the line- is it necessary? Is it Real? I wonder. It seems to me,at 16, that people need religion in their lives as a sort of pillar they can lean on so that they don’t give up halfway through life, disillusioned and burdened with the pointlessness of their existence. maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe the idea of a higher power was simply created by us to maintain a sense of order: “if you sin, you’ll go straight to hell” kind of thing; because people fear the wrath of something they do not understand rather than that of the next man. Is this all senseless talk? The question of the existence of a creator of our world has been the subject of much debate and violence in the past, and nobody ever seems to come up with a satisfying answer. If there is no God, how could we just appear out of thin air? If there is a God, how did he get there, because surely, in all his alleged power and might, he still could not have made himself? It all boils down to this being not a question of how we as humankind came to be here, but how much meaning our lives can possibly hold; because if there is no afterlife, no eternal glory, what are we heading into? As an atheist, I can understand why people need something to believe in.
In those times when nothing seems to be going right, you feel like you need to be able to ask someone to help you through the difficult patch, you need to have a reason to believe that someone, somewhere, with power over all people, will help you, simply because you need them to, you’re begging them to. It’s easy to understand, but why don’t people simply appeal to their inner strength? mostly because they believe themselves to be weak. That is why we, as human beings, need God, Allah, Jehovah, Jah, the Shepherd, whatever name we choose to give this force that we choose to believe guides the order of all things.
markgb
AMEN! Beautiful writting!
Melissa Kohlmann replied
Thanks :)
TonyBalony
Well done my dear. You’ve hit it right on the ever-growing religious nose! (Well, the growing nose thingy doesn’t really make sense unless you believe that Pinocchio existed,
but then again, Mr. Pinocchio is just as real as god, allah, jehovah, jah, the shepherd, or anyone else that we humans have made up.This is a fav!
Melissa Kohlmann replied
Lol, thank you so much for the fave! You’re really funny :)
whitecrow
Very deep for a sixteen year old. I’m impressed.
Melissa Kohlmann replied
thanks :) Much appreciated
Vanessa DeWig
This was put together very well. i recently spoke with a religious friend of mine and we debated about christianity. after a much heated debate, he seemed to calm down and listen when i said this: “i understand that spirituality is very important to you. All I ask is that you read more about what we talk about, and if you feel that god is a made up human thing, then please know, you are not alone, you won’t be without a community, there will be people there to support you, to help you through life.” After reminding people that they don’t need religion, that we are strong and creative and sincere individuals, and that we aren’t alone, it makes them stop and think a little.
again, i enjoyed your writing and look forward to seeing more.
Melissa Kohlmann replied
Thank you very much :) I really appreciate it….
retepk
Well said Melissa. A profound observation.
Melissa Kohlmann replied
thanks :)
Vim Lowenstein
touche. the whole thing was created to keep in line commoner people from committing crimes. common people who couldnt read or write and didnt know any better. we are a much more literate race now and the fundamentalists dont know how to accept their beliefs as outdated. I like the piece you wrote, if your not a member of the Atheist bubble group its worth checking out.
Vim Lowenstein
okay my last message was stupid, long day. you ARE a member of atheism group…duh
Melissa Kohlmann replied
Ha ha, I understand :) Your point of view’s quite interesting, I’ve never quite been able to articulate my thoughts as well as that
Vim Lowenstein
I just rant and ramble on and occasionally speak the right notes. my relatives were heavily into christianity and I from an early age learnt about the world outside of an out-of-date script called the bible. its hard to speak against religion in this day and age without people denouncing you as evil and prejudice, which is sad, I say lets debate everything, nothing is off the cards baby
Melissa Kohlmann replied
Ha ha :) The funniest thing was when I opened my locker at school and someone had put in a note: “I hope you rot in hell, you filthy goth”. I didn’t know goth was a swear word; I laughed my head off. Then i found out that the perception of goths people have here is WARPED- Goth Rocker=Satanist. Just because heavy metal is violent. Big deal. Funny, because there is Gospel Rock.
Vim Lowenstein
most people should probably look into sub cultures and religious groups before they attempt to use them in anger or praise. I am not a satanist but if you read the The Satanist Bible – by Anton LaVey its really quite boring and all the commandments or rules are common sense such as do not hurt animals etc but I think most heavy metal uses satan as a joke because it so easy to agitate fundamentalist christians and people who never take the time to read about other cultures, groups or cults. of course some people, just like other religions, take that shit too far and that hurts all the people who are seen to associate with satan, evil, wearing black nail polish etc. goths are generally harmless and cool people and down to earth which in times of hysteria are pleasant traits to possess
Melissa Kohlmann replied
Wow you’re right…. most of the violent people I’ve met listen to hip-hop…. Another thing that makes me angry is heavy metal bands being blamed for teenage murders. thousands of people listen to that music without killing anyone so why blame the band, eg. Slipknot? I guess it’s just because it’s easier to blame something else for your own shortcomings- the parents of teenage killers are the ones to blame for not seeing the warning signs; letting their children become disassociated with the real world and not being able to socialise properly. And what about the columbine killings? Those boys just happened to be fans of Marilyn Manson, who, in all his interviews, seems to be the least satanic musician of them all. What kind of parents would have children who would buy guns without them knowing about it??? It’s a disgrace. Oh well
Vim Lowenstein
you make some valid points. ever see the Gus Van Sant movie Elephant? thats kinda a take on the Columbine shootings. really good but disturbing movie at times worth seeing. hope you had a good weekend, I am just now sweating out the alcohol from my system. detox baby
shaktipat
interesting ideas shared by many i see. i am a spiritual person not aligned with any ‘religion’. religion is a hypocrisy. however i am certainly a Believer. otherwise i wouldn’t be able to feel love around me every day, and spend so much time watching those stars that i can’t accept simply ‘appeared’ one day ;-) lovely thought provoking words my friend.