Can man really live without God? Can man still be moral without religion? Can we find meaning in this world without believing in a transcendental being? Well your answer will be different depending on which side of the fence you are on. The bias is as thick and sticky as cement glue. Dr Richard Dawkins, the atheist extraordinaire, has scored many persuasive polemical hits on the side of atheism to say that religion is largely redundant in this modern age of technology and advanced science. It used to be that religion plays an important role in explaining our world (or our universe). The world was deemed to have been created by God. Natural phenomena like rainfalls, storms and the solar eclipses were easily explained away by the proverbial acts of God. Religion also laid the foundation for morality and ethics. The Ten Commandments (Decalogue) was the moral code to live by for centuries after Moses descended from Mount Sinai. Religion was a consolation balm for many. The scriptures have many things to say to console the broken hearts, the downtrodden and the deeply depressed. Lastly, religion was undeniably a source of inspiration to countless believers. Ask Michelangelo, Leonardo, Newton and Einstein and they can all testify to the mystical powers of religion to lift the spirit and power one’s curiosity.
So, religion had been a potent force in the society, changing lives for the better, building civilization one brick at a time, and holding communities together.
But, in recent times, people in the mold of Richard Dawkins beg to differ. They think that the role of religion is largely exaggerated and over-rated. One cannot depend on Genesis to explain the beginning of the universe and life itself. Evolution is a much better, more reliable theory to explain the first spark of life and the beginning of all. How about morality? Well, the atheists have ganged up together to preach a new moral code for humanity. Morality to them is now decided by reason alone and not by any reference to the Bible. They are of the view that any non-believer with some basic common sense can instinctively come up with the Ten Commandments because men are inclined not to steal, kill and dishonor their parents.
Moreover, the recent sexual abuses of the Catholic priests have thrown much doubt and suspicion on the effectiveness of religion to maintain the moral fibre of the society. As for its consolation effects, religion is no better than any humanistic counseling to restore confidence, lift the mood and speed recovery for the depressed and near suicidal. Finally, religion also falls short on the inspiration side. Many great scientists who won the Nobel prizes do not subscribe to any religion in any form or substance. They are mostly atheists or agnostics, relying on their own intellect to pursue and unravel the mysteries of this world, one experiment at a time.
So, it appears that man can really live without God and still succeed and prosper in this modern scientific age. But, is religion really redundant? Is it time for God to retire and consign himself to a cosmic old folk celestial home? Has humanity reached a point in history to become deciders of their own destiny, fashioners of their own fate, and achievers of their own ambitions? Have we succeeded in building our own tower of Babel to dethrone God and enthrone ourselves for eternity?
Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There is one place that we have yet to conquer, dominate or subdue. This is a place we are most intimately acquainted with. This is place where all good and evil are birthed and take flight. This place is our heart; the human heart. Scientists of all ages can boast that they have unveiled the vast cosmos, solved most mysteries of life and nature, and advanced our understanding to a point where we are infinitely smarter than our primate cousins. But, the human heart is, to this very day, still very much untamed, vacant at most times, and broken and desolate, largely bereft of hope and deprived of meaning. Victor Hugo once said, “The world was made for the body, the body for the soul, and the soul made for God.” I believe we all live life of quiet desperation, mistaking titles, fame and money as the ultimate fulfillments of life.
One of the greatest mistakes of mankind is sadly one of metrics. We have measured ourselves against the wrong standards. We align ours values and ambitions against the world standards and realize that all our secular achievements are but only superficially satisfying. As we have failed to measure ourselves before God, we have failed to live life to the fullest, with meaning and exuberant hope. A philosopher once said, “All of man’s miseries are a reflection of his grandeur.”
Essentially, we have failed, or refused to admit, that we exist in partnership (or collaboration) with God, our maker. It was meant to be a purposeful relationship between the Creator and His creation. The world was created by God for us. But, we have rebelled against that order. We took creation into our own hands and wring it around to serve our own selfish ends. We live without God and allow our personal ambition full reign. This order against nature has tainted and perverted all our earthly senses and bloated our ego. And the pride of man is ultimately a destructive force of nature. When man live without God, he lives for himself, he reasons for himself, and he strives for himself. Everything around him, all his relationships, all his material wealth and resources, are essentially means to his own ends.
But let’s be clear. A man who lives without God can still be moral. He can still be good, making an honest living and loving his family as much as he loves himself. But he also lives with a moral dilemma. His morality and ethics are an extension of his power of reasoning. And his reasoning process is largely subjective, and is always tainted by personal interests. Take the atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell for example. One day, while he was riding a bicycle, he suddenly decided that he did not love his wife anymore. He then walked out on her and started numerous liaisons in his lifetime, most of which, I guessed, were personally unsatisfying.
Most atheists would subscribe to this life motto, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” But to what extent should one enjoy his or her life? What does this personal enjoyment entails? Is it a no-hold-bars life, where the sky is literally the limit? Is it a license to do anything as long as no one is hurt physically?
Well, I guess the table can be turned against us Christians and the history of much religious abuses attest to the unfortunate fact that we believers are no better than non-believers in living a good, honorable life. Child abuses, homosexual liaisons, financial embezzlements and murders can be found on both sides of the fence. Are we then really no different from the non-believers?
I think this mutual mudslinging misses the point. For atheists, all moral deliberation comes from themselves. It is based on their own subjective interpretations. Different cultures honor different values. Take infidelity for example. Jesus has set the bar so high that even mental lusting can at times be equated with adultery. But the world sees it differently. In certain parts of the world, it is consider rude not to offer one’s spouse sexually to one’s host. The Russians do not count beach resort flings as infidelity. South African considers drunkenness a defensible excuse for adultery. And Japanese businessmen believe that paying for sex is not cheating. So, the atheists would be “culturally coerced” to do what is right in the eyes of the community he resides in. In other words, his moral standard is adaptable, malleable and flexible. There is hardly any moral core or center. And the social casualty of his actions is usually the people around him.
To the believer, his moral standards are based on the principles of a moral maker. It is therefore immutable, unchanging. In other words, his conscience is submitted to God and his steps are ordered by Him. He is of course not perfect. Sometimes he is even far from perfect. But, at the very least, he is not the sole arbiter of what is right or wrong. Neither is he subjected to the swaying influence of cultural compromises. He is subjected to God’s principles and his daily guide and inspiration are based on the quintessential life and teachings of his savior, Jesus.
Most importantly, living without God, from the perspective of a Christian, is living without our true identity. We forfeit our divine image, our ancient roots, and our Godly heritage. GK Chesterton once remarked that to disbelieve God would be like waking in the morning, looking into the mirror, and seeing nothing. John 4:23 stresses this important point this way, “True worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” Indeed, we are spirit and we come to God acknowledging that we are created in His image. This is the first step of being a true worshipper. The second step is to worship Him in truth. When we sacrifice truth before the altar of this world, truth mutates into personal convenience and selfishness. We do as we please, and instead of “thy will be done”, it is our will that first and foremost needs to be done. As we lose our moral center, we also lose our spiritual identity.
So, let me end with the duplicitous life of Jacob (Genesis 27 and 32). Jacob experienced two turning points in his life. The first was tumultuous, and the second, life-transforming. If you recall, Jacob started his spiritual journey by asking for his father’s blessing. But it was by deception, and with the help of his mother, that he stole his twin brother’s blessings. In his elaborate deception, he even used God’s name in vain. When Isaac questioned him, Jacob persisted, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” (Gen 27:20) Does this remind you of some Christians?
Then, the second turning point came one day before the showdown with his brother Esau. Jacob, having gone through many trials in his life, wrestled with God till dawn for a blessing. Despite suffering a hip dislocation, Jacob held on and God asked for his name. At this point, Jacob must have thought of the last time some one dear to him asked for his name. Long ago, Isaac, his father, asked for his name and Jacob lied. But this time, before God, he told the truth. He replied, “Jacob.” (Gen 32:27) In return for the truth, God blessed Jacob and changed his name to “Israel”, the contender for God and humanity. Thereafter, Jacob was not only fully restored, he was also fully reconciled both with God and his brother.
Beloved, what is your true identity? Have you forgotten your divine benefactor, the lover of your soul, your wellspring of blessings? What do you see when you look into the mirror? Do you see your true self, broken and lost, and in need of a savior? Or do you see yourself as your own savior; yet still struggling in the prison of your own mind and blind ambition, living from one high to another, but never finding personal fulfillment and rest?
We are made for God and in Him, we move and have our being. Apart from God, we are lost forever, always striving but never sated, fulfilled or contented. My parting shot is from a Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, who once wrote these revelatory words, “Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. He is not at peace with himself because he is not at peace with God.”
Have a restful weekend.
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