Faithfulness to the “Inner Spirit”

A SEMI-QUAKER TAKE ON GOD/DESS-NESS

“Sometimes on our solitary journeys, we find one who is our likeness, and in the gathered contemplation of that common spirit, we magnify the God/dess within.” Cutline by Georgia NeSmith, 1983. Photo by Šárka Krňávková on Unsplash

I have great difficulty believing in an omniscient, all-caring “God” who attends to everything every single human being does every day throughout their lives.

For one thing, we all see so many bad things happening to good people — bad things that have no discernable explanation. There appears to be no rhyme or reason for the pain inevitably suffered, both by the the victims of the tragedy and by observers. It is always claimed either that “God” did the good stuff, but either we alone are responsible for the bad; or God has God’s reasons, which only God will ever know.

We’re constantly told that God’s purpose for us is inscrutable. Impossible to know. But it’s there. It’s just not our place to know, at least at the moment. Though we hope we may find out eventually, it is suggested that we will not, and advised not to seek the answer.

I am a doubter. Trained in skepticism as far back as infancy. Skepticism in my family was always the starting point in most discussions.