Do we need God or a god in our lives? I think it’s one of the oldest questions ever asked. By the word God I mean any divine entity by any definition, for it seems since the beginning for time, man have always found some sort of a divine figure or icon to worship and lookup to. Such question, sadly, is usually tackled by believers through quoting scriptures or messages, and very few would actually go to the lengthiest conversations to answer it. I don’t need you to tell me who do think God is, or how does he look like, or act like, or how much he loves you, what I need to know is do we need him.
I grow up in a very religious community, in a traditional family and between good parents. I grew learning about God, and about his religion. By the time I reach 10 years old, I discovered that there are more than one “his religion” being practiced by many people. And slowly through my teenage years I became accustomed to the variety of sects and practices in each faith. But before I was “educated” about different religions and how to be “tolerant” to their beliefs and practices, I never knew God can be used for evil and bad. To me, God represented all what is good and pure, and the road to salvation. Soon after the world became more real to me, I saw the horror and darkness than can be inflected by the word God. Since the dawn or birth, man seems be in total conviction that there is something or someone bigger and more powerful than him. Some nations worshiped their kings, or idols, multiple gods, planets, stars, stone, animals, and ghosts...etc, but they all agreed on two common concepts; there is a god(s), and our god(s) is the right god(s).
I’ve read and seen the power of God’s message. Some are implemented for good and some are for evil. I’ve read about nations and empires driven by the love of god wiping away other “non believers” for the glory of his kingdom. I’ve read about people crucifying others for being “infidels”. I’ve seen people burned on sticks, head cut off, jailed, persecuted and hunted down because they didn’t accept a certain god’s name. I’ve seen airplanes carrying god’s followers taking the lives of the 1000s of people because they refuse to receive god’s love. I’ve seen people go on TV attacking people’s lifestyle and beliefs in a way neither their God nor his messengers ever exercised. I’ve seen people make more profit, better luxuries lives and fame that the man who brought their religion to this earth. The more I read, see and hear the more I know the real question is not “Do we need God”, but rather “Do they need God”, do they need god to do their evil? Do they need god’s love to spread their hate? Do they need god’s name?
Someone one once told me that Hell is not a physical inferno, nor a hole filled with flames and demons but a dark empty place out of God’s grace. I fear that the scariest Hell of all is not the afterlife’s hell, but the hell we see live in here. A hell of ignorance, intolerance and injustice, a hell when everyone can claim God’s love, a hell where people would use god’s glory for their own gratifications. I read a great post by a friend of mine titled: “Everyone bring his own fire”. A story of a man who goes to Hell asking for some fire for his wood, and that’s when Hell’s keepers say : “we have no fire here, everyone brings his own fire”. Some of us need god for good, some needs him for evil, but at the end God needs none of us. Do you need God?