God

Do you believe in God?

What do you mean by God?

I mean a higher power, much, much more powerful than humankind.

Do you mean electricity of sorts?

What an idiot you are! Do you believe that we have a father who cares about us?

Do you mean someone like Donald Trump or Homer Simpson?

Something is seriously wrong with you. Do you believe in Jesus?

Yes, I believe in Jesus. But who was he? Was he God? I believe that he was a Jewish preacher who taught that the end times were near and that God would overthrow the evil forces and create a new kingdom on earth. But the evil forces grew tired of him and killed him.

So, you are an atheist?

No, I'm not an atheist. I believe that there is a God, but he is like a guerrilla commander hiding in the mountains waiting for an opportunity to overthrow the evil dictator. The Devil is a powerful and cruel dictator, a psychopath. What is your God like?

God is like Jesus. Jesus is God, I believe.

Okay, but how do you explain that all the different churches throughout history have always sided with the evil emperors, kings, dictators, and presidents? How do you explain the witch hunts, the inquisition trials, and all the horrible religious wars? 

Nonduality

The inner world and the outer world are, in fact, the same world.

13,8 billion years ago, the universe was just a tiny, tiny little dot. This mysterious little dot exploded, releasing an enormous heat. After some time, the heat cooled down, and galaxies and stars formed. Ten billion years later, life emerged. Then came multicellular organisms, and eventually love and hate, right and wrong, words, dreams, fantasies, and delusions.

And now you are here, right here, reading this.

What if you are a dope?

Throughout history, people have held beliefs and convictions that later proved to be wrong: the Earth was not flat, the sun did not orbit the Earth, the world was not created 6,000 years ago, and witches and gnomes did not exist. The Germans were not a superior race, and sins did not cause cancer.

What if your convictions and beliefs also turn out to be wrong? What if also your ideas about God and how life must be lived are delusions? What if your firm conviction that spirituality is pure nonsense is simply small-mindedness? What if there actually is a God somewhere, but all religions have it completely wrong? What if all religions are created by human authorities as a cover or a way to make you obey them?

You are only aware of a small part of yourself and a tiny part of the world.

Who am I, really?

Sometimes I am an atheist, other times I am an agnostic. Sometimes I am deeply religious, but it is a religion of my own invention, not someone else's. Sometimes I believe there is an afterlife, other times I don't. Sometimes I am convinced that it is important how we live our lives; other times I believe it doesn't make any difference: we simply die one day and that's it. There is nothing more to it. Sometimes I have a naturalistic worldview; other times, I think there is also a spiritual dimension. 

Each one is saved by his own faith

There are approximately 4,000 different religions on the planet. Moreover, there are thousands of different kinds of Christianity, thousands of different kinds of Hinduism, different kinds of Islam, and different kinds of Buddhism. There are thousands of different creation stories and beliefs about the nature of God.

This implies that you can also invent a creation story and an idea about God. Your story is as valid as anyone else's. In fact, it is essential that you develop your own belief system rather than simply adopting someone else's. It can be dangerous to let someone else take over your mind. You must be cautious to avoid downloading malicious software.

But it is also essential to question your story as thoroughly as you question others. Your mind can also cook up crazy stuff. You must ask yourself, "Does this make any sense?"

Free will is only for the rich

We may have free will, but we can seldom use it. Throughout history, people have been forced to do things they hate. They have been slaves, serfs, and cannon fodder. Today, most people have to work doing things they don't want to do to make a living. Some women are trapped in a marriage because they don't have the funds to leave. Some are trapped in a belief system; they are stuck in a labyrinth where they can't find the exit. Some are addicted to alcohol and drugs. They want to stop drinking and drugging, but they can't.

Brain scientists and philosophers can debate if free will exists until they get blue in the face, but who cares? Free will is irrelevant to most of us.

God isn't All-Powerful

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

But one of his favorite angels betrayed him and overthrew him. God fled with his closest associates and set up a camp in a deep forest. The new evil God claimed that he was the original God, the lord of everything, and that he is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving. Humankind was fooled by his charismatic narcissism and began worshiping him, which they still do.

However, the original God and his associates are still alive. They fight guerrilla warfare against the evil God, like Robin Hood fighting the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Which side are you on? Do you support Robin Hood or the Sheriff of Nottingham?