Muslimwoman
Coexistence insha'Allah
Hi all
I just fancied a ramble on about something that mentally struck me yesterday. I am often asked, given my scientific background, why I believe in G-d and I have never really been able to do more than shrug and say "I just do" or "my gut tells me G-d exists". Let us be honest, we people of faith have absolutely no proof that G-d exists.
I arrived back in the UK a couple of days ago and immediately went to 'hug' my books, I know I am a daft old cow but I love my books. I closed my eyes and picked a book at random to read (of course I am a fickle human and decided I didn't want to read that one and picked one I did want to read).
So I yesterday I was half way through Terry Pratchett's book Reaper Man and something struck me. The series of books are a comical look at numerous human foibles and this one looks at what would happen if the entity often thought of as Death (a 7 foot skeleton, with a sythe and a horse called Binky) were to 'retire'. In this book he does and gets a job on a farm and calls himself Bill Door. On the farm is a cockeral, called Cyril, with a memory problem.....I quote:
"Bill Door found a piece of chalk in the farm's old smithy, located a peice of board among the debris and wrote very carefully for some time. The he wedged the board in front of the henhouse and pointed Cyril towards it.
THIS YOU WILL READ, he said.
Cyril peered myopically at the 'Cock-A-Doodle-Doo' in heavy gothic script. Somewhere in his tiny mad chicken mind a very distinct and chilly understanding formed that he'd better learn to read very, very quickly."
Despite having read this book numerous times before I was never particularly struck by this paragraph. Yesterday I was. Some years ago, somewhere in my tiny mad human mind a very distinct and chilly understanding formed that I had better believe in G-d because He sure as hell believes in me.
Perhaps athiests are right and when we die there is nothing, no G-d, no eternal rest just nothing, the end, we are wormfood. However, if this is the case then my faith during my life is not wasted, I hope it has made me a better person and helped me to be kinder to my fellow creatures. However, perhaps I am right and the athiests are wrong and when we die we do indeed stand before G-d, who will judge us for our deeds and our belief in Him. I certainly know which side I would want to be on then.
I suppose that sounds like 'hedging my bets', which is not a correct understanding of my belief. It's that distinct and chilly understanding somewhere deep inside my mind that there is an all seeing, all knowing G-d and one day I must answer to Him.
So what are your thoughts on why you believe in G-d? Can you describe that urge inside you to believe in something we have no proof of, in a world where we demand proof for everything?
Salaam
I just fancied a ramble on about something that mentally struck me yesterday. I am often asked, given my scientific background, why I believe in G-d and I have never really been able to do more than shrug and say "I just do" or "my gut tells me G-d exists". Let us be honest, we people of faith have absolutely no proof that G-d exists.
I arrived back in the UK a couple of days ago and immediately went to 'hug' my books, I know I am a daft old cow but I love my books. I closed my eyes and picked a book at random to read (of course I am a fickle human and decided I didn't want to read that one and picked one I did want to read).
So I yesterday I was half way through Terry Pratchett's book Reaper Man and something struck me. The series of books are a comical look at numerous human foibles and this one looks at what would happen if the entity often thought of as Death (a 7 foot skeleton, with a sythe and a horse called Binky) were to 'retire'. In this book he does and gets a job on a farm and calls himself Bill Door. On the farm is a cockeral, called Cyril, with a memory problem.....I quote:
"Bill Door found a piece of chalk in the farm's old smithy, located a peice of board among the debris and wrote very carefully for some time. The he wedged the board in front of the henhouse and pointed Cyril towards it.
THIS YOU WILL READ, he said.
Cyril peered myopically at the 'Cock-A-Doodle-Doo' in heavy gothic script. Somewhere in his tiny mad chicken mind a very distinct and chilly understanding formed that he'd better learn to read very, very quickly."
Despite having read this book numerous times before I was never particularly struck by this paragraph. Yesterday I was. Some years ago, somewhere in my tiny mad human mind a very distinct and chilly understanding formed that I had better believe in G-d because He sure as hell believes in me.
Perhaps athiests are right and when we die there is nothing, no G-d, no eternal rest just nothing, the end, we are wormfood. However, if this is the case then my faith during my life is not wasted, I hope it has made me a better person and helped me to be kinder to my fellow creatures. However, perhaps I am right and the athiests are wrong and when we die we do indeed stand before G-d, who will judge us for our deeds and our belief in Him. I certainly know which side I would want to be on then.
I suppose that sounds like 'hedging my bets', which is not a correct understanding of my belief. It's that distinct and chilly understanding somewhere deep inside my mind that there is an all seeing, all knowing G-d and one day I must answer to Him.
So what are your thoughts on why you believe in G-d? Can you describe that urge inside you to believe in something we have no proof of, in a world where we demand proof for everything?
Salaam
