Does God Exist?

Does God exist? It seems like all the various perspectives people have on God don’t fit together. In fact, they appear downright contradictory. How is it possible to find any kind of resolution to this controversial question?

There is a popular story of five blind men in a room, all feeling different parts of an elephant and disagreeing about what kind of animal it is. The one feeling the head of course has a radically different experience than the one feeling the tail, yet both are valid in their description of what they feel. The important step is integrating all the parts of their stories into a coherent whole story. Only then will it be clear what the animal really is.

We are in a privileged position. For the first time in history we have access to all the world’s religions, philosophies, and spiritual paths. This gives us the unique ability to view the subject of God under the light of this vast wealth of knowledge. This knowledge helps reveal a far more accurate picture of reality than any one before it, and from that comes a surprising answer to our question.

We all have the ability to take multiple perspectives at any given time. The big three are “I”, “we”, and “it”. “I” refers to the subjective perspective, “we” refers to the inter-subjective perspective, and “it” refers to the objective perspective. The fact is that certain cultures at certain times lean heavily on usually one of these basic three perspectives. When you look at a path, you can easily see which perspective shaped it.

An example of a tradition that is centered on the “I” perspective is Buddhism. The approach with Buddhism is to look within, to study the mind. Buddhism and the other “I” traditions are focused on the subjective experience and therefore give us incredible insights into this dimension of our own being.

Christianity, on the other hand, is primarily focused on the “we” perspective. This is why God in Christianity takes the form of a great thou, a separate and all knowing entity. We all have the ability to relate to the universe in this way at any given time. The common misconception is that the religions that arise from this perspective give us morality. In fact, it is the perspective itself that allows morality to develop, for this second person perspective allows us to see the world through the eyes of another, something the “I” and “it” perspectives don’t provide.

The “it” perspective is an objective lens. The scientific or rational view comes from this perspective. It provides us with the eyes to view the universe as a complex web of life. The technological advancements and scientific discoveries we enjoy on a daily basis would not be possible if it weren’t for this amazing perspective.

We have to remember that in describing reality from a specific perspective we are only seeing part of the whole picture. Therefore, any tradition, religion, or philosophy that describes reality is a partial view and should not be taken as the whole truth. There is always more to reality than any one perspective can describe.

Does God exist? It all depends on the perspective you take in order to answer the question, and remember that every perspective is limited. Therefore, no one perspective can give a full view of reality. The true nature of reality is a bit of every perspective, and yet beyond any perspective. If the universe is an elephant, let’s not confuse the trunk with the whole animal.