Social Issues

Who is God?
Why the 21st Century Deity is Still Relevant.
by Ben Hughes

The modern idea of God has been changed by modern attitudes, but God has always been around, regardless of our perceptions.

In an increasingly scientific and technological disposable society, the nature of God is one of those topics which just won’t go away. Is God good, is good bad, why is there suffering and isn’t God a man anyway? Throughout history, these questions have been raised, argued and debated over and over again, but now society demands more. Proof. There must be proof for something, otherwise it doesn’t exist. That is, of course, unless it’s science, in which case it must be right.

So who is God?

The Bible refers to God as male but the Qur’an says that Allah has no gender. The problem is that if God is male, doesn’t that sort of go against the whole idea of equality? Well, perhaps. Yet religions, as part of history, have been very patriarchal. Male dominated societies talk in male dominated language, which has been passed down the generations and hasn’t yet fitted in with the more equal 21st century ideal.

Suffering

Many people argue that if there is a God, there would be no suffering in the world and this is one argument that could blow the whole idea of religion out of the water. So much of human suffering is due to freewill and the individual decisions people make which impact on others. Yet much suffering is also out of human hands. Think of the insurance claims which are deemed “an act of God”, or the baby born with a genetic illness. These surely can’t be because of human actions or a punishment for past misdeeds.

Religions would argue in favour of the devil, the ruler of hell, who causes pain and misery for those on Earth in an attempt to turn them against God. For if there was no evil, then the good times wouldn’t be as good, there would be no point to life and temptation would be drastically reduced. Yet whether the devil offers a concrete argument or a get-out clause is debatable for some and the idea that some things in the world are beyond human understanding is little reassurance for others.

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Proof

Many millions of people each year have prayers answered, witness miracles or have some sort of divine experience, but there are many others who ask for help and don’t receive it. Does this mean that God doesn’t exist? Sometimes it’s easy to pray without opening hearts and minds fully. There may be signs and messages it’s too easy to miss, just as Bruce Nolan missed the signs offered to him in the film Bruce Almighty before he crashed his car and met with God.

The question is not always what proof is there, but what proof is acceptable. Too many people want God to appear to them, but would still refuse to believe simply on the grounds that they don’t really want to. There is evidence everywhere for God if people want to look for it but it is far easier to deny God than to accept God’s existence is a possibility. That’s the difference between believing and knowing on the one hand and having faith on the other.

God is not dead in the 21st century, but human ideas of God have changed. In an instant society, people look for instant solutions, but sometimes patience and perseverance bring hope and peace. It is not God who has changed, but humans’ perception of who or what God is. Individual needs have changed, hopes and visions have altered, there are new challenges and obstacles, but believing in God was never meant to be easy.