The God Question
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4/15/2025 for The Eternal Question: God, No God, Maybe God Poetry Contest
I suppose you're wondering why I brought you here today.
I'm here to answer the question - is there a God, is there not a God, or are both possibilities?
You are in luck, because I have already been informed of the answer.
Based on the words of my esteemed friends and colleagues, the answer is...drum roll...
all three!
Seriously, I don't know if there is a God, if there is not a God, or if we can't tell if there's a God or not.
To argue logically, I would need to know the definition of God -
what IS God?
and I’ve never really been able to get a fix on that.
Is God -
an entity that created the universe?
an unseen entity that cares about our moral conduct?
an entity that figures into the disposition of our souls when we die?
Most conceptions of God described to me seem lacking in what I would call scientific evidence.
In my mostly futile attempts to understand the universe, I like to think I apply the same criteria to the God question as I would to any hypothesized physical law.
I do not see anything like that with respect to any of my conceptions of The Man Upstairs.
Perhaps, that is my mistake. Perhaps, I must practice faith.
So, I categorize myself as an agnostic, leaning towards atheism.
Oops, I just labeled myself.
With a label, I am now susceptible to any negative (or positive) associations my fellow earth travelers may have with that label.
Are atheism or agnosticism character defects?
Are they conditions of deprivation that suggest that I’m in dire need of an intervention?
Do those labels mean I don’t mostly affirm the moral teachings of many religions that address how man treats his fellow man?
Does it mean that I don't admire commitment to moral conduct or ideals?
Does it mean that I think science can explain everything?
In fact, I believe that every question science answers raises two more, so that there is much we will never know.
In some ways, I like not knowing.
I’m awed by our natural universe.
Like a woman, or a poem, part of her beauty is her mystery.
Perhaps, the most important things in life are best addressed by poets (not me), and not by the scientists whom I respect.
These might be things that we call magic or love in their many forms.
One's first kiss...and anywhere from 9 months to some number of years later,
meeting your child for the first time.
I don’t feel I need answers.
I’m glad.
Otherwise, I’d be a very frustrated man.
Copyright © David Crandall | Year Posted 2025
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