Ever noticed how many people seem to justify their own thoughts as being "God's will"? This they say is at best because they felt a strong "nudge" when reading -or after being "led to"- a passage in the Bible or a Christian (or occasionally secular) book. Or they claim to have heard a voice speaking to their heart in church. Classically that voice was telling them something they either already knew to do (and aren't doing) or something they are told they should do to please God, and had not previously thought of.
These thought are often guilt ridden and shaming, echoing the condemning of the preacher or of the peers they have. Sometimes they go even farther though! In my personal experience I have heard of those who felt guilty for taking off their headcovering in the shower or for bed, though it was neither preached about, nor did her friends do it. Another was guilty about being earthly bound to a job that would support his family and make them dependent on a worldly system of money for their life, so he quit his job and mooched off of others for the next 30 years. (So far) To say the least, personal conviction based on guilt to find "God's will can be very misleading. . .though it can also have it's place.
When looking for this illusive will of God, most often people will pray though. In the quiet of their prayer time they will get an "inspiration" from "God". What they may not realize though, is that in times of quietness, it is well known throughout the world in all religion and psychology, that the voice you hear is simply your own. Some call this "meditation", some call it "hearing yourself think", others, "finding yourself". . . .but those in all religions or beliefs hear this same inspiration with peaceful surroundings. As a Christian, my best inspirational times were all alone in the woods, just sitting there listening to "God". (Little did I realize that it was myself.)
There's another way that people claim to know God's will, and that is when they learn a life lesson from a situation, natural phenomena or someone else. It is said that God thus directs their life through circumstances, and people. While there is often no harm in such a rosy colored way of seeing things, we might ask why this seems proof for God's leading, as every person is shaped by people and their circumstances in life?
Some people choose to be better from the hard circumstances, and others get bitter. Whether or not a person will chose to "make lemonade with their lemons", or live in anger or bitterness over the bad things in life seems to be based on character and upbringing or personality, more then a belief system. Being an optimist did not stop for me when I rejected the concept of an invisible friend, and my husband's pessimism/realism as a Christian didn't change as an Atheist either. It probably depends on how skeptical and analytical you are more then anything, as to how your mind twists reality. Some use the belief of God controlling their circumstances to show his will as a coping mechanism, as they would fear the thought of thinking that things might not be dictated by someone who knows their perfect future.
So. . .if you are a Christian, and convinced God is in your life, and speaking to you in these ways, as I did in the past, then answer me these questions:
- If these thoughts were from "God" and not just our own thoughts, (specifically about doctrines or lifestyle choices) then why do they come differently to different Christians?
- Why do similar thoughts frequently inspire people who aren't even Christians!?
- Why do the thoughts just confirm what you felt guilty of or wanted to feel justified in doing in the first place?
- Why do the thoughts usually apply to others changing, instead of you having to? (Like commonly happens after the "inspirations" from the Sunday sermon.)
- Could this voice we associate with conviction from God, because it quotes previously memorized Bible verses, just be our own memory, in the same way that when a word is said, our memory comes out with a song?
- What about the extreme convictions that are justified in the Bible? Like to leave all and follow Christ as the Disciples did?
I know one man who left his family and used numerous Bible verses to justify it. I also know others who claim after leaving their family that God has been closer then ever to them, while living in an affair!
So how can a person tell if their perception is really true about God's presence leading their life?
Some Christians say you can tell it's God's voice:
- "If it lines up with the Bible". . . As you can see by that last point alone though, there are issues with that. A major one being, that you can find a verse or two in the Bible (out of context or not) to justify just about anything you want to do or think.
- Others yet say that "If it's a consistent thought or teaching in the Bible, it is safe to assume it's God's will." OK, polygamy and genocide is consistent, but in the Old testament. . .so we might have to be even more specific then, and try to stick with principles not debunked in the New Testament.
- Some would say "If Jesus did or said it, then we should do the same." So let's look at the practicality of that: His friends were the outcasts of culture, he thew people violently out of church with a whip, and he fasted for 40 days for a start. . .do you see any issues with doing any of those things? Many church members would be ostracized by keeping company with harlots and the low of society, as other verses say how you should not be "unequally yolked", or "offer your jewels to swine." You could go around to all the churches who are selling food and things in their lobbies, and violently go bazerk with a whip, but I suspect you would end up in the loony bin or jail. As for the fasting, though short fasts may be harmless for some, others have died trying to fast even for a short time for religious reasons. I saw a sad case of a woman being pressured to fast soon after having a baby, and she not only looked like death herself, she starved her newborn to death!
- Those in more conservative groups (most would call them cults) would put high value on the opinions of your Brothers and Sisters in Christ for revealing God's will for your life. This is actually one of the safer ways, as there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. (The real wackos are often those who hole up with their Bible's in the woods, and feel they know God's will to bomb buildings, cleanse the churches of the world, leave their friends and families and start personal cults.) That said, often the advice is conflicting, if not being controlled by a higher power like a voting conference of pastors.
So, from what I have seen and heard of, any measure or test of God's will is just as often wrong as right. Here's a novel thought though, as the safest method of knowing God's will seems to revolve around what some would call the inner voice or conscience of the individual or voting/counseling group, how's about putting it to the test and compare the results of this voice in the saved and unsaved. It seems we could test whether or not these "unsaved" people have the same convicting voice as the saved easily enough by their actions. . .Or if they need "God" to tell them what is wrong, or what to do in a given situation.
Granted, the unsaved aren't going to be convicted about doing those numerous "immoral" things found only wrong in some people's minds and some people's reading of the Bible. . . I say, if Christians don't want to be judged as immoral based on the rules some follow in the Koran, (say, the cleanliness ones like a spray of water being needed for the boys private parts after every use of the bathroom. . .) then maybe they should cut some slack to the Atheists or those who don't follow all the rules in the Bible like them. . .just a thought.
I think if we take a larger view of the world, we have to see that our bias is not a fair mark of morals, any more then any religion has the corner on the market of morality. So in judging whether or not this voice is outside of us/God, we need to compare an area of clear right and wrong, (say murdering, rape, stealing, etc.) that is universally agreed upon, based on the Golden rule, which is common to all cultures of the world. And here's what we find out: not only do Atheists have this inner voice, (that they call their conscience) they are more likely to follow it, then those who feel compelled to listen to "God's voice".
Maybe this blatant disregarding of God's voice (that "good Christians" are so quick to pick up on in others) is from a lifetime of being told that God's voice is the one convicting them of silly and messed up little wrongs, (music choices, clothing choices, watching movies, playing cards, cutting or weirdly styling the hair, using birth control, etc.) when it is simply a case of peer pressure, conditioning or guilt. (And no one wants to be stopped from doing something they want to do (and feel no guilt about) or even doing what they feel is right!)
Thus subconsciously, a Christian can learn to dismiss some of what they feel God is telling them (or as an Atheist would see it, their conscience is telling them) with numerous excuses. They learn to do what the Bible describes as "seering their conscience with a hot iron". Thus they can excuse away the most horrendous crimes because they were in the Bible, or if they realize their error, they claim that "the Devil made me do it". . .
Even the "best" and most consistently good Christians are in their mind absolved of all responsibilities when they do mess up, because consciously or subconsciously, those who are "born again" or "forgiven" can do no wrong, so long as they repent and/or believe in "eternal security". (The Christian's get out of jail free card.)
Furthermore, believing you are "God's chosen" automatically gives the religious a diminished respect for others who do not share their exact sect or faith. Faith thus tends to weaken rather than strengthen people’s ability to participate in society, teaching people instead to shun, despise and run from influences of "The world". Consequently, those in religions are less likely to respect social customs and sometimes even laws, as they believe themselves to be citizens of another land. Thus religion has always brought in its wake violence, prejudice and bigotry.
Worse, a Christian who is convinced that only the Bible offers "truth", loses their intellectual curiosity and their ability to reason, analyze and intellectualize. (They have actually done studies that show a direct correlation with analytical thinking and disbelief in religion.) When told for instance about how and when the world was actually "created", (by irrefutable, proven science) they plug their ears and say Atheists are just making it up to justify our "filthy lifestyle".
Do they have a leg to stand on in criticizing the lifestyle of Atheists though, much less dismissing their knowledge? Well, let's look at the facts: the Atheistic population is strongly correlated with a high percentage of education, and with knowledge tends to come better jobs and more wealth. Wealth and education leads to a low crime rate, so thus, consequently we will naturally have less Atheists in jail from immoral behavior. Which according to the stats, is true.
The Atheists are actually known for their moral responsibility and peaceful living worldwide according to the stats, while the most religious countries are the most violent. (Atheistic countries have the best living conditions for pretty much every area of life, consistent to their level of Atheism.) Justifying all the violence is often bigotry and the conviction of the individuals that they are following God.
If the crime rate of Christians claiming to follow God isn't bad enough though, those Christians not following God may be the worst offenders. . . Those Christians who question "God's will" or wisdom and leave religion in bitterness, while still believing in God cannot technically be called Atheist, though they are non-religious, yet stats of the non-religious vs. religious unfortunately include those who claim to be not following God, but are still Christians in their beliefs.
These non-religious people would be those who believe that God is over them with a stick waiting for them to mess up. They believe that every time they feel that uncomfortable feeling, or hear that voice inside, that it is God trying to drawing them back into religion and bondage. So in stubbornness and ignorance they run the other way; doing those very things that they know they shouldn't! Thus, for the rebellious Christian, self-described as non-religious, (being consequently categorized with the Agnostics and Atheists) immoral behavior is actually predictable, and more common, the in any true unbeliever/Atheist.
While a clear description of beliefs would surely make the stats for the Christians even worse for crime, there are some other things that make the stats look bad for the Christians in other areas of morality. . .Take the divorce rate. It is well known that the rate of divorce among religious folk is just as high as non-religious, but that overlooks all the pressure to stay together in Christiandom. When I think of the quality of the marriages in religion, the control and disrespect of woman, the beliefs that deem woman as baby making machines . . .it seems obvious to me that without religion, many of the marriages I see would dissolve. Whereas, in informal studies on social boards of thousands of Atheists, when asked to rate their satisfaction with their marriages, about 95% said they were very happy! While it is true that some of that can be accounted for with no pressure to marry young by their church, and some also not being allowed to marry, as a general rule, their marriages last because of the lack of judgment and the equality that Atheists live.
So to sum up, the voice Christians hear must be their often "seered" conscience, and according to the facts, it must be quieter/inferior to the consciences of the unsaved. Either that, or if there is in fact someone inside leading the morals of the Christians, we would have to conclude it was Satan. . . if such a character even existed. Whatever the case, I think I have shown how ridiculously bigoted and prejudiced it is for the Christian to claim moral superiority based on the belief or leading of God in their life.
So back to the often used judgment about why Atheists are presumed to believe there is no God, no Atheist I know is believing what they do (the most well supported science) as an excuse for their "filthy lifestyle" (That they usually don't have anyways). Whereas many Christians I know personally do have a filthy lifestyle and they always manage to excuse it away by their beliefs.
I think acceptance of Atheists and their beliefs can come with knowledge, (sadly, simply because of moral presumptions, they are the most distrusted and misunderstood minority in America, according to the stats). Also, according to IQ stats, (that show a strong correlation with intelligence and Atheism) and the fact that Atheists score highest on religious knowledge tests, (according to the stats) apparently the burden of getting the knowledge that will lead to acceptance rests squarely on the shoulders of the Christians or the religious in general. So I hope this article helps.
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