Does God exist? The short answer is: we don't know. No one knows, and
those who claim certainty about God's existence are ignorant. But here’s
the catch—some people genuinely feel that God exists, and they have had
subjective experiences that, to them, serve as proof. And as much as
people in science try to be skeptical of subjective experiences, they
still constitute a powerful part of human existence. Why would anyone do
anything if they didn’t have dreams, hopes, and personal motivations?
And aren’t those, for the most part, subjective?
Materialism, particularly in the West, has convinced many that the
beliefs of ancient civilizations no longer hold true. The Abrahamic
religions seem to be in decline in that region. However, the question of
God's existence remains essential and continues to define people. When
we build relationships with others, their religiosity or belief (or lack
thereof) in God inevitably becomes something that cannot be ignored.
I believe this question is not one to be answered through books or
literature—it is something to be deeply contemplated. Personally, I do
not believe in the gods described by most religions. The depictions of
heaven and hell seem too human to have been created by a truly
transcendent being. They appear to be shaped by our biological desires
and fears. We fear death, so we hope for eternal life. We fear losing
our loved ones, yet the thought that they exist somewhere beyond, still
connected to us in some way, brings comfort. The belief that we will
reunite with them after death is undeniably appealing, giving us solace
when loss strikes.
Similarly, the idea of experiencing endless pleasure without boredom or
habituation is deeply attractive. In our earthly existence, everything
loses its initial glow once we become accustomed to it. Ask a wealthy
person if they feel a rush of joy every time they drive their
Rolls-Royce. Ask someone who has never lost a loved one if they still
experience the same overwhelming warmth every time they embrace them.
Most likely, the answer is no. This plague of habituation, according to
some religions, does not exist in the afterlife—and that is an
incredibly enticing concept.
I do not believe in a God who serves us endless pleasure after death,
but I do believe that we are part of something greater—something beyond
human understanding. More importantly, I believe we are neither
deserving nor capable of knowing it. Consider yeast bacteria fermenting
sugar. If, hypothetically, we could communicate with them and ask what
they are doing, their response would likely be that they are simply
carrying out a chemical process to generate energy. But from our
perspective, their process serves a greater purpose—we use their
fermentation to create bread and wine. Perhaps we are in a similar
position. We may never be able to comprehend why we are here. Maybe we
serve a purpose beyond our awareness, or maybe we don’t. Perhaps we are
merely part of something incomprehensibly vast, existing in dimensions
beyond our reach.
On the other hand, this analogy is still an oversimplification of a
deeper reality we all experience. What about the fire within us—the
drive to live and pursue things that sometimes seem biologically
unnecessary? I don’t have the answer, and maybe that’s what makes life
worth living (at times), rather than reducing ourselves to nothing more
than intelligent monkeys.