When the earth was all there was, Abraham’s God seemed quite plausible. It made perfect sense that our little, blue planet was nestled in the solar system, which was nestled in the galaxy, beyond which was starry space, and somewhere just beyond that was God holding it all together.
But when I consider our universe, and the potential theories of multiple universes and multiple dimensions beyond our four-dimensional space-time, the nearly incomprehensible size of the observable universe, the beautiful enigma of quantum particles, the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, which are made up of elements yet unknown to us – when I consider just these few things of which the most brilliant minds among us are barely scraping the surface, I am persuaded that if there is one or ones responsible for this universe and the evolution of life within it, then that one is so advanced in intelligence that creating humanity for the reasons given to us by religion is wholly inconsistent.
It seems most improbable that any being that has the wherewithal to spring a universe into existence, would have any interest in sitting on a throne and being worshiped, praised, or served by humans. This being would be so advanced that it would never set itself up as the center of attention under a threat of eternal torture. These are purely ego-driven, human desires, which would serve no purpose for a being of this magnitude.
No such being operating at this level of genius would have in one hand an expanding universe of 46 billion light years and in the other a smudge of dirt in the Middle East that is so special he is willing to kill for it; in one hand a newborn baby and in the other a pit of fire in which to burn people for eternity should they not meet his arbitrary standards of salvation.
No, what I find more plausible is that man’s God is an idea, a magic thread dyed to match the fabric of human desire, war, greed, and suffering. We have created him and determined how he should talk, how he should behave, how he should damn us, and how he should reward us. This God looks like us, talks like us, acts like us, and thinks like us and for one, very good reason—because he is us. We’ve created him in our own image and dressed him in the clothes from our own closets.
If there is an intelligent being or beings behind all of this, then that being is not the anthropomorphic god we’ve made it out to be. And if there is a way to tap into its intelligence or to become one with it, surely it is to be found on a path of love and beauty and not one sprinkled with the blood of a human sacrifice.