Finding God in a secular world
We all worship something but finding God can bring truth and genuine contentment.
I’d like to begin this article with a short quote from David Foster Wallace…
“In the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship — be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles — is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you.…The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness.”
— David Foster Wallace
Breathe that in…
Take a second to consider what you’ve just read.
Wallace highlights that whatever your outlook on faith, whatever your stance and interpretation is of religion; you must worship something and the denial of this is usually the biggest barrier to finding God.
The above quote actually inspired me to express my opinions on God, for the first time.
But what if we need God…
Secularism is great. I mean it.
It separated Western education from religion (which was a fantastic thing), it allowed science to prosper away from the shackles of the traditional church denominations, and it enabled a free-thinking and liberated society.
We educated our young and trained world-renowned scientists.
But religion and regimented denomination isn’t actually God….
That’s the key here.
Many of us can’t separate the idea of being religious and being a believer in God. But what if being a believer in God was simply a human need, without a label.
Religion is a man made construct. Faith is an inherent human desire.
It’s likely you place your faith in something, whether that’s evolution, a God or even those close to you.
Regardless, we all have a desire to place a faith in our unique world view and when we find one that fits, we find peace.
Needing God is human…
As I said, secularism has been great for the world, it’s really pushed us forward. But it’s created a thick layer of isolation between man and God.
And more toxically, blurred the lines between man-made religion and seeking a deeper meaning in life. The two aren’t connected.
With the rising levels of depression and anxiety being sourced and filed under the lack of purpose we have, perhaps being sheltered from finding a faith isn’t a good thing at all.
I was raised in a secular world, a secular home…
Which gave me some wonderful knowledge and a well balanced outlook on life. But it lacked purpose.
Yes, we can find purpose in many things. But a deeper purpose, one that explains our existence and our destiny, is simply a question wrought into the concious of all mankind.
Do you ever wonder, why?
Do you ever wonder, not why we’re here, but why do we need to know. It’s a more achievable goal to reach. We may never truly realise how we exist but an internal journey to understand why we need such truth, may lead you to a higher and deeper meaning of life.
I’m really putting this out there…
This is certainly the first time I’ve written publicly about my faith but it feels good to be true to myself.
Certainly, we all need to find our own explanation for our existence but don’t feel restricted by your upbringing, education or situation.
Keep exploring.
Let’s discuss this…
Have you ever thought about seeking God? What are your thoughts on the deeper meaning of life? Leave your comments in the responses.
Peace.
I’m a London based writer, working in advertising but writing for the love of it. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter for a constant stream of my thoughts and articles. Click here. Cheers!
