Is God Relevant Today?

As people are faced with crises from every angle, tossed into the midst of human-made tragedies and natural calamities, they ask, “Where is God?” As traditional securities crumble then do we agree with the famous quote of Nietzsche, “God is dead”?

Religion as a human panacea to comfort, explain and redeem has, in practice, dissipated lately. Theoretically many positive claims for religion are made but practically speaking, when all is said and done, there is an enormous void as evidenced by the great increase in desperation and fear. Even more surprising is the fact that for multitudes, who express belief in God, they do not necessarily find comfort or confidence when confronted with crises, big or small. Some find consolation and support from their faith but the majority becomes hopeless as I see in Greece at the moment. Most have not found the hope at the bottom of Pandora’s Box.

Actually in Greece the people’s deep gripe is much more with the hypocritical government and the sanctimonious church not really with the Godhead! The economic Epiphany of the Greek state has shocked its people. No enhancement of faith instead a great mistrust and despair is thriving. A Greek friend of mine when describing the religious and political systems of his country uttered,

Greece has become the land of heretics and lunatics. Heresy in the Church: hypocritical adherence to spiritual principles. Lunacy in the state: no vision and no care.

From politics I never did expect much but from a rich spiritual tradition I did. Why is it that religion appears so ineffectual at the time it is most needed?

Belief that does not create more trust and support could suggest a defunct God or, much more to the point, a defunct believer and a defunct system. Belief without coherent positive behaviour makes a belief in God irrelevant. There is so often a disconnection between peoples’ stated belief and their “lived” life that many doubt the relevance of God in everyday life.

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