Is God really so insecure?

This article is not about God, everyone has their own understanding of the concept of God. There are many religions out there that tell us different descriptions of God and its powers and all this has created a certain image of God in people's minds. I want to talk about the general concept of God and its attributes which are more or less the same in most organized religions. I am not going to discuss specifically any particular religion or faith. If we look at the normal way of preaching in any religion we are told about some superpower that supposedly created us and the universe around us and also controls our life and surroundings (the entire universe). This concept of God as a creator and controller of our universe is common in most organized religions, the description of God or its qualities differ slightly from religion to religion.

We are the most dominant animal species on this planet and also the most curious one. We don't know anything about our about our future but we are very curious to know about it. Many times we don't know the reason for many things happening around us but our mind is curious to know why a particular thing is happening, is there any reason behind it? We have created many concepts and theories to satisfy our curiosity and these theories helped many people to feel that they can get answers to many of these questions which trouble their mind. All these theories or religions and their hypothesis about God or the origin of the universe or the purpose of human life helped many people to get peace of mind, and control their anxiety about uncertainty in life. We all need some direct (laws) or indirect controls (concept of morality, God, sin, etc.) to check our behavior so that we don't behave like other animals and maintain peace in our civilized society.

Most religions believe that there is a creator of this universe who controls everything related to this universe. This statement is difficult to prove but it can be considered as a harmless assumption. They further say that we need to please this creator and serve him (yes, him). So far it's fine, then there are only certain ways one can please their master and if we don't do this or follow rules set by him there will be serious consequences (like charring our body in fire, some inhuman tortures, there are very graphic descriptions of these punishments in many scriptures). The problem is all religions claim their God to be supreme and the only controller of the universe and one should only worship him (most of them are male gods). If followers worship any other God then they have to face those harsh punishments either during their current life. If not during the current life, then after death, and if you escape that then in the next birth. The threat looms continuously, so better to comply with their rules and follow their path. Now the big question is, can a kind, merciful, loving God behave like some ruthless dictator? Then what is the difference between God and so many insecure dictators or dictatorial regimes? After all, if there is only one god why he is so insecure about his position, why he is scared about competition? Do people even think about these things?

If a ruler, any government, or a person forces citizens of their kingdom or country to follow certain rules that are concerned with their pleasure, and if they force their ideas of what is right or wrong then they are called dictators. Do we mean that God is also another dictator? Who is kind only to people who please him and ruthless with others? If not, then why do these commandments, rituals and many of these scriptures sound so threatening? We don't threaten our kids to burn in fire if they fail to say good morning to us every day, but try to forget your daily prayers and check for the consequences in the rule books of any religion. How come God can be so cruel to his own children? Please think about it. Does God need to be so insecure and ruthless? Why the picture is painted as kind and loving on one side and ruthless, heartless dictator on the other side? If this is the best description the organized religion can come up with for their brand ambassador, they need to modify it. 

I honestly believe that all this propaganda was a well-thought-out marketing strategy by organized religion to sell their product and create a loyal customer base. No doubt that this was a very brilliant marketing strategy, a masterstroke. I think it's one of the best marketing strategies used to date. I see Apple using a similar strategy very successfully to dominate the market, no doubt they have great products and they used this strategy to their advantage to establish their brand and conquer the market. They want their customer only to use their product, and their software, and buy apps only from them. Their customers should walk on the path paved by them any other things are not permitted but rather are prohibited. Sounds very familiar with what organized religion tells us to do. My only suggestion is to think over what we are being told to do or to follow. Question others and our own hypothesis, get satisfied with the answers you get, and then only accept the things. A teacher from my daughter's philosophy class told me 'Don't be sheeple (sheep people), be people.' Don't get herded in a group, don't accept anything blindly, don't get bullied by anyone but have your own opinion, learn to respect others, and examine, and analyze things before you accept them.

Thanks for reading and please share your views.

Reference:
1. http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/god-and-i/why-should-a-god-be-so-insecure

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)