God isn't dead
If one of us haven't killed him, then He's alive.
I claim that each one of us has this constant struggle between serving our self material interests and rising above them, between good and evil, between having principles and being purely utilitarian, between being moral and immoral.
Does it matter if we're Muslim or not, or if we're religious or not even? I say it doesn't. A religion like Islam just makes it clearly communicated, what's wrong and what's right, and we get to choose and we get to know the consequences, and we should thank God for letting us know. Nevertheless, we know it already, but now its just communicated for the blind of us.
How do we know it? Simple, that's how we've been created. Man is created with a balance of good and evil, and he makes the choice, and he is accounted for that choice. You have been created in the best form, yet you can become of a lowest form, and that's how God has created us [al-teen:4-5].
Knowing enough atheists makes you realize that there is such a thing as a moral atheist, and knowing enough religious people makes you realize that there is such a thing as an immoral believer. Maybe the believer is trying to compensate for his immoral behavior, and maybe the atheist is trying to compensate for his lack of belief? Well, I would say no, not necessarily. But we're all affected by religion and by God, and even atheists have been influenced by some form of religion that is radiating from their surroundings, family, literature, film, architecture as Begovic notes, and that the nonreligious didn't grow up in ignorance of religion, but rather in opposition to it.
So we're all affected by religion really, some of us choose to believe in it and in God yet still be immoral in most of their acts. Those, have killed God, but it doesn't mean that He's dead still. And some of us choose to reject religion and God, yet they are still the creation of God, created in the best form with as much good in them as much as evil, and their lack of visible belief does not negate God's existance, and their beings is proof of His very existance.
An atheist friend of mine who has grown in a Christian family and whom I consider very moral, once told me that he knows he will be missing something and will eventually need to "believe" as he grows older in the later stages of his life. I wonder if that is a common case, and I wonder why?
For those who suggest that man's conscious, not God, is what drives moral behavior, isn't that conscious a creation of God? of the form man was created in. And thus, as Begovic asks, isn't belief in man instead of God a lower form of religion? That conscious part of us is what God has blown into man from His spirit [saad:72], which drives our morality, whether we recognize it or not.
18 comments:
this statment sounds very disturbing to me :)
Thanks Jessy. I promise I'll write the post then.
"The reality of it all is that Nietzsche is dead, and God is still alive."
Hehe, yeah :)
I'm really glad you mention this and have a focus on the choices we made.
An observation: there are so many people who say they do not believe in God and are therfore not religious. Yet when you get to know them, you will learn that they believe in all kinds of spirituality; it's just that they cannot identify with the God and the religion they have been taught to identify with; however God is still there with them.
Re. Nietzche, I think what he really says is that God died the moment we stopped believing in him; e.g. he is a creation of mankinds collective mind; if no one is thinking of him/believing in him, he has ceased to exist.
If we find that crazy it's because we believe God is a separate entity that exist on its own and not just an idea in our heads. I think he tried to show us what God once was and now is (well, at his time). As far as I can understand the conclusion is a question mark: if we don't believe in God how can we then say he is there?
Then again, we say we believe in God, we are believers, it is our faith; already there is a notion that God is something we want and it doesn't matter if we can scientifically prove his existence, we still believe.
Does it make sense?
Actually yes we are all born by elfitra , (nature ) to know what is right and wrong but sometimes things change and life is stuggling and we have to stick to what is right an leave what is wrong. There are more temptations that just happen ! The sense of reward and judgement gives this push and directs us to what is right and wrong absolutely.
Beside that even the atheist, He should not behave well , he should thank God and worship Him.
I guess your freind to feel by what is called elfitra in worshipping God
I have a friend who is a scientist, doctor, and atheist. She has simply never believed in God at all. Her parents sent her to church school on Sundays when she was a child. The church asked them not to send her anymore. She was never swayed by anything they said. Her lack of belief in God is just as fervent as the belief others have in God. I don't think she will ever have faith in a higher power no matter what, but she is an ethical and moral person. Her statement would be not that God is dead, but that God never existed in the first place.
Thanks Jessy,
it is confusing and perhaps it should be because if there is a higher being how could we aspire to understand it? The nice thing with faith is that it allow us to stop at a certain point; we acknowledge that we do not need to 'know' or 'prove' everything; there is a space we cannot enter and it is nice to believe God is taking care of us from that place.
Excuse me for my english.
According to me, God's Existence doesn't concern the moral or ethical behaviour of people, doesn't concern the good and the evil, the right or wrong.
God's Existence is for me, first of all, a need of human mind to overcome the fear of death.
Not only the fear of death, but the fear of unknown in general.
Naturally divisive this post is Ya Mohamed. Nice stirr up though, But Not for every one. The General Public usually avoids the controversy topic when titled as such. Only Bloggers like us gives the topic some Attention.
Can't help it here to wonder wher's haal from all of this, since she addressed the "Fitrah" and the lack of human knowledge from S.Qutb perspective, only to beg to Not to call the very dead Nietzche a Kafir Boy, on this post.
God Never Die, rather ever Living, regardless of the nature of the struggle by whom ever: Einstin, Nietzche , or Qutb. All gone except "Al Hai" "Al Dayem"" zu AL Jalal we El Ekramm"
Yeah Sharief, actually I can relate my argument to Qutb's Fitrah one I suppose.
Haal is usually the one to ask the questions, and everyone here seems to be providing answers.
'...nonreligious didn't grow up in ignorance of religion, but rather in opposition to it.'
Religion here is in refrence to what? I assume you mean the idea of 'God', right?!
'we're all affected by religion really, some of us choose to believe in it and in God'
Why do u separate between God and religion? why the 'And'. Shouldnt one encompass the other by definition.
'isn't belief in man instead of God a lower form of religion? '
Love this sentence.
But again define what bigovic meant with religion, and a lower form of it.
My fitra tells me that Bigovic meant no separation between God and religion. Both are the same. I say, one form is for those who 'yatafakahoun' and the other form for those who need stick and a carrot, and indeed there is a middle state for those who are 'on the path.'
But again, isnt all this the creation of God. The ideas. The instinct. The thinking. The death of him and the every living part.
'God Never Die, rather ever Living'
If he is living then He must die. Thus, i support that he is neither dead nor alive. He is THERE. Not a place either.
'Haal is usually the one to ask the questions, and everyone here seems to be providing answers.'
there are no answers. only questions. no argument either. all valid and invalid. we are talking about something very personal here guys!
Haal, 7ayy is a state with no beginning and no end, al7ayy alkayoum. Its a different a state than the human state of living, so being alive doesn't mean that He'll die.
That is in regard to the "physical" state of death, He's alive whether we like it or not, but that's not what matters really, what matters is if He's alive to us or not.
Yeah, I think Bigovic doesn't differentiate between religion and belief in a god.
And I think by lower form of religion, it is to believe in a lesser god than God, ourselves --a creation of God.
Sure He is there. Whether we acknowledge God or not, HE is there. Period. What is not there is our image of Him.
One of my professors once told me, (in refrence to soemthing else), if you dont know that England exist doesnt deny the fact that IT IS THERE... it is Only that you dont know about it.
Fine elaboration on
"al7ayy alkayoum" & thanks for the useful link Mohamed.
England Exist & nothing is personal about it.
What is personal, is the struggle (that Mo opened this post with) between serving our self material (or spirtual I may add) interests and rising above them to power a happy being via the guidance of the "Living" God.
Re gardless of forms, I like the possiable catagories: "those who 'yatafakahoun'" and "those who need stick and a carrot" and those in the middle state for those who are 'on the path." The concern is that the "'yatafakahoun'" class are often taken as none conformists, rebeles, and actually chosen prophets as well, at least in the beginning of their ideas. some had been often prosecuted.
"The reality of it all is that Nietzsche is dead, and God is still alive." some how I see this as unfair for Nietsche?. or is he a lesser god wanna be metaphore?
Too tired to defend him now, it's late...but I can
admire his human will to power.
Never dare to compare his human death to the Al Mighty Living Will Power.
I think it could be unfair to Nietzsche too, and he might be worth defending. So give it a shot Sharief.
And yes, we can't compare a human state to a Godly state, even if the states use the same words because there is nothing like Him ليس كمثله شىء
But I liked Jessy's statement nevertheless (though unfair to Nietzsche yes), serves as a good reminder that we come and go, and He's always there. Our deeds however will last forever, so Nietzsche isn't really dead either!
hi guys, I was very much influenced by mohamed's post to the extend that I've published a whole post as a reply to yours. Please visit my blog and tell me your comment.
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