Having finished my reading of the Bible (all of it), I have come to believe that religion is man-made. It has evolved from humanity's attempt to answer the deepest questions. Is there a higher power that is somehow in charge? How did all this come to be? Was the universe created, or was it always thus? If created, what came before? What created the creator?
The best answer I have found is in Plato's "Timaeus", in which a character named Timaeus states:
"Everything that becomes or is created must of necessity be created by some cause, for without a cause nothing can be created... Was the world always in existence and without beginning? or created, and had it a beginning? Created, I reply, being visible and tangible and having a body, and therefore sensible; and all sensible things are apprehended by opinion and sense and are in a process of creation and created. Now that which is created must, as we affirm, of necessity be created by a cause. But the father and maker of all this universe is past finding out."
I like Timaeus' point of view. Such a Creator (if it exists) would be beyond our understanding. So unique, so totally different from anything in our world that our minds could not grasp or measure it.
As some wise man once said, I'm willing to concede the possibility of such a Creator. But it just leads to more questions. Timaeus' explanation accepts the existence of an entity based on logic, not faith. Timaeus' Creator was not created but had the power to create everything else. Applying logic and reasoning to such a being (if there is one) is impossible. The very nature of it is past finding out, as Timaeus aptly notes,
Still, I have more questions. Assuming the existence of a Creator, would it possess the qualities described in Christian scripture: loving us, watching us, and ultimately judging us and sending us to reward or damnation? Untangling these questions is a futile effort. It's not possible to apply reasoning to such an entity, if it does exist. It all comes down to a matter of faith: what we believe, not what we deduce.
What then is the religion I was brought up to believe in? I was baptised and confirmed as a Christian, but I have the same questions about Judaism, Islam, and every other faith. I can accept that Jesus was a real person, a healer and a teacher. His sayings contain great wisdom. But was he divine, the Son of God who sitteth at the right hand of the Father Almighty?
Neither I or anyone else has the capacity or duty to judge the differing beliefs of the many religions. and decide which is the true word and which is false teaching. I wish and pray that fervent believers would be tolerant of other beliefs. The only conclusion I can accept is that religion must have been created by humans. Why? To give order to the unexplainable. To offer a path for living a virtuous life, for running an orderly society, and for giving us comfort when life is difficult. As to which is the true faith, and whether there is an afterlife, I return to Timaeus: that is beyond finding out. In the meantime, our duty is to be tolerant and kind. Do good works. Try to live life as best you can.
