One of the many problems with Christendom’s imaginary friend is that it calls it “God.”
Here’s why….
Suppose there was a dispute as to whether a king had a right to rule over a country, or whether values should be determined by a democracy. You’re on the side of democracy, and you’re arguing against someone who is on the side of having a king — a position, he says, that should be taken by someone named “King.” The argument goes something like this:
“I think that people have the right to determine morality.”
“No, I think King is the only one with the right to determine morality. He is, after all, King.”
“No, he’s not ‘king’ over me — or anyone else for that matter.”
“Yes, He is. That’s his name. It’s simple. You KNOW he’s King. Why don’t you let him take the throne of your country?”
“Well, that may be what you call him. But that doesn’t make him king.”
“No, he is. That’s his name. Are you saying that King isn’t King?”
“Well, no…yes…well…just because you call him King, doesn’t make him king.”
“But he IS King. It says so. All public records. That’s his actual name. And you’re saying he doesn’t have the right to be King?”
Etc.
See, I think that’s where a lot of the confusion is. The name of Christianity’s imaginary being is “God,” and that’s synonymous with His supposed title. Thus, it’s not unusual for me to have conversations like this:
“I think that people have the right to determine morality.”
“No, I think God is the only one with the right to determine morality. He is, after all, God.”
“No, he’s not ‘God’ over me — or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Yes, He is. That’s his name. It’s simple. You KNOW he’s God. Why don’t you let him take the throne of your heart?”
“Well, that may be what you call him. But that doesn’t make him God.”
“No, he is God. That’s his name. Are you saying that God isn’t God?”
“Well, no…yes…well…just because you call him God, doesn’t make him God.”
“But He IS God. It says so. All through Judeo-Christian history. That’s his actual name. And you’re saying God doesn’t have the right to be God?”
Etc.
This business of making the name of this being synonymous with its supposed title can make arguments confusing, and many Christians I’ve been in conversation with have used rhetoric that takes advantage of this confusion, partially because most seem to be confused themselves.
Which is why I often refer to this imaginary being as their “imaginary friend.” Calling the imaginary being an imaginary friend reinforces the fact that the burden of proof is on the person I’m talking to, instead of allowing for the name “God” to be seen by any of the interlocutors as synonymous with the title. In the past, it’s clarified to Christians my disgust with certain positions. It also answers the incessant question, “Why are you upset by something that doesn’t exist?”
Think about it. The typical phrases just don’t have the same ring to them if you replace “God” with “my imaginary friend.” And it’s clearer what makes them annoying, offensive, or frustrating.
“Prove my imaginary friend doesn’t exist.”
“My imaginary friend says gay marriage is wrong.”
“You are lost if you don’t worship my imaginary friend.”
“Why do you hate my imaginary friend so much?”
“My imaginary friend deserves respect.”
“If you don’t believe in my imaginary friend, why does it matter to you that I do?”
“I love my imaginary friend more than you.”
“What is wrong with your heart that you don’t love my imaginary friend?”
“I’m going to talk to my imaginary friend about you.”
“You need to stop rebelling against my imaginary friend.”
“My imaginary friend loves you! Give him your life…or you’ll be tormented forever.”
The more you care about the person voicing the sentiment, or the more power these sentiments have over your life and general reputation, the more pissed off you may be by the tyrannical, sanctimonious Imaginary Friend — not in spite of it being imaginary, but because of it being imaginary.
I tend to use this phrase, on occasion, when Christians fail to see the difference between the name “God” and the title “God.” If God was, say, “Hank,” it wouldn’t be nearly as necessary to clear up the confusion. For example:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaFZQBb2srM[/youtube]
To be sure, the typical Christian response to this statement is either, “My God isn’t imaginary — that’s offensive,” or “You’re assuming that God doesn’t exist — in the hypothetical of our conversation, he does.”
My response to it being offensive is sincere — it is far MORE offensive for someone to have the gall to tell me that their imaginary friend is God, and thus has authority to tell me everything I should and shouldn’t do, and will burn me in hell forever if I don’t submit to his authority.
My response to the fact that I’m assuming God doesn’t exist, in most instances is, “Good. Now we have an understanding. It’s up to you to prove he does exist — I start, as with all supernatural beings, with the null position that he doesn’t exist. If he is more than your imaginary friend, prove it.”
Seems reasonable to me. You?
Thank you for reading.
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Comments
36 responses to “Your Imaginary Friend Isn’t God”
I used to sing for a Unitarian congregation. Like all Unitarians, they operated by the 11-month rule: for 11 months of the year, they used careful language (cough cough circumlocution) regarding God. However, come December, all the traditional carols and readings came out of hiding.
What was most amusing was that a prominent member of the church was Jewish. At one congregational meeting, he made a motion that every December the words “God”, “Lord” and “Jesus” were to be replaced with the word “Irving”.
Things like that are the reason I hesitate investigate the local UU. I miss the community of a local religious congregation, and could almost tolerate a mushy-level “Spirit”, but if I wanted a church, I’d go to a church.
Vision,I miss the community part too. But even if I found a local church that would have me,it would do me no good,since I’m so hard of hearing,even with a hearing aid.
My old Presbyterian church in NC had a row dedicated to the hard of hearing, with headphone hook-ups in the pews piped strait from the pulpit mike system. I’ve always thought it a great accommodation. Here’s hoping you might find something similar! 😀
Vision,that would be nice. 🙂 But I can’t imagine any church around here that would have me,unless I stayed quite. And maybe you can see from my recent postings,that I’m not too good at that?! 🙂 Well,just imagine how well I would be received in most churches,if I was outspoken about my being a Christian universalist/a believer in universal restoration and that I was gay! (ha) 🙂
Imaginary begs the question. Invisible friend works equally well and leaves the burden of proof where it should.
But there is more to god than his invisibility. There is for instance his complete lack of ANY way to detect him or his effects on our world.
You wrote,
No, they don’t work equally well. It being invisible isn’t really a point of contention. Very few, if any believers will argue that it is not. It being imaginary (or not) is wherein the rub lies.
Religion demands respect for nothing more than it believes it is right. It posits the unproven (even impossible) as fact and expects you to accept it on faith alone, then demands you give it special preference because of how wonderfully self-indulgent the whole thing is.
Paul,I don’t demand respect from you or anyone. And as a Christian,one born of God,I don’t expect you to believe what I say,on faith alone. In fact,if you did,you would be believing me and not God/Jesus Christ. Would I like you to respect what I say? Sure,don’t we all? Would I like you to believe what I say about God/Jesus Christ? Yes;but I don’t demand you do and or threaten you with a nonexistent hell,if you don’t.
That’s why I refuse to write god with a capital.
“God” is a word that refers to a particular class of mythological beings, of which there are many examples. If the god believer requires a proper noun for their deity, I shall refer to their god as Yahweh, or Jesus or Allah (stop me when you get the point, fundies) or Thor, or Zeus or…
Their god is a character, and one of many. Why they should insist that this character’s name is the noun that classifies them? It is in short, arrogance.
As a Pagan, I’m 100% behind this schema.
I met a guy who talked about “the God.” What would it imply to call any god that (or “the god”)?
I’ve been writing “God” with a capital all my life, when referring to the theistic being — it’s how I separate deities in theism from those in polytheism. It’s difficult for me to conceive of a different way to differentiate when the differentiation is required.
I have a problem with people who posit a deity that differs quite significantly from the Judeo-Christian God, but call it God. Some spell their different deity Godde in order to make it differ in print, but not orally. There is a certain amount of intellectual dishonesty in such an endeavor.
I’d like to subscribe to this blog. How soon can you make a subscribe button available?
I just started blogging here on Sunday evening — they won’t have a “subscribe” option available for this blog until Thursday.
You should be able to subscribe now.
Thanks, just did so.
You seem very upset with your straw man.
Maybe you should see someone about that.
Why? Your strawman is perfectly fine where he is…
Feel free to be my therapist. Where have I gone wrong?
At the beginning, with doubt, the foundation of all misery.
Guest to Peter:
At the beginning, with doubt, the foundation of all misery.
Ronny to Guest:
A person doesn’t doubt,what God shows them directly. But a person has every right to question,what another person tells them. And that true,be the other person a preacher,Sunday School teacher or whatever. For what we get from human sources,is not always the truth,the truth from God/Jesus Christ.
You’re in your life, God is showing you that directly.
What does your gut tell you? Is there a God?
Some people suck, you have to watch out.
Guest,I’m about to take an afternoon nap and it that picture you posted causes me to have a nightmare,then I’m gonna blame you for that! 🙁 LoL
Maybe you saw it in your dream last night. Apparently there have been scientific experiments that prove dreams are precognition.
You should google precognitive dreams and read about it.
I see God as the monster under the bed, and Jesus as the imaginary superhero friend.
Agreed. I think some Christians may see it that way, too, more or less — on the liberal side of Christianity, “God” and “Jesus” are often come across to me as metaphors for what seem to me to be more secular concepts.
Albeit imaginary friend may be perfectly correct it is belittling and hence can antagonise. I use ‘God as postulated by you’. This makes it clear I could not subscribe to the belief without proof and that if you postulate it you must prove it.
I think “imaginary friend” gets the idea across honestly and a bit more straightforwardly. I don’t use the term all the time, but I do apply it, at times, where someone uses the name “God” to try to say I should think or do something due to the one with the name “God” having the title “God.”
Thank you for your feedback! I appreciate it.
Peter:
(snip) No, he’s not ‘God’ over me — or anyone else, for that matter.”“Yes, He is. That’s his name. It’s simple. You KNOW he’s God. Why don’t you let him take the throne of your heart?” (snip)
Ronny to Peter:
Well now,that’s their first big mistake. Saying that someone knows the God they’re supposed to know,is God. Their 2nd big mistake,would be in telling the person, they should let God,take the throne of their heart. The lost person can’t do that and we’re all lost,before we’re saved/born of God. And when a person is born of God, that person doesn’t give God their heart;but instead,God gives them a new heart.
🙂 God has done that for me,so does that make me any better than you Peter or better than any other person? No,not in the least. For God/Jesus Christ loves us all and all will come to know that,at the time of God’s choosing. 🙂
(snip) “My imaginary friend says gay marriage is wrong.” (snip)
Ronny to Peter:
Christians who say this,have been listening to and believing some men and not listening to and believing God/Jesus Christ. I was a lot the same way, before God changed that about me. For I was brought up from a baby,in a super fundamentalist,Calvinistic teaching/believing church. Got to 12 years old and discovered I was gay. Thought it was the greatest thing ever. 🙂 Then outside of church,heard some of my church elders talking about those homosexuals. They believed such was chosen,sin and the worst of sins. And at 12 years old,I had never heard he word homosexual,so looked such up in my Mom’s medical dictionary and found they were talking about people like me! 🙁 Now in this church,I’d already been taught that whatever our preacher and teacher said,that was straight out of the Bible, straight from God and true beyond question. Yet I knew,that I hadn’t chose to be gay an not heterosexual. But I came to believe I must have,because of what I heard some church elders saying. And after all,they couldn’t be wrong,since they spoke for God and were always right. Or so they had taught me to believe. Found out later,what they’d taught me was a sin,the idol worship of some people. Then at 16 years old,I was born of God and that was how I came to find out,how greatly God/Jesus Christ loved me. 🙂 And because of that,I then desired for all people to have the same type relationship with God,as I then had. 🙂 But in the Calvinistic type church I grew up in,I was taught there,that such wasn’t possible. For God had chose to save some people and at the best,simply let the vast majority of people go to hell. Shortened version;but much later on,God showed me that wasn’t true. 🙂 But what was true,was that everyone was reconciled back to God the Father,by way of Jesus Christ and the cross. 🙂 And each person will come to see and know that,as they’re born of God. And there is no Jesus Christ created hell of eternal torment. And teaching that there is,is not God. The first believers in and followers of Jesus Christ,didn’t believe in or teach such;but such was added on later,to the Bible. Where did that teaching come from? From pagan religion. From there to Roman Catholicism and then to Protestantism. And it was added on,to control the masses of people,by fear and that’s what so many still use it for.
Peter:
(snip) My response to it being offensive is sincere — it is far MORE offensive for someone to have the gall to tell me that their imaginary friend is God, and thus has authority to tell me everything I should and shouldn’t do, and will burn me in hell forever if I don’t submit to his authority. (snip)
Ronny to Peter:
Yep,first they will tell you how greatly God/Jesus Christ loves you and then,if you don’t believe them,they tell you that God is gonna send you to a Jesus Christ created hell of eternal torment. And I actually believe some who tell others that are well meaning. Some,not all. They simply don’t know any better,than to spout lies, lies they have been taught are truths,by some men. Men,who they’ve been taught to look up to and believe without question,as if that person was God or a god,between them and God. But the good news is,God loves us one and all and that proven,by way of Jesus Christ and the cross. And there is no Jesus Christ created hell of eternal torment. And one day,every last person will know,just how greatly God/Jesus Christ loves them. 🙂 And when each person does know that from God,then,they will just naturally love God/Jesus Christ in return. 🙂
Peter:
(snip) My response to the fact that I’m assuming God doesn’t exist, in most instances is, “Good. Now we have an understanding. It’s up to you to prove he does exist — I start, as with all supernatural beings, with the null position that he doesn’t exist. If he is more than your imaginary friend, prove it.”
Seems reasonable to me. You?
Ronny to Peter:
Peter,I’m not sure what I can and can’t prove to you? But this I know,I can see no way,that I can prove to you,that God/Jesus Christ exists? No,God will have to do that,for you and that God will; 🙂 but at the time of God’s choosing. And in the meantime,we can conclude I must either need to go to the Terrell State Mental Hospital or perhaps,God has already shown/proven somethings to me? 🙂 And one thing you can see about me,is that I’ll never threaten you or anyone,with a hell of eternal torment,if you don’t agree with me! 🙂
P.S.
Hope to get to know more about you and other poster here,as well. 🙂