Happened on 9-13-2019

	Sep 13, 2019, 10:54 PM
Relationship with God Question.

I was recently asked what my present relationship with God is.  I was kind of stunned that I was being asked this. Not because it offended me, but because of who was asking.  It came from a person who had never said anything remotely close to a religious question in the 15 years I have known them.   They said the question came across their mind because I recently quietly add the Th.D. to my signature block on emails. 

So I explained to them I still struggle with my relationship with God.  I still pray daily as I have since I was in elementary school.  At the same time, I rarely attend church in person, although I have started watching a local church on-line that somewhat appeals to me.  But as for my personal relationship, I told them it was complicated.  You see, I just do not believe God wants us as subservient slaves to him as so many churches tend to believe.  I tend more to the belief that he wants us to have a relationship more in the line of a Parent and Child.  I have a hard time believing he wants us to give our lives completely over to him (this is non-gender specific him by the way as no one knows what or who God really is).  I have so many friends I attended religious studies with and other places in life that state they have given their life over to God and his graces and what will be will be his will.   At the same time, their action shows an expression of living their life making free will choices.  Quite an interesting dichotomy to me.   So for me, I see God as there for help with guidance, to gift you things in life you need to be provided you have the clarity to see the gift, information to survive and move forward if you grasp its existence. But, he is also there to punish when you stray too far.   I believe he gave us free will and free thought so that we could advance both individually and as a species.  I have seen too many people struggle with paralysis in their daily life while waiting to hear or see their way from God.   While they appear happy to me, it looks like a sheep in a herd waiting to be guided to the next spot and not move until told.   To me, this seems counter to the God in the New Testament.

The funniest part was the person looked at me after I went through that explanation and then goes: “Well it looks like getting that degree did not do you any good, your still a non-believer.