God's Apology

For those of you who know me, you may well be aware that I am not the most theistic person in the world. I am a self declared non-christian agnostic. I have a strong scientific mind that seeks fact and evidence. The only place I put faith is in those who have proven themselves worthy. And while this may seem arrogant or even blasphemous; God, you sir, have not.

Not that it matters. If a God exists in any form similar to that which man has created - that is, man created God in the image of himself - I don't believe that God necessarily needs to prove himself to anyone. Nor does he need to report or answer to anyone. This of course assumes we're discussing the commonly accepted monotheistic God. So what on Earth would God have to apologize for?

“Friends are God's apology for relations.”
- Hugh Kingsmill

I received an interesting email this morning. Without getting into any details about it, I think this quote applies at least to the periphery of the issue. While this quote may have been intended with regard to things we cannot choose (our families) I think we can take it a step further.

There are some pains in life that we have all experienced. Some troubles that we all share in some form or another. If you're the type of person to believe in a higher power, then you may occasionally question why a merciful God would condemn us to such pains and troubles. Likewise, if you believe in that merciful God, then you probably believe in his master plan. But perhaps God does owe you an apology.

I learned a while ago that saying that you're sorry is not always an expression of guilt. It is often a display of empathy to which guilt should not be attached.

The WordNet Dictionary defines the word apologize as follows:

"1: acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing"

God acknowledges your pain, and gives you friends to help you through your troubling times.

I do what I can to help my friends through whatever hardships they might be facing. I know my friends would do the same for me. Friends have helped me through some of the roughest moments of my life, and without them I have no idea how I would have made it.

Perhaps, if there is a God, he is the one who gave me those friends. Was it truly arrogant to call Him out then? Personally, I think it arrogant to believe that an omnipotent being would even give me a second thought. An ant might believe me to be all powerful, and I still don't care what its name is.

Nay, I believe that my friends have all done what they have done of their own accord. And that, my friends, is what makes them amazing.