THE IDEA OF A SUPREME BEING AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

COPYRIGHT JANUARY 2009 OF JC F. ALEJANDRO UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILLIPINES VISAYAS MIAGAO ILOILO

The Idea of a Supreme Being as a Social Construct

By JC F. ALEJANDRO

The physical universe holds many phenomena which are hard to explain if not impossible. Many people around the globe want to answer all the questions in their lives that they could not comprehend well. Some of the most fascinating question for the human mind are, ‘What is god*?’, ‘Is there a god?’, ‘How many god/gods there is/are?’ ‘Is god is real?’ These questions are not mere philosophical ideas that just spring out on every individual everyday. Culture plays a vital role in these questions and it is fair to answer them in a multi-cultural perspective so that it would not be unfair and discriminating to other people who might and do not agree with different social facts.

In many societies, a god is a supreme deity or a supernatural being that possesses control of external forces of human beings, its destiny and future. In Arab and European societies, the concept of god is a singular, supreme being that created humanity and the universe and has communicated with humans through divine literatures or inspired people. Christianity, with 2,015,000,000(falling) followers, is the most dominant organized religion that has the idea that there is only one god, the Creator, which manifests in three forms or persons the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is co-equal in divinity or godship with each other. Islam or Mohammadism with 1,215,000,000 followers (growing) is the next organized religion with numerous followers. Muslims also believe in a monotheistic god that created humanity in the name of Allah. Judaism, with constant followers of 17,500,000 also holds in the notion that there is only one god that created the universe and has the power to manipulate the external environment of man. In these monotheistic religions, god is pure spirit without a body and is usually described in terms of its omnipotence. Asian notions of god are quite different. Asians are mostly polytheistic or believe in many gods. Hinduism, with 786,000,000 believers (constant), particularly reveres numerous gods. Shintoism is a religion that reveres nature spirits or kami, which its followers believe to influence their lives\ situation. Buddhism, on the other hand, lies on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha and has 362,000,000 believers (constant). African societies have also different views. Nigerian myths say that god created the first man and woman and that reality is being shaped by their gods. Remote societies in the Americas, like the Aztecs and Mayans, are highly organized that their day to day living circles with their gods. They believe that human sacrifices are needed in order to please these gods. Pre–colonial Philippines is animistic and believe on multiple gods that are materially created to satisfy the need for an entity that can constantly be with. Human societies evolved with the idea that there is/are a supreme and divine being/s that created the physical universe. No matter how complex these societies are, supreme deity/deities existed in their living.

COPYRIGHT JANUARY 2009 OF JC F. ALEJANDRO UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILLIPINES VISAYAS MIAGAO ILOILO

The real reason for the creation of the notion of god cannot be identified since different societies evolved differently. The need for love and the fear of death according Sigmund Freud pushed these societies to develop the concept of god. Sigmund Freud attempted to explain the global societies’ notion of god. The need for love and the fear of death is one of human nature’s constant characteristic, he said, so humans created god. Each human being wants to secure a permanent love and care from a creator that they know will never leave them.

Most cultures believe that there is a god. However, they do not agree with each others definitions and limitations of god. The idea is all human beings embrace the idea that there is god. The conflict arises when we take our own cultural perspective as lens of determining the truth. At this point, we can assert that the notion of god is relative and vary from culture to culture. Interestingly, we may find that global religions compete to pacify the universe to their beliefs.

On the other side of the argument, there are a number of people which firmly argues that there is no supreme being or a god whatsoever. This is what our society call atheism or agnosticism. If societies in our world have the affirmative notion on the existence of god, these societies also developed in it the people who contradict the idea of the existence of god. A sound argument for the nonexistence of a god is possible, if the concept of "god" in question is factually meaningful. This notion is one which even many theists (believers of a god) should be willing to accept. After all, the mere possibility of a sound argument for the nonexistence of a god is logically compatible with theism; what theism requires is that there actually are no sound arguments for the nonexistence of God. The line of arguments of atheists is that god, which theists say that is an article of faith, can be disproven. It is also possible to refute god, but the societies they are enclosed cannot agree with them because the existence of god is a universal truth.

Religion has become an institution in almost all societies, if not all, which plays an important role in the indoctrination of the existence of god or theism. Mass media also plays an important part in creating human being’s notion of god. Mass media is biased (?) in favor of theism, says Jeffery Jay Lowder in his article.