Co-Gods

Elliot has already helped me think through a bunch of the larger questions about life, the universe, and everything.  But here's one that surprised me:  He explained God.

More specifically, I think I understand now why people invented God.

I realize that many of the people who read this blog aren't aware that I am an atheist, and this might not be the best way to introduce that fact.  But c'est la vie.  Stick with me for a few paragraphs.

Being a baby must be terrifying.  There are so many things Elliot can't control.  He can't move himself around, can't put food in his mouth, can't put clothing on when he gets cold.

We, on the other hand (Hannah and I), have total control.  Every time Elliot needs something we give it to him.  He's poopy, we change him.  He's hungry, we feed him.  Maybe not right away.  But that just emphasizes the extent of our power. 

Elliot may not like the fact that we control his life, but he doesn't question it.  He has no uncertainty about our omnipotence.  And there's something comforting for him about that certainty.  Life may be good or life may be bad,  but it is that way for a reason.  Maybe Elliot's unhappy because he has a poopy diaper, but at least the God he cries out to for salvation to has a face and a name and is sitting right in front of him.

Between birth and age three or four we see our parents has having total omnipotence.  And those are pretty important formative years in a young person's life.

Does it make sense that such fundamental ideas about the universe --- there is someone in control, someone who can be appealed to --- could be totally abandoned when we reach adulthood?  Everything else we learn during those first few years stays with us.  We never abandon our motor skills, or our language skills, or our social skills.  Why would we abandon the idea that someone is in control?

As we grow older, we understand that our parents are not omnipotent.  Which leaves a gaping hole in our sense of certainty about the universe.  And we fill that hole with God.

I'm not the first person to think of this.  Freud wrote (I'm paraphrasing) that "Religion derives its strength from the fact that it goes along with our instinctual desires."  And I think Jung had something to say on the subject too.

But even if it's derivative, even if someone's written an entire book about it, I had to write these thoughts out myself to make them my own.  Much like a child, who reaches up to touch the stove even when Mommy says no.

Thanks for indulging me.