God only spies on believers
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- Published on Thursday, 02 December 2010 06:02
- Written by John Draper
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Christians seem to think that having God watch you is a good thing. But isn't that why they invented doors and curtains? To stop people watching you in private moments? I doubt there is anyone who wants someone watching their every moment - going to the bathroom, having sex or even simply taking a time-out. Worse, if you lie a bit or steal a pen or worse, god is watching and disapproving. And he's waiting for you to die so he can punish you. Talk about Big Brother! Is a spying god OK because he's all-powerful and all-knowing and knows about everyone? Still seems creepy to me.
But as an atheist recently said to me "Once I realised there was no god, I suddenly felt free - there was no god watching my every move!".
Logically of course, asking a god to watch every move and every thought of 6 billion people is quite something. Of course, the word infinite would cover it all. An infinite god could do anything, even what would be unimaginable to any scientist. But even so, think about what it entails:
- 6 billion individual sets of activities - TV cameras with sound in the sky if you will - with multiple cameras to cover not only each individual but also what they see.
- 6 billion minds to be read - tapping into them somehow, then sorting out the neuron paths and turning them into coherent threads. There is currently no known way of doing this even with unlimited resources. If you believe in prayer this is something that you must also believe in.
We all like to think we are the single most important entity in the universe - we are after all, the centre of our own universe! Since we know what we are seeing and doing and thinking, it's not hard to imagine that god can too - then we extend it to the other 6 billion people! However, it defies logic. On the other hand, nobody really thinks that the supernatural world and god are amenable to reason - we are supposed to have faith.
If you do have faith, then you have god watching your every move and thought. You are the subject of the "Big Brother in the sky". Of course the spin-doctors (priests, imams, rabbis, parsons) all turn this into a benefit with stories about helping you in time of need. This does not mean physical interference - we'd notice that! And they can't mean there are 6 billion loudspeakers in the sky or even earpieces or we'd all be hearing voices all the time - it has to be thoughts are inserted in our heads. Let me get this straight - not only does god watch us all the time, but he also creates thoughts for us? Not all thoughts we have are our own? That's worse than censorship! That's putting ideas/thoughts into our heads without our knowledge or consent! Ridiculous you say. So it is, the whole concept is ridiculous.
But none of this needs to be even considered if you are not a believer. Whew - no stretching my faith to believe in this concept; no concern about a peeping Jesus; no concern about eavesdropping or inserting thoughts. Should I worry that I no longer can expect help? Well if you ever did hear a voice in your head that gave good advice, then you probably still believe or you are in a home for the mentally ill. But others can stop looking for the help that they never got anyway.
Losing a spying god is yet another reason to not believe.
(Note. The current population of the world is actually nearer 6.9 billion)