Sacred Breeze Ministries - Insight: Is God Real?

Please Click on Image to View Video.

Is God real?  If you were to ask this question to 100 people, you would no doubt get several answers of absolute yes, and several answers of absolute no.  Outside of the solid answers, you would probably get a great many nuanced answers that basically say “I don’t know”, or “there is no way of knowing.”

All good answers, depending on the context from which the answer is provided.

Of course, from the group that answers with an absolute “yes”, a follow up question of “who is God” would result in a full range of possibilities, but we’re not going there today.  We are sticking with the question “Is God is Real?”

In our explorations of God in Spirit, we often speak from the JCI perspective, that is Judeo-Christian-Islamic faith, and from the Buddhist nontheistic perspective.  I suspect a good Buddhist would answer the question with “all things in this universe are impermanent.  Recognizing and accepting the impermanence of everything in this universe holds the key to liberating self and others from the impermanence of this existence.”

And of course, the Buddhist perspective is absolutely accurate.  This universe, this existence, is impermanent.  And just as relationship, joy, and new life are part of this universe, so are separation, loss, suffering, and death.  These are the realities of this existence.

Along with impermanence, karma, or cause and effect are part of the reality of this existence as well. 

I mention realities because in order to answer the question of whether God is real, we need to define what real is.  According to the “Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy”, something is objectively real if it exists independent of conscious awareness.  https://iep.utm.edu/objectiv/#:~:text=1.,do%20persons%20having%20subjective%20states.  For example, a tree in the forest exists whether it has been discovered and catalogued by biologists, surveyors, and conservationists or not. 

The realities of this universe also exist independent of conscious awareness, namely impermanence, cause, and effect.

God as characterized by JCI and other traditions is anything but impermanent.  Theologically, God is often characterized as inherently immortal and eternal.  Since the universe, objectively, includes loss, suffering, and death, it would seem that God is not easily characterized as objectively real from the perspective of human conscious awareness.

Indeed, one might question whether conscious awareness itself exists as an objective reality.  This is where cause and effect come in.  In nature, physical laws dictate the position and motion of objects, and the absorption and release of energy, with or without conscious observation or involvement.  Conscious life, on the other hand, sets its own course.  Of course, living creatures behave within the constraints of physical laws, but within those constraints physical life sets its own course and agenda.  And the course set by physical life is most often in pursuit of life, in pursuit of relationship, in avoidance of suffering, and even in joyful play. 

One might say that the conscious awareness of a living creature helps set the course and activities pursued by that living creature.  In other words, the cause behind what living creatures do, is conscious awareness.  And, the effects of conscious activities exist with or without conscious awareness, sometimes after the consciousness is long gone.  Objects such as houses, furniture, and toys continue to exist long after designers and fabricators have moved on.  Like wise the effects of conscious destruction exist after the causes have moved on.  The earth is scarred and graveyards are filled with the objective results of conscious destruction.  With or without conscious awareness, those scars and graves continue to exist.  So, while one might debate the “realness” of conscious activities, the effects of conscious activities are indeed real. 

One might ask the question, what motivates living consciousness to create or to destroy?  For the most part, conscious decisions both creative and destructive are motivated by instincts held in common by all life forms as we know them.  The drive to survive and to form relationships and to procreate, to avoid suffering and seek out joy are common to all living creatures, including humans.

For theistic JCI folks, the fact that creation exists is interpreted as the “effect” of a Creator Cosmic Consciousness. 

For skeptical atheists, scientists, and non-Theists, a cause and effect argument is not sufficient to prove that God is real.  They might argue that the mere existence of something does not necessarily imply a cause for its existence.  And that would be an interesting discussion to pursue, but for the purpose of this insight, let’s take a look from a more up close and personal level, rather than the larger cosmic level.

We’ve already argued that the effects of conscious action of living creatures are real.  Especially the conscious actions of living human creatures.  Humans are the source of wonderful creations and horrifying destructions, all of which are real. 

Some would argue that miraculous direct intervention from a “real” God proves the existence of God.  They would point to anecdotal examples of perhaps accidents avoided, healing received, and even death of perceived enemies, all at the hands of a real God who intervenes directly in human affairs.  So far, none of these anecdotal experiences have been proven scientifically as evidence of a real God.

Others, perhaps with less vehemence, would describe incidents where they received Divine inspiration that motivated their actions.  Unfortunately, there is no way to prove or disprove whether inspiration to action is Divine or otherwise.  Or is there?  Either way, as was discussed earlier, the effects of any actions taken are real.

When a person refers to God, they usually refer to an impression of an entity formed from a mixture of influences, scriptural, cultural, traditions passed on through families, and understanding received through relationships. And, for many people, a reference would also be made to a sense of direct communication or intervention from a Higher Power.   The same can be said about communities of believers.  Whether these outside influences, natural or supernatural in origin, create a sense of meaning and purpose for the individual or community depends on the individual and the community.  When the connection occurs, and the relationship is formed, and belief is sparked, this Higher Power, this God, becomes part of causal motivation for actions that have effects.  One might say Higher Consciousness influences personal or even community consciousness, to act.  A cause-effect relationship is formed, and the effects are real.

Many people in recovery will tell you, with conviction, that were it not for the influence of a Higher Power, they would still be drinking, using, and probably dead.  And there is truth in that statement.  Cynics say that the testimony of a person in recovery doesn’t prove nor disprove whether God is real or not, but the effects of the belief in an outside Higher Power are as real as forests, sunshine, and trees are real.

Of course, the influence of God is not always positive.  There are many who have claimed that God inspired and motivated them to bring death and destruction.  Those effects are real as well.  And the attribution to a Higher Consciousness for influencing personal and community consciousness to bring destruction is real as well. 

I don’t know about you, but the fact that effects both uplifting and destructive can be attributed to a causal Higher Power is a little scary to me.  It seems that God is real, especially for the people receiving inspiration, because the effects are real, but the effects can inspire comfort and healing and reconciliation, or suffering death and separation.  It almost seems like there are multiple God’s, some positive and uplifting, and others who are negative, inspiring death and destruction.

Its no wonder many people throw up their hands and give up on the idea of God altogether. 

From the human perspective, God maybe considered the culmination of all that we lift up as true and good, however we define true and good.  For many, the definition of true and good is a mixed bag.  For many, true and good means healing and grace, as well as control and power, for self and perhaps fellow believers.  True and good also means suffering and possibly death for those perceived as enemies or nonbelievers.  And history carries many examples of suffering imposed through forced conversion of any kind, whether its being forced to give up being left handed, or forced to hide one’s sexual orientation, or forced to release or change one’s culture and religion. 

This is what “mixed bag” believers lift up, and their actions follow their beliefs.  And again, the effects of this “mixed bag” theology are real, which makes the causal inspiration, the God they lift up, very real indeed.

Its tempting to say that “real God” inspires only love, healing and reconciliation for all people, regardless of culture, religion, or orientation.  And every religion and culture includes scripture and tradition that inspires inclusive and unconditional love.  But every religion and culture also includes scripture and tradition that inspires exclusion and justifies imposing suffering and death on others. 

At Sacred Breeze, we attribute all that is good and true to the Spirit of unconditional inclusive love for all people.  We celebrate diversity, we celebrate culture, and we celebrate faith.  This is the inspiration that motivates our actions.  We hear it through the voices of diverse cultures, Judeo-Christian-Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, neo-Paganism, and many others.  We recognize it through the actions of anyone and everyone who offers healing and hope, even and especially in the midst of suffering and fear.  Unconditional, Inclusive love motivate our actions. 

Our community identity statement recognizes that while we lift up unconditional, inclusive love, in the real world sometimes we must create healthy boundaries and acknowledge our own limitations.  Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes our mistakes are intentional.  In short, we are human.  Even though we are human, the Spirit that calls out from all faiths and traditions for unconditional, inclusive love, is very real.

So, to answer the question is God real, based on the effects both positive and negative inspired by and attributed to God, God is very real.  And given that God is real, and that people lift up that which they believe is true, right, and good, the question becomes what is true, right, and good? 

Our hope is that people from all traditions, faiths, and cultures seek out the still small voice that inspires unconditional inclusive love for all.  May we all lift up unconditional, inclusive love as that which is true, right, and good.  And may the call and inspiration of Dharma, Chesed, Ar Rahim, and Grace be heard and heeded by all peoples everywhere.  Amen.