The Search for God Page 3.4.2
The “WHY” question
When my papaw died, I remember I was in the dining room near this bank of windows where my mom had all these plants. Somebody walked in, probably my mom, and informed me that he died.
I don’t remember much after that, but I remember this overwhelming wave of sadness and bursting into shaking crying. I don’t remember if I asked questions, I don’t remember being held, I just remember sobbing.
Why, God why?
But I imagine at some point I probably asked the question, “Why did papaw have to die?” Humans are curious creatures; we want to know:
- Who
- What
- Where
- Why
- How
There are many questions we ask and many questions we can solve and answer, but when we approach this topic of the intangible nature of humankind or where we go after death, or even why we exist, we are left with a gaping chasm filled with theories and guesses.
Questions for this being
When we begin to seriously consider whether God exists or whether he cares for humanity, humans develop so many “Why” questions for this supreme being.
Many people develop a roadblock, unable to move forward in their search because of unresolved anger toward other religious people, frustration in a seemingly obscure God, or the development of their own theory that just works.
I too harbored unresolved frustration toward religion, feeling myself pridefully better than Christians. I perceived historical Christianity as having manipulated culture and society.
However, I recognized and acknowledged those emotional charges and since I have always been adept at putting my emotions in a neat little box and hiding them away and then pulling them out and examining them in some detached rational manner, I did just that.
My wife and daughter think this is excessive, but emotions to me are just another curiosity to be examined and controlled. By doing this, I realized something. Most humans desire to know purpose of human existence. We call this pursuit teleology or the study of purpose, reason, or goal.
The question, who is God?
However, some questions cannot be answered until you first determine what ultimate reality is and who God is. If something like Jainism is true, then our answers about evil will naturally flow from there, but if Islam is true then the answer about evil will be different.
So while I might want to delve into these “why” questions during my consideration of philosophy and knowledge, the answers will only be speculation and more theory. We are better off developing a theory about who to get the answers from rather than endless theories we can never prove.
Teleology – Purpose for humanity and the universe
- Why are we here?
- Why does evil exist?
- Why doesn’t God care about humanity?
- Why did a perfect being create imperfection?
- Why doesn’t God speak to everyone?
- Why would a being create the universe? Man?
- Why does something exist rather than nothing?
- Why did God create man?
- Do humans have a soul?
- What happens after we die?
Emotional pain toward religion and God
Write them down :
What Next?
- What is the crucial concept?
- Every human has questions about why things happen, and many feel they have suffered some perceived emotional pain from religious people or God. So, on one hand, we want to search for and know the absolute truth. However, our preconceived notions and emotions often hinder our search for God.
- Why is that significant?
- A search for “who” can tell us about ultimate reality first, then we can ask our difficult questions.
- If you agree, the next steps.
- If you disagree, please consider reading.
References and Links
- Anthrocervone – Historical Christianity
- Wikipedia – Teleology