During the book marathon, I met a person who outrightly proclaimed that he was an atheist. By the end of the conversation, he came to the level of agnostic. Born in a Brahmana family, his brothers and relatives being engaged in karma-kanda, he knew it all, but he had given it up. I inquired about his background. He proudly told he had done Post Doctorate in Physics. I could understand the consequence of having studied Darwinian physics, and associating with the likes of Stephen Hawking and birds of the same feather.
One of the arguments he raised was – God is a creation of people fearing punishment for their sins or immoral acts.
Is it really so? Let us analyze:
Negation of God could be another creation of people wanting to ENJOY!
If God is a creation of people fearing punishment, negation of God can be said as the proclamation of those wanting to enjoy immorally without wanting to face the consequences.
A person not wanting to follow something creates arguments to support his wrongdoing. Crabs are put in a circular box with no lid. If one of the crabs tries to escape, others pull him down.
In the same way, those who raise this argument can be said as wanting to continue with their nefarious acts without caring for the Supreme Law.
Statistics reveal that atheists have a much larger share in committing immoral activities than their theistic counterparts.
Do we not fear things while living in this world also?
A second argument – Fear exists in many things in life – disease, betrayal, social rejection, financial instability etc. By this logic, one could say that government laws, traffic rules, or even moral principles are just “crutches” created out of fear. But do all citizens follow traffic rules just because of fear? Not necessarily.
Government has prison cells. Does that mean that people follow proper conduct just because of fear? If no prisons are there, will all people start committing crimes? There are definitely a good number of people who understand the benefit of moral values, a refined culture and well-being. Then how can we outrightly state that God is a creation of fearful people?
Is fear the only platform in which people worship God?
There are definitely a good number of people who worship God out of fear. But is fear the only platform in which worship of God happens? If a child studies due to fear of his parents, does it mean all children study out of fear?
There are four levels of worshipping God – Fear, Desire, Duty and Love, fear being the lowest. It is good for a child to fear his parents in the beginning, but it should mature into love for parents. Similarly, there are people who worship God out of fear, there are people who desire something from God, who worship God dutifully, and also there are people who love God.
So, fear is but one of the beginning ways in which people worship God. There are innumerable examples of devotees who forsook everything to attain God. They feared no one, rather they gave up all fears to worship God. Their examples are a shining light for humanity even centuries later. How then, can we say that God is a creation of people who fear punishment?
