Is God outside religions or inside?

Man always strives for certainty. “WE,” to which he counts himself, is, of course, always right, and if we are clearly wrong about something somewhere, this is an exception that does not affect certainty. And if “WE” are always right in everything, then “OTHERS” are wrong. Then they feel sorry for them and try to benefit them with their truth. If they do not give in, “OTHERS” come under suspicion and become “infidels”; if they resist, they become enemies.

The awareness of one’s belonging to “WE”, to “ours” is a powerful psychological reinforcement, and sometimes a national or religious idea. This craving for certainty is especially characteristic of the religious worldview. Religious differences are wider and higher than national differences.

The certainty “ours is the other” inexorably isolates a person from “OTHERS”, then divides people. “OTHERS” become incomprehensible, and therefore dangerous, and division develops into hostility.

Uncertainty causes psychological discomfort, sometimes felt as fear or mental pain. Doubt worries, worries. But doubt forces us to seek and leads us to knowledge.

Whether we want it or not, life always wins, and not our idea of ​​it. Life changes our ideas, even if some idea changed someone’s life, life will then take its toll.

Perhaps it would then be advisable to doubt the words and trust the indicators of life instead? And especially in words concerning God?

Not because words always lie, but because in comparison with life itself, words that seek to explain life are a sleeping pill. The experience, the experience of life, cannot be accurately expressed in language. Our formulations are always superficial and, most importantly, incomprehensible to others. Even the accuracy of transmission does not mean the accuracy of perception, which is different for everyone.

Let me clarify the concepts: strictly speaking, what is said below has nothing to do with God Himself, but relates to how God is presented in the monotheistic religions under consideration (for clarity, “single-root” Abrahamic religions are taken). What we bring to your attention is not a claim to truth, but only a reflection.

To believers: if you think that it is better to stay on solid ground, then you don’t need to read further and, especially, you don’t need to think. To hold fast to your faith is the bliss of having solid ground under your feet.

For those who are not afraid for their faith, I suggest that they rise beyond the dogma of one particular religion. For what purposes? Firstly, in order to find out whether there is a God beyond your religion, whether He is in the whole life of all people. Secondly, to look at my religion from the outside and understand how my religion, like any other, excludes “OTHERS”.

To do this, let us consider a simple question: can a God who favors one at the expense of another be called One?

It is this obvious question that traditional Judaism, Christianity and Islam try to ignore. This is a question they have struggled with throughout history. But today "OTHERS" are rapidly invading our political, economic, conceptual, familial and emotional space. Never before have we felt such a presence. Whether we like it or not, life always wins.

If God created all of humanity, but imparted life-giving knowledge called “revelations” to only a certain part of it, can God be considered the One God, and not just some kind of deity? Wouldn't such a deity be historically and geographically local, and therefore either disinterested or otherwise unable to impart life-saving knowledge to all of humanity? The claim that God has decided to reveal himself to all mankind through just one particular religion is neither convincing nor satisfying when it comes to God. And there have been several religions for a long time.

The question invites further thought: if knowing God is a way of life and if God divided the world through revelation, then the fate of those who do not receive God’s life-giving revelation is to serve as a “test group” in a global experiment, a mass human sacrifice. Then Yahweh, God the Father or Allah is no different from the ancient pagan god of destruction Moloch, for whose glory human sacrifices were regularly required. Most people would in this case be created by God for the sole purpose of killing.

Do we have the right to ask questions about God? Can we examine the motives, the wisdom, the capabilities of God? Religions already do this. God cannot be mocked. God does not exist for us, but we exist for God. But faith is the act of placing high hopes on God. The scriptures testify that God is light in which there is no shadow. God is perfect Love. Great expectations are not an insult to the name and essence of God, but to honor Him. It is a way of distinguishing God from deities, a way of worshiping God.

They tell us and we say to ourselves: “God is a mystery, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. This means that everything related to explaining the essence of God and His ways is beyond our understanding; we need to come to terms with our ignorance.” Yes, we cannot understand this, we are not able to know God as He is. We are just created beings. But questions about God are by no means meaningless. The words “God is a mystery” are too often a conversation stopper, used to avoid having to answer questions to which we do not know the answers.

We can ensure that our ideas about God remain unchallenged, protecting them from conclusions that might force us to admit the presence of God in “OTHERS,” in “infidels,” in people with whom we disagree.

If we choose to interpret our sacred texts and cherished traditions in ways that promote a vision of a God who shuns people outside our religion, wouldn't that choice make God not only less divine, but also less human? Shouldn't God have justice and compassion—at least commensurate with human conscience?

These questions are questionable. Either everyone has a real opportunity to find God - or God is not omnipresent. Concepts of a God who mysteriously shuns all “OTHERS” deceive the moral expectations of people and should deceive the moral expectations of passionate believers. For God creating human beings and condemning them to death in order to demonstrate the consequences of life outside of Judaism, Christianity or Islam is inconsistent with the very essence of the teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this case, the place of the One God would be taken by a deity.

If God does not exist outside of our religions, what does His presence in them matter? Should we then be surprised at inter-religious conflicts, murders, and burnings of Holy Books?