The shoebox god.

I was told once in a debate that comparing religion to science, is like comparing apples to oranges. He went on to explain that what he meant, was that religion is faith based, (according to him, belief without evidence) and science was fact based. This is a funny statement to me. This is the way most people argue when it comes to topics of faith. Statements filled with more rhetoric than sound arguments.

My initial emotional response to statements such as these is annoyance. Annoyance, because it becomes apparent that I am being fit into a stereotype. and as much as I am guilty of placing people within other stereotypes, I hate being placed into a stereotype. The stereotype that is in place for unthinking, unintelligent religious fanatics that hold up signs protesting against gay marriage etc.

But the more I think about this statement, the more I have to agree with it. I am not a big fan of religion. Religion, gives the God that I know a bad reputation. This god, (the god of religion) is more in place to justify ones own beliefs, (political, social, moral etc) rather than the God that I know, who shows love, grace, and acceptance to people.

Some of the religious people I know, are some of the worst people I know. They use God to fill the world with hate to anybody who doesn't share the same opinions as they do. This isn't a god I want to believe in either. This is a god who is made up of anti-scientific, propaganda, who likes to take the money from people watching cable t.v.

From this stand point, I have to agree that religion is like comparing apples to oranges. But the God that I know, is the God who is the cornerstone of all knowledge. If God is real, then he cannot, by definition, be anti-scientific. He is the center of all truth.This is not a god of the gaps type god. This is the God who has created everything we understand, and everything we do not understand. Science discovers mechanisms, but mechanisms must not be confused with agency.

The problem is that as soon as I mention God, people automatically assume I am talking
about a god who fits within a system, a religion if you will. But the God who I know, does not fit within a religious system. Religion is a box that we create god to fit in, and this god, is the small minded god that we use to confirm our personal identity.

If we are a Republican, we assume God is also a Republican. If we are a Democrat, we assume God is a Democrat. If we are American, we assume God loves Americans more than he loves the rest of the world.

This is what I like to call the shoebox god. We carry him around so we never have to be challenged. After all, if the God of the universe shares my views, then who can argue with me?
But this is the religion that makes people hate god. The god who is accused of being anti-scientific, who hates homosexuals, who is going to send every non-republican to hell, and this is the reason why I hate religion.