YHWH: "If I haven't created the world for you, you wouldn't have existed.' PROPHET ABRAHAM: 'Yes my Lord I know that. But if this world wasn't created for me and I had not existed, no one would have known you existed." (*)

(*) An ancient Hebrew myth according to which YHWH and Abraham are in a heated discussion on whose share was greater in the affairs of the world, and the above exchange takes place. (Quantum Theory and Measurements, John Archibald Wheeler.)

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Which is the best period to instill the idea of a supreme being in a person? The childhood of course. The intellectual abilities have not yet developed sufficiently. Therefore no conscious acceptance or rejection is possible. The ability to make a choice is not developed. Others - usually grown-ups think on behalf of the child and if they feel necessary they force their will on him/her. Once the first seeds are in the 'ground' - in the psyche - and that 'basic fear' is implanted, turning back is almost impossible and 'detoxification' is dependent upon the reasoning ability and the intellect of the person concerned. So, for all intents and purposes another virgin brain could be described as lost. This is the short story on the personal front. When we take up the matter vis a vis the whole of humanity, we see an identical situation. The inception of this 'invention' took place in the 'darkness' of the ancient ages, while the humanity was still in its infancy with a limited intellect, limited knowledge, and a high degree of non-comprehension about what was going on around him, etc. Therefore in addition to the thousands of brains lost in the beginning we ended up with hundreds of millions of brains won over to this invention of the human mind.

THE 'INVENTION' OF INVENTIONS

This matter is extremely difficult to explain. Firstly, one must deal with brains that lost their ability to think freely; brains which can only think on a communal basis on this riddle of God. Secondly, the nature of the matter is imaginary and abstract. This imaginary, abstract, and invented concept, belonging to the 'spiritual realm' is right in the centre of the discussion which is going on in the 'material world.' This human 'invention,' despite the fact that it lacks any objective and absolute proof, exerts itself on the human psyche as something that everybody must believe without questions. But the most important factor, which further complicates the debate is the need felt by the mankind for a supreme being. The need which has started it all. So what we have today is, an 'invention' perfectly within the capacity of the human mind; but being an 'invention' not seen, not heard, not tested and not proven, it is unfathomable by the intellectual capacity of its inventor - again the human mind. An 'invention,' the characteristics of which are within the capacity of the human mind, but the 'self' is not. This is the crux of the matter. Human mind has invented and introduced this concept, and made it insoluble. If it hadn't existed, the whole of the mankind would have been leading a life devoid of this nonsense which introduced the uncontrollable but all-controlling supernatural 'beings' who had the first and last say - in fact the only say - on the creation, existence and destiny of the material world.

INTELLECTUAL EFFORTS TO PROVE THE 'UNPROVABLE'

Since its invention by the human imagination this has been a subject full of intellectual resourcefulness, employed to prove the 'unprovable.' It is boring in the sense that there is no end to it. It is not of this world because no one has seen or heard or witnessed anything that could bring a pinch of reality to it. All efforts have been fruitless despite the 6000 years since its inception, but nevertheless it continues to be the most favorite pastime of the ignorant. The ideas invented by the mankind and the belief systems built around those ideas have been the source of many problems both in the personal and public spheres. They also are the instruments of sovereignty, division, oppression, and injustice. The belief systems since their beinning have also pushed women into a secondary position in their respective communities. Look around yourself and you'll most certainly come face to face with the characteristic examples.

The brightest brains were involved in the debate to solve the mystery. To no avail. The crucial questions asked thousands of years ago are still valid, and unanswered. Those brains that have taken part in the discussion made themselves fall into the trap set up by the inventors of this fiction. Some of them tried to prove that this 'invention' really existed while others tried to show that it is all 'nonsense.' There are always different sides in a discussion. But if the subject of the discussion is an 'unknown' how could one be for or against it positively? We shall not fall in to the same trap of discussing the 'unknown' with the terms set by its inventors. This is especially crucial when one remembered all those brilliant brains 'stalled' by the stalemate, ending up in rejecting the 'invention' itself. We shall ask the right questions. Each question will be an instrument in establishing the situation. Each question will show that not even a single step has been taken towards the 'reality.' But too many things have been said and written. As we try to follow the story of the 'supreme being' we shall have glimpses of the frail human mind's efforts to solve the riddle it has created. This problem was introduced by the human beings, was it not? Now the ones who are trying to find a solution are also the human beings: The 'limited,' the 'incapable' creatures of God. Being limited by 'creation' and 'incapable' of full comprehension of the reality, the mankind felt that it needed answers to questions about its invented 'creator.' The next step was the need to establish the nature, intentions and activities of this 'creator.' This, in turn, introduced the crucial question: Why did this God create the mankind? What is the role given to the mankind by this 'supreme being,' and why? All these efforts ended up in the fall of the mankind to the level of incapability, and the slowing down of the human progress. Thanks to the tremendous achievements in science and technology, situation has changed and the change is gathering pace.

IT IS SIMPLY BEYOND OUR SENSES, THOUGHTS, LOGIC, AND COMPREHENSION

As reiterated time and again by those brilliant brains, this invented supreme creator is simply beyond our senses, thoughts, logic and comprehension. We are the 'lowly' creatures, with a limited capability to understand the creation and existence. If this is the truth, then why are we trying still to understand it? There are much more productive areas to direct our efforts which would produce results. The results, expected from the research in genetics, and especially the human genome project will provide us with possibilities to raise our level of intellect towards that of the supreme creator(!). This will put us in a position to understand how the mankind duped itself. These scientific developments will show us also a much more clear picture of our existence than the debate on the supreme creator.

IT IS PERSONAL

This supreme being, creator, overseer, prime mover, has to be perceived as 'something' which is shaped by the personal needs, passions, interests, priorities, acceptances, rejections etc. Therefore, this 'something' has to be contemplated, visualised and percevied separately and differently by each and every human being. When a crook and an honest person are pleading to God for his help, their starting positions and aims are different, because their perception of the God per se is shaped by their personal requirements. And no one could deny the fact that an honest person and a crook have different needs. This 'personal factor' might be one of the hurdles before the quest for the 'sole' God. Why? Could you imagine a supreme being catering simultaneously for the needs and requirements of persons good and evil? Well, weren't we told that this supreme creator is all good and in a constant struggle with the evil, and that mankind should make a choice between good and evil, and that man should choose good to win an afterlife. What an afterlife that is! One is promised to have the freedom to drink wine which is forbidden in his world; to have sexual union without limits (with virgins) which was the cause of Adam's expulsion from paradise, and reportedly cost(!) Jesus his life; and to have immortality.

SO WHAT'S THE USE?

So what is the reason for this incessant search for a universal, sole God? Especially when this sole God could not be of help to everybody's needs? There are deaths. There is evil. There are broken dreams, unfulfilled expectations, disappointments, betrayals etc. For the moment let us call this supreme being as the 'provider.' This provider remains popular as long as it provides. 'Overseer' remains popular as long as it addresses the personal requirements of the majority which is large enough to support its continued existence. When praying, pleading, rituals, ceremonies, beliefs are fruitless people start looking for something else.

When I started the first draft of this study years ago, my approach was different: Pure science. If it is not proven by science it did not exist. Now my starting point is the records in the historical documents, and the Books of the monotheistic belief systems. Starting with what we have today I tried to find the earlier examples, going as far back as possible in the history. There is nothing new under the Sun.

So what do we have now? A pivotal 'supreme being,' which is beyond our comprehension and perception; three belief systems; three 'code books' which have their origins in pre-history. These books were written, re-written, amended and abrogated many many times. The originals are not in existence. Who were the writers? Unknown in most cases. All these Books were written in an environment of limited knowledge, a limited and warped intellect, and a very high degree of emotionalism. The regional perceptions and reactions, situations and events have had a determining role in the formation and writing of these Books.

The shared aim of all these 'code books' is the removal of personal freedoms; creation of stereotyped patterns of behaviour; and the formation of a homogeneous community of followers. What about their content? We have the written texts expressing the anxieties based on the interpretation of the natural phenomena since pre-history; various myths and legends; and the stories invented to fulfil the cravings for sovereignty. All of them were coated with the ideas related to a 'superior being' and the 'law' given by him. All these Books are the 'life savers' of the present day belief systems. In the face of all this what do the mankind need? People should be made to recognize the fact that they were the ones behind all this nonsense. They have to turn to themselves, to the reality itself. People should realize that the outcome of all the efforts to find a solution to this problem could be summarized as follows: 'Back to square one.' We have no choice but to start again with the hope of finding an exit out of this impasse.

The closest witness to the disappointment caused by this invented supreme being is the children of Israel. Their God YHWH, who bound himself to the children of Israel with a covenant, has been the cause of major suffering according to the Old Testament. When this 'chosen people' realized that whatever is needed here in this world could only be done by themselves - no divine intervention required - they established their state and stood upright in the face of all kinds of problems. Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians that Jesus resurrected and his return was imminent. His announced return is still 'expected.' The 'Kingdom of the Father' that Jesus announced has not been realized. The hillside graveyard facing Jerusalem is still there, where the faithful Jews had themselves interred so they could rise and run back to the sacred city as soon as the Messiah appeared. There has not been an 'out of your graves!' call. No horn has been blown. One does not know if anything is left in those graves dating back 2000 years. Furthermore we are told that the souls migrate from body to body. Therefore a soul which left a body 2000 years ago must have inhabited hundreds of bodies since then. So when there's a call, which body that poor soul should choose? It is quite a bit of a problem!

1. There is nothing divine.

everything becomes extremely simple. This reality is very difficult to accept, because it involves beliefs. How can we discuss beliefs? As soon as a belief is discussed it ceases to be a belief. As we go along and present the ideas put forth about the supreme being, a false picture of progress may appear. There is absolutely no progress. There is absolutely no development. Human beings are exactly where they have started. This concept of a supreme being is still hollow inside. Doubts have not been removed. The 'entity' is still incomprehensible. Defense by the leaders of the belief systems, that the 'supreme entity could not be understood because of its incomprehensibility' is standing before us, as their last ditch.

WHO SAID WHAT?

Let us set off on our journey. The quotes we give as we proceed does not necessarily follow a progression. They will be quotations or references just to give you an idea. All of them are 'worldly' words, uttered or written by human beings, there's nothing divine in them. The 'divine dimension' is within the heads of the humans.

According to the three 'code books' of the monotheistic belief systems God has an absolute control on all those which are 'created.' Which means that not a single creature has a say on his/her/its existence. Therefore good and evil are caused by him; deviations from the right path, from virtue, and righteousness are all his make.

There will be a judgement day, when the faithful will be separated and those who followed the false prophets will be thrown into fire. Whatever happens in this world comes from the God according to the believers of the Old Testament.

Divine providence is very important, because it shows a definite inclination of God towards 'something.' Providence could be explained as God, with a definite purpose, showing a special interest in a certain group, a certain thing, or a certain people among His creatures, and arranging and influencing some events towards that aim. But as usual especially with our subject, there are different views. Here Spenta Mainyu will give you five basic views about divine providence:

1. There is no providence directed at anything in any section of this being (universe).

2. There is providence directed at some of the things. Some of those things are created to the design of the designer, by the arrangement of the arranger, and some are left to chance.

3. Nothing is the result of chance in the universe. Everything, even a falling leaf, is the result of a design or a precise arrangement by God. Man exists within the boundaries drawn by God. Man has no power 'to do' or 'not to do' beyond what is drawn by God.

4. Everything becomes by the divine providence. His wisdom is never at fault. Even God has to comply with His wisdom, and has to do the best and the most convenient. There is the influence of man's strength and will but it is conditional and limited.

5. The divine providence reaches below the lunar sky. Here it remains directed at human kind. But everything related to mankind, everything that confronts the mankind and happens to him is what he deserves. In other words good deeds bring good results, bad deeds bring bad results.

These are the views originating from ancient Greece, ancient Arabia and Palestine (Israel). One should not overlook the fact that side by side with divine providence there is divine inquisition.

The monotheistic character of the God of Judaism has reached its final stage with Islam. But this monotheism is the monotheism of the three Semitic-origined belief systems. Other peoples have their Gods as well. So when you see monotheism here, do not ever believe that there is a sole God for all the peoples of the world. The sole God we are talking about is the God of the Old Testament, New Testament and Qoran. But in Christianity, between Judaism and Islam, we still do not have a sole God. What we have there is the Trinity. Jesus is considered the Son of God and there is the Holy Ghost and Virgin Mary. Trinity is straight polytheism. It is beyond doubt that there is polytheism also in every one of the Abrahamic religions.

One of the concepts of God mankind has visualised back in history was the 'first cause' or the 'prime mover.' He was the absolute ruler of the earth and sky. There were no representations of this entity. There were no temples or priests or an organisation in his service. He was too exalted for the inadequate 'earthlings' (He still is, is He not?). He was involved in the daily lives of everybody. But eventually He started moving farther and farther away from His people, acknowledging that they did not need Him anymore, at least, not like they had done once upon a time. Then He disappeared. He began to be called the 'Sky God.' He started governing the affairs of mankind from afar. Belief in such an exalted 'sacred entity' is the characteristic of religious life in many African tribes. They pray to their God, they plead with Him. They believe that God is observing them and will punish their wrongdoings. But anyway, this supreme entity is not in their daily lives. He has no special cult. He has no effigy. Members of these tribes maintain that God cannot be described. He cannot be dirtied by the world of mankind. Don't you think that the God of the Jews, Christians and Moslems is as far away as the Sky God?