Opening Moves

Weekly Writing #5

This was the precursor for my Exploritory Eaasy. It is where I began deciding on the topic for my exploration which was done in the order of Motivating Occasion → Inquiry → Hypothesis. I ended chosing a similar topic, not this exact one.

Did God make man, or did man make God? I grew up in a religion and with the belief in God. I started naturally questioning things about my upbringing and never got satisfying answers. I eventually became invested in all topics of religion and philosophy. I've seen lots of debates on these subjects and figured I should broaden my education on all surrounding topics so I can finally arrive at a confident and educated answer.

I want to further my understanding of the idea of God and whether He exists, and how he may exist. I'd explore other cultures and religions to analyze what their views and values are. How much do interpretations of God differ among cultures? What is the history and origin of religion and God altogether? Was it divinely inspired, or was it a result of human nature? What does archaeology have to say about religious history? Is the bible to be taken literally as the divine work of God, or maybe it is simply the adult version of Santa? Are esoteric topics true universal depths or just spooky fiction? I would delve into the psychological effects of belief or disbelief. I'd immerse myself in different philosophies and see what is logical, emotional, or maybe none.

I currently think that the idea of God was developed over time along with religion. I don't believe there are any adequate philosophical arguments for the existence of God, at least not the God that the main religions speak of. There are still many possibilities, such as God exists but is no longer involved in this world. Or that God, instead of a separate being, is reality itself, and there is nothing else in existence. Another possibility is that God created the world in such a way that He would no longer be required so that the world could exist, and so He ceased to exist. The simplest answer is the simple "I don't know."