Everyone, even people who have concluded that there is no God, have asked themselves the same question: “Does God exist?” What drives us to ask this question is the God instinct, innate in all human beings.
What is happening Spiritually in the world today? Many people who claim to be atheists actually have faith in the unseen realm. Over 50% of Chinese atheists believe in hidden forces of good and evil, 20% of atheists in the UK believe in supernatural entities. Surely these people are not devoid of faith and spirituality. These so-called ‘atheists’ are not ignorant and on average score higher in religious knowledge tests than others. They are not passive, but actually appear to be searching for the unbiased truth without bias more than others. Perhaps, many faithful people without clear guidance have sunk into the disease of apathy. What has happened to the old religious order? We have lost connection with the old order, our places of worship have been locked up but still adorned in gold with lavish carpets, echoing with psalms and hymns. Yet at a time of crisis and social change are no longer a voice of support or seat of moral growth for a new generation. Perhaps in the end we shall find our temple was inside us all along? We have lost respect for ‘our holier than thou’ priests and vicars, who created the idea of a God sitting on a throne in the sky. They don’t seem to represent us or even care about us, especially as they don’t practise what they preach and twist the words of God to suit their own desires. Why would they listen anyway? They exclaim hatred of outsiders and make us feel guilty for our mistakes made in ignorance. They want our worship and say we are doomed to eternal hellfire if we don’t submit, fear is their motivation. All we need to do is memorise and recite a few words from a sacred text to get what we want from this life. No need to understand its meaning and everything will be just fine. Televangelists use sacred books as a means of personal gain ,with mega-churches like palaces, villas in the sun, a fleet of cars, private jets to reach their flock. They expect us to roll out the red carpet for them. Perhaps, in the end, we will find the sacred knowledge we needed was within us all along? What do we believe our political leaders are offering us today? It does not seem to make any difference what system of governance we submit to, every ‘ism’ we choose seems to lead to more schism. Every choice seems to lead to greater confusion and self-delusion: communism, fascism, socialism and even democracy. How is it truly the rule of the people when those in charge we supposedly chose, dictate their own will to us? We are battery cells for the machine, did we ever sign up to give our hard earned taxes to support wars against innocent people in far off lands? Have we not chosen the sweet shop owner who gives us comfort and distractions rather than the wise doctor who gives us the bitter cure? With all this mismanagement, our problems have magnified. The wealth divide grows, more are on the breadline, debt servitude, less access to medical care, house repossession, more divorce, more racism. We feel more isolated and more despair, there is more depression and suicide. Perhaps in the end we will realise there is another way. What have we replaced the worn out idols with? Now celebrity idols have encouraged us to fill this void with the religion of Thelema, as Alister Crowley said ‘Do as thou wilt’, following our egoistic urges for selfish gain. This takes a multitude of forms: pushing for a higher status or salary; more sexual partners; more holidays; a bigger house; but it seems no matter what we attain, we always seek more. Such an attitude always seems to involve us hurting or manipulating those around us and all this self-seeking makes us often feel hollow inside. Some have sought to pursue seemingly selfless acts, such as meditation, yoga or alternative health remedies traveling to appreciate and adjust to different cultures. We gain spiritual insights but global dilemmas famine, war, disease, injustice still persist. Why did all the messengers before speak of selflessness to progress on the path of enlightenment? So what do we believe remains at the core of our being? We believe that despite all of this welling up of hurt and frustration a yearning remains inside us to find and bond with a higher truth. The following of personal material gain and cult of celebrity has not given us peace and calm inside, we still see hatred and injustice at the core of our lives. Yet, we still instinctively understand and respect the ‘law of karma’ looking out for our elderly neighbour, ensuring we don’t hurt each other’s feelings, why would we bother if we did not think we were accountable? We are warmed to see a clip of animals leap into a raging river to save another. What is the spark that is helping us realise and practice such morality? Is there perhaps a God instinct within us that urges us to follow the primal law that we should do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves. Is there any proof that we have a God instinct within us? Science has proven that many of those who label themselves as agnostics as children believed in a supernatural God who knew what was locked in a safe. They recognised order and design to the world. 50% of all 4 years olds have an imaginary friend. Only as we get older and we go to school and work does this seem to quite literally get drilled out of us. If we are fair to ourselves do we not need to go back within ourselves? The truth is, every single person alive has wondered whether God exists and that is evidence of a God instinct. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan FHIP has said: “And if you go to the heart of the jungles and approach humans who had never ever heard of any religion, you shall see that they too, worship something that they consider to be the creator. In the end everyone reaches one point and that is there is a hidden power which is controlling and ruling this world.” -Ahmed Al-Hassan FHIP What about atheists today? Many atheists who live well-ordered lives still have a profound belief in supernatural beings. Iceland is one of the top 10 atheistic nations yet more than half believe in ‘Elves’ or nature spirits. They enacted laws to prevent roads passing through ‘Elven’ lands. In Ireland a survey recorded at least one third of citizens still believe in leprechauns or trickster fairies. In Irish sacred texts fairies reside in burrows under hills. Whilst in China 90% of atheists believe in ancestor spirits, performing rituals with incense offerings. Faith in unseen beings and the belief that dead ancestors are alive spiritually is it a link to a spiritual realm? What about reincarnation and the soul? Today many travel to the Far East and learn about Hinduism and Buddhism as they teach us about reincarnation. The concept of reincarnation is reassuring in a world where there seems to be no so much finality, no real justice. In this world, little seems to be unfair. For example, a child born into a war torn nation dies young and another into monarchy lives a long life. The science of reincarnation has catalogued since the 1970s, 1000s of cases of children reincarnating with birthmarks indicating they died in a certain way and in a place and with people they had no way of knowing about that investigators later prove to be true. Perhaps we will realise that the soul is more important than the body and begin to treat it as such. Who are we and what is the core of our message? We are a religion of peace and light, with our doors wide open to everyone who has had enough and is determined to change things for the better. We believe many of the beliefs that these so-called ‘atheists’ hold dear are in fact true, verifiable and part of the core tenets of our faith. We believe in humanity before religion, that the God instinct has been suppressed but is still alive within us. We believe the soul never dies and returns again until we overcome our mistakes and ascend. Once we let go of our old systems of belief and imposed egoistic focus, the soul can reawaken in us to help us pave the way for a world with justice and harmony for all. So what are these core tenants? What system can prepare a better world for our future generations and what is the fundamental role we can play in our return to God?
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