Higher Power

Now for the sake of respect of religion I am issuing a warning for this post. It is MY opinion about religion, you do not have to agree or disagree, respect my opinion and i will respect yours.

There comes a time in every person's life where they find themselves in a situation of hopelessness. During this time a person feels helpless and frustrated, that no one in the world can help us with the problems we're facing, that's when we turn to religion. No matter the religion that a person believes in a time of hopelessness, a higher power seems to be the one we call on, the one to help clean up the mess, to explain, why me? No matter what reason, a "higher power," HP if you will, is the one thing we turn to in our time of need. Why?

Why is it that every other day out of the year we ignore a HP's existence? I'll tell you why, because it's convenient. We don't want to be bothered with showing any sorts of appreciation.

Personally, my opinion is there is a HP, God, Hashem, a wizard, a witch, a crystal, a man, a woman, an eagle, baby Jesus. Whatever form people choose to believe, a high power is still something greater than what we know.

The reason I say this is because I want to believe in something greater than me, I want to believe that the coincidences in life are not just something to say, "that's weird" to. There have been to many occasions like that in my life that have forced me to make a decision, I mean how many coincidences can one person have apart from a lightning bolt striking them until they get it? Maybe it's just me but i want to believe in something, something greater than me.

Sometimes I wonder if the athiests, non believers, whatever you wanna call them, feel that sense of hopelessness, and who they turn to in their time of need.

 

Comments

[raptoryx13]

01:35 AM on 04/17/2012

"Whatever form people choose to believe,"

Interesting choice of words. I would have thought that your belief in an "HP" would be driven by unshakeable faith, and would not be a matter of "choosing" the right one that fits your lifestyle.

What you don't understand is that a naturalistic worldview is not about comforting beliefs. It is about understanding and appreciating the way things really are--even if it may not be the happiest, rose-tinted answer. After all, science isn't interested in making people happy, it's all about facts and reality. The natural world is awe-inspiring enough for me, without adding supernatural benefactors and security blankets.

[Brightening]

11:10 AM on 04/05/2012

Good article, my opinion is that a belief in a Higher Power is something people of all faiths can agree on and I think this is the way forward for religion in a diverse and globalized world. I feel there still needs to be a lot more discussion in this sort of area if there is to be progression where faiths are concerned.

[SelfAwarePatterns]

07:39 PM on 04/04/2012

I think it's completely human to want to appeal to a higher power, particularly in moments of helplessness. It seems to me that it comes from our infant years when most of us had loving parents who probably seemed all powerful to us at the time. I think most of us miss that feeling of the all powerful parent that can solve most, if not all, problems, so a cosmic version is very appealing. If it stopped there, it would just be a comforting belief that some of us saw as a fantasy.

Unfortunately, it doesn't usually stop there and having those beliefs can leave you vulnerable to being manipulated by people, often in ways that can lead to a lot of suffering. Belief in a higher power can provide a lot of comfort, but we should be mindful of the price of holding those beliefs without a healthy dose of skepticism.

[MagicManDoneIt]

06:43 PM on 04/04/2012

In response to your last sentence, yes, why would you even hedge on the fact that atheists don't feel a sense of hopelessness sometimes, we are human after all. It rarely happens to me anymore, but if that feeling does arise I tend to look inward and try to summon some hidden reserves of determination or optimism to help me through. If that doesn't cut it, I turn to family and friends. I guess an imaginary friend could help you in some respect, but the notion of a higher power is meaningless to me.

[whirlpool]

06:28 PM on 04/04/2012

Each day is a different god--some are beautiful and some are terrifying.

[Jay Patel]

06:20 PM on 04/04/2012

Darina,

Interesting you say that it's because "we don't want to show appreciation." I would like to hear more about why you came to that conclusion. Thanks!!