The God-Idea
The reality or validity of belief in God is based on man’s
understanding capacity and the maturity of the mind.
The Development of the God-idea
To trace the origin and development of the God-idea, one must go
back to the time when civilization was still in its infancy and
modern science was still unknown. Primitive people, out of fear of
and admiration towards natural phenomena, had believed in different
spirits and gods. They used their belief in spirit and gods to form
religions of their own. According to their respective circumstances
and understanding capacity different people worshipped different
gods and founded different faiths.
At the beginning of the God-idea, people worshipped many
gods—gods of trees, streams, lightning, storm, winds, the sun and
all other terrestrial phenomena. These gods were related to each
and every act of nature. Then gradually man began to attribute to
these gods, sex and form as well as the physical and mental
characteristics of human beings. Human attributes were given to the
gods: love, hate, jealousy, fear, pride, envy and other emotions
found among human beings. From all these gods, there slowly grew a
realization that the phenomena of the universe were not many but
were One. This understanding gave rise to the monotheistic god of
recent ages.
In the process of development, the God-idea went through a
variety of changing social and intellectual climates. It was
regarded by different men in different ways. Some idealized god as
the King of Heaven and Earth; they had a conception of god as a
person. Others thought of god as an abstract principle. Some raised
the ideal of Supreme deity to the highest heaven, while others
brought it down to the lowest depths of the earth. Some pictured
god in a paradise, while others made an idol and worshipped it.
Some want so far as to say that there is no salvation without
god?no matter how much good you do, you will not receive the fruits
of your actions unless you act out of a faith in god. The Atheists
said, ‘No’ and went on to affirm that god did not really exist at
all. The Skeptics or Agnostics said, ‘We do not or we cannot know.’
The Positivists say that the God-idea was a meaningless problem
since the idea of the term god ‘was not clear’. Thus there grew a
variety of ideas and beliefs and names for the God-idea: pantheism,
idolatry, belief in a formless god, and belief in many gods and
goddesses.
Even the monotheistic god of recent times has gone through a
variety of changes as it passed through different nations and
people. The Hindu god is quite different from gods of other faiths.
Thus numerous religions came into existence: each one differed
greatly from the other in the end, and each one says that ‘God is
One’.
The God-idea and Creation
As each religion came into existence and developed around the
God-idea, religion developed its own particular explanation of
creation. Thus the God-idea became associated with various myths.
People used the God-idea as a vehicle for their explanation of the
existence of man and the nature of the universe.
Today, intelligent men, who have carefully reviewed all the
available facts, have come to the conclusion that, like the
God-idea, the creation of myths must be regarded as an evolution of
the human imagination which began with the misunderstanding of the
phenomena of nature. These misunderstandings were rooted in the
fear and ignorance of primitive man. Even today, man still retains
his primitive interpretations of creation. In the light of recent,
scientific thinking, the theological definition of god is vague and
hence has no place in the contemporary creation theories or
myths.
If man is created by an external source, then he must belong to
that source and not to himself. According to Buddhism, man is
responsible for everything he does. Thus Buddhists have no reason
to believe that man came into existence in the human form through
any external sources. They believe that man is here today because
of his own action. He is neither punished nor rewarded by anyone
but himself according to his own good and bad action. In the
process of evolution, the human being came into existence. However,
there are no Buddha-words to support the belief that the world was
created by anybody. The scientific discovery of gradual development
of the world-system conforms with the Buddha’s Teachings.
Human Weakness and the Concept of God
Both the concept of God and its associated creation myths have
been protected and defended by believers who need these ideas to
justify their existence and usefulness to human society. All the
believers claim to have received their respective scriptures as
Revelation; in other words, they all profess to come directly from
the one God. Each God-religion claims that it stands for Universal
Peace and Universal Brotherhood and other such high ideals.
However great the ideals of the religious might be, the history
of the world shows that the religions up to the present day have
also helped in spreading superstitions. Some have stood against
science and the advancement of knowledge, leading to ill-feelings,
murders and wars. In this respect, the God-religions have failed in
their attempt to enlighten mankind. For example, in certain
countries when people pray for mercy, their hands are stained with
the blood of the morbid sacrifices of innocent animals and
sometimes, even fellow human beings. These poor and helpless
creatures were slaughtered at the desecrated altars of imaginary
and imperceptible gods. It has taken a long time for people to
understand the futility of such cruel practices in the name of
religion. The time has come for them to realize that the path of
real purification is through love and understanding.
Dr. G. Dharmasiri in his book ‘Buddhist critique of the
Christian Concept of God’ has mentioned, ‘I see that though the
notion of God contains sublime moral strands, it also has certain
implications that are extremely dangerous to the humans as well as
to the other beings on this planet.
‘One major threat to humanity is the blindfold called
‘authority’ imposed on the humans by the concept of God. All
theistic religions consider authority as ultimate and sacred. It
was this danger that the Buddha was pointing at in the Kalama
Sutta. At the moment, human individuality and freedom are seriously
threatened by various forms of authorities. Various ‘authorities’
have been trying to make ‘you’ a follower. On top of all our
‘traditional’ authorities, a new form of authority has emerged in
the name of ‘science’. And lately, the mushrooming new religions
and the menace of the Gurus(as typified by Jim Jones), have become
live threats to the individual’s human freedom and dignity. The
Buddha’s eternal plea is for you to become a Buddha, and He showed,
in a clearly rational way, that each and every one of us has the
perfect potentiality and capacity to attain that ideal.’
God-religions offer no salvation without God. Thus a man might
conceivably have climbed to the highest pinnacle of virtue, and he
might have led a righteous way of life, and he might even have
climbed to the highest level of holiness, yet he is to be condemned
to eternal hell just because he did not believe in the existence of
God. On the other hand, a man might have sinned deeply and yet,
having made a late repentance, he can be forgiven and therefore
‘saved’. From the Buddhist point of view, there is no justification
in this kind of doctrine.
Despite the apparent contradictions of the God-religions, it is
not deemed advisable to preach a Godless doctrine since the belief
in god has also done a tremendous service to mankind, especially in
places where the god concept is desirable. This belief in god has
helped mankind to control his animal nature. And much help has been
granted to others in the name of god. At the same time, man feels
insecure without the belief in god. He finds protection and
inspiration when that belief is in his mind. The reality or
validity of such a belief is based on man’s understanding capacity
and spiritual maturity.
However, religion should also concern our practical life. It is
to be used as a guide to regulate our conduct in the world.
Religion tells us what to do and what not to do. If we do not
follow a religion sincerely, mere religious labels or belief in god
do not serve us in our daily life.
On the other hand, if the followers of various religions are
going to quarrel and to condemn other beliefs and practices -
especially to prove or disprove the existence of God - and if
they are going to harbor anger towards other religions because of
their different religious views, then they are creating enormous
disharmony amongst the various religious communities. Whatever
religious difference we have, it is our duty to practise tolerance,
patience and understanding. It is our duty to respect the other
man’s religious belief even if we cannot accommodate it; tolerance
is necessary for the sake of harmonious and peaceful living.
However, it does not serve any purpose to introduce this concept
of god to those who are not ready to appreciate it. To some people
this belief is not important to lead a righteous life. There are
many who lead a noble life without such belief while amongst
believers there are many who violate the peace and happiness of
innocent people.
Buddhists can also co-operate with those who hold this concept
of god, if they use this concept for the peace, happiness and
welfare of mankind but not with those who abuse this concept by
threatening people in order to introduce this belief just for their
own benefit and with ulterior motives.
For more than 2,500 years, all over the world, Buddhists have
practised and introduced Buddhism very peacefully without the
necessity of sustaining the concept of a creator of God. And they
will continue to sustain this religion in the same manner without
disturbing the followers of other religions.
Therefore, with due respect to other religionists, it must be
mentioned that any attempt to introduce this concept into Buddhism
is unnecessary. Let Buddhists maintain their belief since it is
harmless to others and, let the basic Teachings of the Buddha
remain.
From time immemorial, Buddhists have led a peaceful religious
life without incorporating the particular concept of God. They
should be capable of sustaining their particular religion without
the necessity, at this juncture, of someone trying to force
something down their throats against their will. Having full
confidence in their Buddha Dhamma, Buddhists should be permitted to
work and seek their own salvation without any undue interference
from other sources. Others can uphold their beliefs and concepts,
Buddhist will uphold theirs, without any rancor. We do not
challenge others in regard to their religious persuasions, we
expect reciprocal treatment in regard to our own beliefs and
practices.
ooOoo
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/259.htm
If I may put your post into a nutshell it is basically saying
that the idea of God is born out of man's pyschological needs, a
projection of man's fears and insecurities. Am I right? Is that
what you now believe about religion?