There is no doubt that you have heard at least one of the claims somewhere from someone:
- “I am God.”
- “I am my own God.”
- “We can all be God, or Gods and Goddesses.”
Maybe it shocked you and maybe it didn’t. Maybe you think it’s okay and maybe you don’t. As for me, I think it’s downright bizarre, not making a whole lot of sense.
I first recall hearing this weird statement as a new Christian. I remember it vividly. I was with a group of people, those notorious type sinners that Jesus used to sit and dine with; and, by God’s leading, the conversation turned to the matter of truth. I was quick to state my new found faith, and some guy - given to sex, drugs, and whatever else, some sort of biker who loved playing his guitar under a tree while high - quickly denied it all, and in a rather matter of fact way said, “I am god. I am my own god.” I was quick to stand up to him, look him in the eyes with full confidence, and say, “You are not God, and there is only one God over us all!” He was visibly stunned, and had nothing more to say. I let the matter go, for it was all this crowed could handle at the time. Besides, the important seeds were sown.
From time to time this claim to divinity resurfaced. And, as you can guess, it quite recently surfaced again. This time I felt compelled to make a response to it.
For starters, let me label this bundle of like statements - “I am God” or “I am my own God” etc - as a “sense of divinity.” It can be made by many different types of people, even pantheists and some atheists, for different reasons. Up front, I see two reasons that this sense of divinity rings false.
(1) It is unscientific. Beyond mere collective and overactive imaginations, there is no real indication it is true, and ample indication it is false. The unchanging fact is that human beings are less than specks in a vast universe that is unable to know or care about them. Wishful thinking and creative storytelling will not elevate us beyond what we are. Yet, since we have good reasons to think that the notion of divinity remains true and wholly relevant, it is more plausible to believe in a supreme God who made the universe, and all that is in it, rather than deifying ourselves or the cosmos.
(2) It is unphilosophical. This discussion virtually always comes down to a matter of right and wrong. Go figure! This is so, for, whatever one’s views are on the subject, ethics and morality remain a central feature and enterprise to human life. We don’t choose it; it chooses us. Further, to keep us from destroying ourselves in short order in anarchy, a universal point of moral reference is rightly deemed critical to human affairs. Such a point of reference is inescapable. Virtually no people group lives otherwise, as cultures and societies cannot form and function without it. However, in order for a moral code to be defined and enforced, it is inevitable that someone will have to “play God.” There are only two viable options to choose from: It is either the State or God himself. Since terrible things have been done by “people” wrongly using the name of the State or the name of God, let that history and personal experience be our teacher. Not only is it intuitively obvious, but it is more rational to hold that only “God” himself can “play God” (also request my blog, “The New Rule of Relativists”).
Summary: A sense of divinity is false because (1) we are helpless infinitesimal specks, and (2) we are all under serious moral restraints.
You may need to mull over these ideas before they start to make sense.
If you are interested and would like to see how this might play out in a conversation between two people, then request the full PDF, “You’re Not God!” Included at the end of that PDF is a mini-biblical overview of the topic.
Be sure to let me know what you think.
Contact Me: rmartens.crbc@telus.net