Talking to God

I am an atheist.

A tolerant, understanding individual with no desire to oblige anyone to believe anything that I believe (though it would be pleasant if some people did actually read my stuff and find it convincing), nor to be converted - not much chance of that given my analytical nature.

I did though grow up as a Christian. Both my parents were believers, both had Christian funerals.

What I do not remember from the first 17 years of my life are any of us having direct communications with God. You understand what is meant by a "communication" maybe?

You say something, he/she/it replies.

Actually you would pray, acknowledge your weaknesses and hope that this being would respond in a helpful fashion - that was about the size of it. I can say without batting an eyelid that in those 17 years that I was a believer, God never spoke to me directly once. Nor to my parents, nor to my sister. The fact that he/she/it did not speak to my parents rules out the possibility that all conversations were only permitted with adults and not with minors.

And you would imagine that maybe since I became an adult, he/she/it might have wanted me back in the fold and might have at least tried to persuade me directly to come back?

Nothing. Nichts. Rien. Niets. Not one word - in English, German, French or Dutch.

And yet, despite the fact that I am among the "great ignored" that this deity seems to have written off, and with whom he/she/it prefers to remain incommunicado, there is a group of people with whom he/she/it does speak - American conservative politicians and their supporters (like Glenn Beck).

Q: Shall we have a war in Iraq?
A: Of course, George, it is needed.

Q: Is this storm a sign of your wrath following all the budget overspending?
A: Of course it is, Michelle.

Q: Is this a sign like the plagues in Egypt at the time of Moses and really a blessing?
A: Of course it is, Glenn. Now use some of the 45 million I persuaded Rupert to give you, and go and stock up on some goodies, before I get really angry next time.

Curious thing about this God is that he/she/it is theoretically the same deity who talks to people who follow different belief systems (Judaism, Islam), in different languages and gives somewhat different instructions. There seems though to be something of an identity crisis here, and there are definitely mixed messages.

The pious in these other domains follow every word just as closely, and also seem to have no communication difficulties.

Q: Are these people here to prepare me for my end?
A: Of course, Osama, but I am making you a martyr as it is written that you should be.

usw usw usw .....

The world is a sad and difficult enough place without all this pretence, nonsense and sheer gullibility.

Our fallibility as humans makes us suspect to believe anything at times if we do not analyse cause and effect. Scientific research is incomplete and does not yet have all the answers. Economics is a very inexact science that seems incapable of providing any realistic solutions that work for our benefit. Politics seems to be permanently in the gutter. And so we turn to religion for the solution? And talk to this deity?

We are that stupid? We need to deny our own intelligence and depend upon a series of 2,000 year old myths to explain what needs doing now?

We are that stupid?????

And the only way to get out of the current economic, political and philosophical mess is to allow those American conservative politicians and their cronies who are on his/her/its wavelength to talk to this deity and come back to us with the prerequisite solutions?

Huh????

See the mess they left behind in Iraq. See the economic turmoil that their friends on Wall Street left behind in 2008. His/her/its messages are either not that clear, or something got badly lost in the interpretation.