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Who's Your God?

             In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

             "You shall have no other gods before[1] me.” (Exodus 20:3)

 

            Yesterday, I did a little debating with an atheist. His argument had three basic points:

He believes in one fewer god than I do,

People are basically good,

The differences between us were “just really philosophical.”

I’ll quickly note that my response to people being basically good because (he said) most of us lead normal lives and aren’t murderer or rapists focused on the definition of good as meaning not committing murder or rape is too narrow, and that psychological studies are showing how quickly and easily people do evil things, and how often people lie. And my response to the notion of “just really philosophical” was to note that how we see the world and what we believe is far more significant than our skin color. So dismissing philosophical differences is naïve.

            But the greater part of our discussion focused on the issue of gods. Again, I suggested that his definition was carefully narrow. I said that a god is that which has authority in our lives and to which we turn for help. A god doesn’t have to be an independent being. It can be an idea or collection of ideas, a statue, money, fame, power, etc. I said that atheists are either mistaken or dishonest when they say they have no god, because they consider themselves, science, or something else as the authority in their lives.

            He asked about why I didn’t worship Vishnu, Odin, Ares, Marduk, or Pikkiwocki instead of Yahweh. My answer was that not all gods are equal. Most of those listed didn’t involve themselves in human affairs much, and I know of know historical record of someone who interacted with any of them. Odin, Ares, and Marduk are not described as having created the universe or us, and thus they can’t be the ultimate authority. They seem to be a poor choice, but poorer still is making a god of oneself. Unfortunately, that’s the trend in society. We never got to the question of the judgment of the gods, or of what they demand in connection with salvation, or the fulfillment of prophecy, but it was fun.

            I’m not telling you all of this in order to pat myself on the back for what a good debater I am. The issues deserve consideration. Why do we choose Jehovah over Jupiter, Marduk, Odin, or Vishnu? What do we treat as a god in our lives, even if we wouldn’t call it a “god.” I have no doubt that Yahweh is superior in every way to all those other gods – even all of them put together. But do I live that way? Which is really more authoritative in my life, His Word or my word? Just a little to think about for the weekend.

 

 


[1]  Or “besides” 

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