Folks.. A long break to come up with a blog which has been roaming in my mind. And it took a while to accumulate this thought to bring out something substantial.. More importantly a disclaimer this blog is about atheism and if you are a theist and if u feel I'm trying to push in atheism into you 'I'm very sorry'. Whatever written here is my opinion and possibly opinion of atheists.. You need not answer any questions.. And I don't have anything against your beliefs.. So just enjoy reading !!
The first time you probably heard this sentence probably is not in your memory now.. Because most likely it is spoken by your parent when you were just born.. Probably not a 100 times at the beginning it not have made sense.
When we grew up books, movies, reality all drove this word Love into us. At 10 we learnt it is a weapon “He loves her!” As a teenager we realized it had a consequence, and never used it till the r'ship reached a commitment level. We learned it had impact.
Eventually learning it can be a hard word to implement.
When we grew up we understood the love of our parents even when they punished us or didn't get us what we wanted at the moment we wanted. But still we could make out the love in it. At a stage we learnt to love somebody romantically (Probably the reason why we cry in a climax scene that says "because.. I love you.."
All of us, in observing relationships, understand there is a point where we categorize the action as “loving” and where we would claim it is not.
And we are all grown up listening to 'God loves us !' whichever God it may be.. From this phrase I didn't think God would give me whatever I wanted if that's what you thought is the reason why I don't believe in him/her.. I know and understand the love even when my Parents punished me or didn't give me what I wanted. I also know in a marriage relationship even without giddy and giggling all the time there is love. I also understand there are times when God has to make hard decisions and don't want him to be an ATM machine. But I expect the word 'Love' to mean what it means in other similar contexts
However there is one significant difference. In all our other relationships, we can communicate, with those involved, or with others, to learn, grow and differentiate as to what is love. With God there was only silence. Sure, others provide their own (conflicting) guesses, but those is all it is—conjecture on the human’s part.
“God, why did my 25 year old friend have to die?”
Silence.
“Is it because he had lived long enough, and you wanted him home?”
Silence.
“Was it a testimony to others, giving them a chance to get right with you?”
Silence.
So we start giving our own theories, and arrive at some queasy solution. An uneasy restlessness, often wondering if we got it quite right. Always willing to re-evaluate and guess again.
For many non believers this silence grew into a disconnect; it become more and more difficult to use a word so well understood—“love”— when as I mentioned there is a huge gap to what I understood about the word 'Love' and the 'Love' used in the context of God. A “loving” God would allow ten-year-old boys to be raped by football coaches? And allow it to continue because the person's reputation is big? Is this the best the so called 'Love' god do ?
I know you theists can come up with something like “We can’t explain it… but maybe _________” but can someone explain “Why God allows kids to starve in Africa” when your car is strewn with McDonald’s wrappers.
“God, why did my 25 year old friend have to die?”
Silence.
“Is it because he had lived long enough, and you wanted him home?”
Silence.
“Was it a testimony to others, giving them a chance to get right with you?”
Silence.
So we start giving our own theories, and arrive at some queasy solution. An uneasy restlessness, often wondering if we got it quite right. Always willing to re-evaluate and guess again.
For many non believers this silence grew into a disconnect; it become more and more difficult to use a word so well understood—“love”— when as I mentioned there is a huge gap to what I understood about the word 'Love' and the 'Love' used in the context of God. A “loving” God would allow ten-year-old boys to be raped by football coaches? And allow it to continue because the person's reputation is big? Is this the best the so called 'Love' god do ?
I know you theists can come up with something like “We can’t explain it… but maybe _________” but can someone explain “Why God allows kids to starve in Africa” when your car is strewn with McDonald’s wrappers.
If that is your excuse, stop saying “God loves you.” Because it sounds naive even to you..
We didn’t abandon belief in God, because we weren’t getting what we wanted; We understand 'Love' so much that it's not a bed of roses all the time. we came to realize the ridiculousness of fitting the word “love” to someone we immediately and in contradiction, we don't understand. One who was silent when asked something without any support or being against or response of any kind for that matter.
"No God” makes a whole lot more sense than “a loving God who doesn’t act loving, but we assume he IS loving, because any other possibility is too scary to even contemplate.”
It was not a divorce. In divorce the two people are still alive and there are chances of further love somewhere down the road.
This is a death and God was never there !!
