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This weekend, as I was running errands, I had a sudden epiphany about God, and about Authoritarianism. And it came from thinking about people who grew up in abusive situations.
Christianity, the Christianity I grew up in, that a lot of people here in America grew up in, tells us that God is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. And he is always watching everyone, all of the time.
And that thought is supposed to be comforting. It's supposed to make Christians feel comforted.
But for people who grew up in abusive situations, the thought of that is likely to be terrifying. This is a being that could just swat you if It was annoyed, and you would be crushed. Maybe It isn't even mad at you. Maybe It's mad about something else, and you just happened to be there - in the wrong place at the wrong time, in the sights of something that is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and angry.
This was how I felt about God growing up. And I felt guilty and bad. Because I knew the thought of a Being like this existing is supposed to be comforting. I was supposed to feel comforted. And I didn't. I was terrified.
And I think a lot of the people who claim to be comforted are actually terrified, too. It's just a matter of "maybe if we worship It and sing praise songs, the Being won't get angry and crush us."
And whether or not a person finds this idea comforting or terrifying says a lot about whether or not a person turns out to be an authoritarian, or anti-authoritarian. And as we all know, there are a crapton of people right now who claim to be anti-authoritarians, who are really the opposite. We saw a lot of them streaming into the Capitol on Jan 6.
If there is a Satan, they exist because the thought of an omnipotent, smiting God probably terrifies them, too.
Since the dawn of the 20th century, the "Western Occult Mysteries" have dovetailed somewhat with the concept of the Big Bang Theory. God, or what we used to think of as God, was a singular point of matter that broke Itself apart into the Universe because It wanted to be able to perceive Itself. Which is really a spin on something that the Western Occult Mysteries co-opted from the Eastern Occult Mysteries, but yeah.
I find this concept to be a lot more comforting.
Christianity, the Christianity I grew up in, that a lot of people here in America grew up in, tells us that God is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. And he is always watching everyone, all of the time.
And that thought is supposed to be comforting. It's supposed to make Christians feel comforted.
But for people who grew up in abusive situations, the thought of that is likely to be terrifying. This is a being that could just swat you if It was annoyed, and you would be crushed. Maybe It isn't even mad at you. Maybe It's mad about something else, and you just happened to be there - in the wrong place at the wrong time, in the sights of something that is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and angry.
This was how I felt about God growing up. And I felt guilty and bad. Because I knew the thought of a Being like this existing is supposed to be comforting. I was supposed to feel comforted. And I didn't. I was terrified.
And I think a lot of the people who claim to be comforted are actually terrified, too. It's just a matter of "maybe if we worship It and sing praise songs, the Being won't get angry and crush us."
And whether or not a person finds this idea comforting or terrifying says a lot about whether or not a person turns out to be an authoritarian, or anti-authoritarian. And as we all know, there are a crapton of people right now who claim to be anti-authoritarians, who are really the opposite. We saw a lot of them streaming into the Capitol on Jan 6.
If there is a Satan, they exist because the thought of an omnipotent, smiting God probably terrifies them, too.
Since the dawn of the 20th century, the "Western Occult Mysteries" have dovetailed somewhat with the concept of the Big Bang Theory. God, or what we used to think of as God, was a singular point of matter that broke Itself apart into the Universe because It wanted to be able to perceive Itself. Which is really a spin on something that the Western Occult Mysteries co-opted from the Eastern Occult Mysteries, but yeah.
I find this concept to be a lot more comforting.
