god does exist. but not in the way many believers suggest
the god(s) of religions do not exist. at least, not in the literal form that many of these religions claim
this entity (or entities) commonly referred to as god(s) exists as a perceptual force that resides within every human. i will refer to this perceptual force as god-perception. the god(s) of religions are powerfully salient metaphorical representations of god-perception
god-perception exists in the same capacity as love, anger, desire, etc. the author of 1 John recognized the nature of god-perception (albiet filtered through a judeochristian lens) when he stated that "god is love"
god-perception has existed throughout recorded human history. it is the basis of hope, empathy, joy, and ecstasy. it has been the source of inspiration for many of the greatest works of art ever created.
even if we know perceptual forces are the work of a complex system of neurochemicals and electrical transmissions, we cannot deny the profound conscious existence of perceptual forces.
a purely materialist worldview (i.e. denial of the significance of perceptual forces) is a dangerous form of self-denial. while it is techinically accurate to assign the source of percetual forces to the physical brain, it is deeply misguided to evangelize for the dismissal of the legitimacy of perceptual forces, particularly god-perception.
scientifically-driven god-percpetion denial causes a profound disconnect between ourselves and our perceptions. i will call this type of denial atheist-perception (not to be confused with atheism, which is the denial of the literal existence of the metaphorical representations of god-perception)
atheist-perception is a suicidally driven impulse to deny an essential feature of our existence. this suicidal impulse does not have to lead to a literal ending of life (though it often can). it leads to a perceptual suicide - a full disconnect between ourselves and the world around us (expressing itself as alienation and loneliness). perceptual suicide is the logical endpoint of an atheist-perception worldview.
in this modern era of widespread atheist-perception, it is vital that we recognize the importance of acknowledging and nuturing our god-perception. to fail to recognize god-perception, we risk the eventual mass perceptual suicide of the human race. i believe we, as a global society, have been in this trajectory for a few centuries with the last 100 years significantly quickening our progress to global perceptual suicide
the global, destructively obsessive desire for acquiring capital (the most influential, widespread pseudo-god-perception of this era) among all peoples of all classes is a result of atheist-perception. pre-capitalist societies generally reserved atheist-perception to the rulers of countries. the rise of global capitalism has opened the floodgates for every individual to willingly embrace atheist-perception.
it is not a coincidence that jesus (one of the most significant metaphorical representations of god-perception) espoused revolutionary anticapitalist beliefs and compared acknowledging god-perception as coming back from the dead
the nature of god-perception and its effects on our consciousness will be a major aspect of my writings on this site.