understand God

Since the begining of time mankind has struggled to understand God. I think I can help you. I am Paul Arden’s new book, GOD EXPLAINED IN A TAXI RIDE and in the length of a taxi journey, I will explain all, for once and for all.

If only I knew it all. If only I understood what cannot be understood.
I kinda understand that I just actually never will.

I guess I just want to understand the world a little better. I find it difficult to fight that urge to try and justify life and death. And if I cant justify it, at least let me find a little peace with it.

I am not a religious fanatic or somethin. Don’t get me wrong. I am a mathematician who obviously had too much philosophy/math classes.

Being a 19 year old mathematician, I am obviously a logical person. No one can make me assume something (I refuse to say believe because it has a deeper meaning than assume) unless it is proven. But due to recent discussions that I had with a mentor, readings that we are supposed to ponder on, and a certain ‘almost’ accident that ‘almost’ took my life in more ways than one (three ways to be exact), I am now seriously asking myself things about God.

Being a mathematician, I have encountered a few historical figures like Descartes who had ‘theories’ on God, chaos, time, order and things as such. Also, I have encountered studies on various models that simulate almost everything… and of course that emerging, but not necessarily new idea that is round and about these days on the underlying math in everything… from people’s behavior, collective bahavior, climate, movement of the universe, time, the golden phi,... dimensions, etc. But all in all, these mathematics that is hidden in everything SEEM to be interconnected, in a sense, although there is no proof for that. A manifestation of God in Math, maybe? I don’t know.

I have been an atheist for a long time but now, i am not quite so sure on what I believe in… At first, I accepted God as some form of order… but just that… no merciful/kind characteristics about him that ‘humanizes’ him. I always thought that he was some kind of algorithm. That he was the system of the universe, the underlying order of things that would not go wrong. Like that voice etched in the human brain to do the most natural things to do.

Yeah, that was kind of explanation is a bit vague. Let’s try to give an example. When you smile at someone, tendency is, that someone will smile back. God does not will you to smile or does not will the other person to smile back. The two of you just do and that is the supposed order of things… And God is within that… But he does not will anything there.

But then, stuff happens and I am not so sure. He stops being an algorithm but starts being a person who can love. He COULD go against the order of things out of love. And… well Im not sure…

Well, its terribly confusing and all… I know that it is impossible to understand him completely but at least i tried.

i know i will never fully comprehend God until death. i don’t think humans have the mind capacity to understand God. God is unexplanable. God shouldn’t even have a name.

This is a very hard post to write,as it ask’s some of the most forbidden and
foreboding questions.About the revealed faiths of Judaism,Christianity,and Islam.Although hell is not a major issue in Judaism,most of the attributes of
God are closely related in all traditions.Accepting the revealed nature of these
faiths,God describes Himself in troubling ways.Such as-

Guiding those who He wills-why condemn a soul to hell if he could have been
guided the correct way from the beginning?

The Most Forgiving,the Most merciful-condemning a soul to horrific torments
for all eternity does not in the least way sound merciful,why not destroy
the offending soul instead?

Is the torment of a soul for eternity for living a finite life compassionate?
Im not talking about Hitler,but your average seeker of the truth.If Im not
bright enough to fathom the “truth”,or be rightly guided,how can I be blamed?
God says He created man weak,so why punish your creation for your own
design?

Why is death the cut-off point for revealed wisdom?If at best we can only see
through the glass darkly,but at death we see the true nature of God,how
can we be held blameworthy?

In the Islamic tradition,it is said only 1 in a 1000 will be saved,who in their
right mind would voluntarily take those odds?In Christian tradition,the path
to righteousness is narrow,the road to destruction wide.Why create a soul when
the odds are it will end up in hell?We are NOT a pot in the potters hand,pots
do not feel pain,can a pot suffer for eternity?

I know Im approaching this mainly from an Islamic perspective,but it does
apply all around.I’ll get into the terrible nature of hell later,but have one very
important question for you to ponder-

Would we accept such attitudes,promises and threats from a human being?
A human can only kill you once,maybe torture you for years,create misery on
earth.God however,can give you eternal death,torture,misery.Is this a true
picture of God?,and if it is,do we know who we are worshipping?

Please,I ask these questions in honesty and fear,I have no axe to grind with
anyone,I just want the truth.