Today's MOZEN: Is God On Your Side?

Words and photo by F LoBuono

A lot of things confuse me on a regular basis. That's obvious! But, there is one thing that tends to vex me more than most. And, that is the role that god plays in our daily lives. I'm not being flippant, trite, or condescending. Quite to the contrary, it is a most legitimate question.

Whether we practice formal religion or not, god is evoked countless ways and with startling frequency on a daily basis. It's thank god for this, or thank god we didn't get that, or god forbid, or god help us, or if it weren't for the grace of god . . . You get my point.

What confuses me is how can god be all of those things to all of those people? I get the point of omnipotence but let me explain why it doesn't work for me that way.

Recently, a police officer in Philadelphia was nearly assassinated. His attacker claimed that he committed the crime in the name of Allah (god). So, first, you have a person who believes he is being true to HIS god. I'm sure that he is demented. However, it must be considered that, in his heart, he BELIEVED that he was doing the right thing in the name of his religion. Second, during the press conference following the attack, the police chief said "thank god the bullets missed the mark and the officer was only wounded".* Well, here is my issue with that statement: if god IS omnipotent and all merciful (as most religions claim) then why the hell did the attack happen in the first place? If god is ALL good, ALL about love, why do evil things happen in the first place? And, please don't say the devil - if god is truly omnipotent, then Satan can hold no sway over him. A truly good, righteous, and merciful god would not allow horrible things happen to good people. That's kinda the reward for behaving properly. Right? Makes sense?

There is also the claim that "god only gives us what we can handle" - like life is some kind of aptitude test! If you believe in an all merciful being then he/she/it would not "test" someone in such a cruel way. I remember asking one of my teachers, a nun, why god makes some children with disabilities. Her answer: "so that you can see how fortunate you are"! What utter nonsense.

It all reminds me of the song by Bob Dylan, With God On Our Side. Dylan explains that every soldier enters every war with the idea that god is on his side. Well, in the end, only one side can win. What do you tell the losers - sorry, but god was not on your side.

Now, I'm not saying that this either proves or disproves the presence of god. I'll leave the question of the very existence of god for another discussion. This is NOT to denigrate believers. However, I do feel that a divine power, should it truly exist, does not function in that way. He is not a puppet master that pulls our strings to make us go. He does not "spare" or "take" us according to his "will". That's not his purpose. Rather, a divine influence should be used as a moral compass to guide us in making the decisions that affect our lives as directed by the virtues a true god represents: love, forgiveness, and compassion.

Do we really need to believe anything else?

I await your answers . . .


* my quotes