God

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Does 'God' exist? All our ancestors believed so, as do most people today. You might not think it from listening to broadcasts or reading the newspapers, but-as usual-it is the negative viewpoint that steals the limelight. There is nothing I could say that would ever prove the existence of God to be a fact, for the simple reason that issues as grand as this are just not open to proof. Do field mice believe in farmers? Do bees believe it is an accident that takes their honey away? The best we can do is present a case. Most of mankind found the evidence was convincing.

How impressive is the evidence? No explorer has ever discovered a tribe that was atheist. The fact that many people are atheists today says much about our city style of life, which is so far removed from nature. When our early forebears evolved, their expanding awareness began to think about their condition and to wonder about the purpose of existence. One way or another, they came up with the concept of God, one unique to human beings. Of the myriad species on earth, we are the only one to have built up this thing called 'religion'. Dogs share our homes but do not read scripture; sheep do not hold rituals, and neither do blackbirds sing hymns. What makes human beings engage in these activities? Is it all due to our having an advanced brain? Is it some sort of built-in supernatural propensity? Or has a lamp been lit in our soul?

Do Occultists believe in Gods? You should be unaffected by other people's beliefs, so this kind of question will not get us far. If you ask do Occultists believe in God and the supernatural then the answer is both yes and no. However, I am not going to brainwash you or thrust my creed in your face. In order to become an Occultist, you do not have to toe any kind of party line. You are free to sort out your own beliefs because whatever you or I may think, whatever opinions we hold there is only one Truth.

Where does truth come from? Why ask me? Do you think I ought to know just because I happen to be a believer? And if the answer does not come out pat, does that suggest to you there is no such truth? The human mind is clever enough to frame questions to which it cannot find answers, and even when answers are possible, they are often far too difficult to express. It is a clever trick to ask a complicated question and then insist on a simple answer.

If you want to find truth then you must (a) be reasonable, and (b) think in a disciplined manner. Most people are way out of their depth when it comes to logic or metaphysics, which is why rogues and charlatans can lead them a merry dance. Truth is not a commodity that can be traded by journalists or bookshops. Can we even be sure about the Holy Bible when the original manuscript no longer exists? Various translations exist, and different editors have put a different slant on matters. Similar criticisms could be aimed at most of the world's sacred literature.

Why can't God make it easy to know Him. Oh dear. Did he forget to tell you? Had you been informed, you would not be so sceptical I suppose? Well, the Queen of England did not answer my letter, but I know she exists. Perhaps God just gets depressed whenever He thinks of you, or else He starts sulking like an artist who is not satisfied with his work. If you were arrested for burglary, you could not defend yourself by saying that nobody answered when you knocked on the door and therefore you thought the house was empty. Squatters are not allowed to move in while the owner is out shopping. No one can open a fast food joint when you go away for the weekend. Well, God too can do what He wishes. He is not in any way beholden to you. Therefore, He can lock Himself in, slip out when nobody is looking, and refuse to answer questions. Yes, we lack evidence, but that is itself highly impressive. Not being able to prove a case doesn't mean there is no evidence; despite not behaving the way you think he ought, God could exist.

Does godhood depend on human recognition? For the sake of argument, let us suppose there are two kinds of god. First, there are the gods that man invents. Second, there are gods that exist without man's help, whether or not he knows them. It could be argued that when man invents a god, he is merely attaching a label to a divinity that already exists. After all, you would find some likeness between a Polynesian god and a Teutonic god, or between an Egyptian god and an Eskimo one. Instead of telling us anything more about the true nature of God, this sort of secondary detail is merely a list of the characteristics that people consider correct.

Do men become gods? Many spiritual paths speak about an individual soul passing through several stages of initiation in order, eventually, to achieve the highest possible status. This status may be described as 'becoming God', but it most probably means 'becoming one with god'. It would be wrong to assume that such a status is conferred, like the Queen dubbing a knight, or the pope consecrating a bishop. Mysticism sees the process as one of spiritual evolution in which the 'self' is expanded and absorbed into the entity that we refer to as God. It might help if you pondered the difference between polytheism and pantheism.

Can you be less vague, more concrete? I step carefully because there are fanatics and extremists about. A fanatic is someone whose emotional conviction outweighs his ability to reason, and an extremist is someone who thinks that his faith justifies behaviour that you would disapprove of. Normally, reason and emotion or head and heart try to achieve a harmonious balance, but sometimes an extraneous element creeps in. If my answers to some questions are less than fulsome if I seem to reply cautiously then at least, you may take this as ample proof that I am not a fanatic. I try to keep our discussion on an even keel and I am sorry if this irritates you. (This is even more important in a printed book that is going to be read by lots of people)

Could God be nicer and religion cosier? Sentimentalism and romanticism are lyrical, childhood yearnings for a past that has gone. They hold back progress. The ultimate reality is to know that you are one with all. When that realisation dawns, then individuality and selfishness pale.

Is religion dying? The theory is that because life is nowadays so secure, people no longer feel a need for the kind of comfort that religion used to provide, yet while traditional religion declines, exotic sects and extreme fundamentalism flourish. In fact, the religious impulse is as strong as ever it was witness the modern interest in Occultism. Not everyone does enjoy a high standard of living so it is wrong to say that religiosity is linked to wealth and poverty. A booming economy will not stop us dying and neither will it guarantee a cosy afterlife. Nevertheless, most people do believe in 'something else', but they abandon the "tours to the Holy Land" organised by churches and prefer to make their own plans for embarking on a private quest for truth.

I feel so lost. What should I believe? If there is only one Truth, then as long as you find a reliable guide, you are sure to find it. After all, once you have climbed to the top of the sacred mountain, everyone sees the same view. It is more important to climb than to select this path or that one. To be an Occultist therefore, there is no need to believe everything from the word go. Like a farmer: you work the land, you sow your seed, you tend your crop, and you gather your harvest. In other words, you recognise the seasons come and go, and there is a certain procession to life. You live it and you watch. The rest takes care of itself.

On what is spirituality based? True spirituality is not based on anything. It is a yearning to know more about the Beyond and a need to get closer to it. Instead of passing on guilt, Occultism frees you of it. Aleister Crowley proclaimed what has become known as 'The Law of Thelema'. Glibly, like parrots, many people quote 'Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law'; they leave aside the second part that says 'Love is the Law Love under the Will'. What this means is: love is capable of serving the goals that our Will chooses. It is not the sentimental whim of an adolescent. A man who loves never causes harm, but a man who represses love is most likely avoiding rejection.

Spirituality sounds pious. If so, it is only because modern religion has adopted a strange attitude. It trains you to be like grateful dogs serving your superiors merely because they have stopped flogging you. This type of piety is based on fear and it generates the kind of spirituality that uses guilt as a diving board. Can you not see that, throughout the whole of your childhood, you were shaped, gently or roughly, by means of shame, fear, and guilt? I am not surprised that you do not feel 'free'. It is because you are still wearing the collar of a slave.

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