Religion forum: Is there really someone to watch over you?

One of the benefits of believing in a god who cares about you is the reassurance that you (along with potentially 6.4 billion others) are watched over and protected by the most powerful being in the universe.

Have you ever asked yourself if this is consistent with the facts? On Dec. 26, 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami killed 200,000 people, including children and babies. The tsunami killed Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and Jews, who had prayed that morning and many times before. It’s likely most of the believers screamed for help from their god as the waters consumed them. But still they died.

It’s a tough challenge for believers to explain why their god kills people who pray to live. Some believers argue that it’s part of a master plan or that god does hear prayers and comforts victims as they die. Some say we all deserve this because we are so sinful or born in sin. Can you really believe that a newborn is sinful? It’s sure hard for a secular humanist to believe that. Of course, it could be that there are no gods watching over us. Many believe this seems to be the most likely explanation because it matches the reality we see in our world.

Too many believers refuse to admit the obvious: their god does not protect them. People who believe that should just visit most any hospital and see the children and teenagers suffering painful diseases and injuries. Most of the people of Darfur, who faced relocation, rape and murder for years, were Muslims and Christians. They undoubtedly prayed to Allah and Jesus with little to show for it over the past several years. If a god is keeping any one group safe from misfortune, it is a mystery which group is being protected.

Christians may say life is too difficult to live without Jesus but more than a billion Muslims managed to do it. Muslims may say that life is impossible without Allah’s guidance and protection, but some 400 million Buddhists pull it off quite nicely. If a god is not there for the children killed in tsunamis or Darfur, then how can believers be so sure that a god is there for them?

We have to believe all religions cannot be true, and all gods cannot exist. Christopher Hitchens offers a solution: “Since it is inconceivable that all religions can be right, the most reasonable conclusion is that they are all wrong.”

DAVID MCLOUGHLIN
Forest

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