I’ve been thinking lately about God, assuming He exists. Mainly, I’ve been thinking about the Judeo-Christian biblical conception of God, and asking myself, crazy as this sounds, if He exists, Is God a sociopath?
I pose this question seriously, and apologize in advance for offending anyone by probing this idea. But consider:
You are expected to worship Him.
You are expected to acknowledge His perfection.
You are expected to live by His standards.
You are expected to fear His Judgement.
You are expected to please, not disappoint Him.
You are expected to do penance when you’ve strayed from His rules.
You are expected to be in awe of, and fear, His omniscience.
You are expected to be in awe of, and fear, His omnipotence.
You are expected to prize His love, and fear His wrath.
You are expected to seek, and follow, His guidance.
When He feels unheeded, He licenses Himself to unleash cruel, violent, devastating rages (see the Flood, among countless other examples).
He is a punisher.
He is perfect.
He has no guilt; yet He instills guilt.
He “made,” and he “works,” the world and universe from “above,” sitting in Judgement of all who deviate from Him.
He is infallible.
He is unaccountable.
He is callous—a cause of, and silent witness to, untold violence and suffering in the history of humanity.
He is “entitled—”to judge, and punish, as He likes.
He is controlling to a highly pathological degree, for all the reasons stated above.
He is merciful, so long as you heed Him. Otherwise, He can be merciless.
He expects to be idealized and treated like a God.
He rages, and inflicts the cruelest of punishments, when He feels defied.
His word is the bible.
Now you tell me: If I were describing a human being in these terms, what conclusion would you draw? I suspect, if you weren’t feeling defensive, that you’d conclude that we’re talking about someone with a case of seriously malignant narcissism edging, perhaps, into the realm of sociopathy?
But, of course, I’m describing the Judeo-Christian God.
Think about this: from the earliest age, this is your almighty Father figure. You are taught to worship Him, seek His love, His mercy, accept His perfection and infallibility.
You are taught that His word is final; His wrath is justified; to feel shame before His eyes.
You are taught to have to work hard to earn your way back into His good graces, and to be grateful for His forgiveness.
His judgement is final, and even terrifying.
Now if this is the Father figure we’ve been raised to heed and idealize from birth, is it not fair to wonder how much this relationship—with God—might predispose us to end up with a sociopath?
Does one’s adult relationship with a sociopath not replicate, in certain ways, one’s relationship with God?
I pose this as food for thought, nothing else. But I will follow-up this post in the next several weeks, to further flesh out my thoughts, factoring in, as well, your initial feedback.
(This article is copyrighted (c) 2010 by Steve Becker, LCSW.)
Oh Witty….I can so relate!
Every day seems like a whole new one and sometimes wiht the same ‘scenery’.
So…..ya shook it up!
Good for you for concentrating on what you could control! We always leed ourselves where we need to be at the ‘moment’.
There is a reason and a season for everything in
life……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6jhbtDUZE&feature=related
Just keep turn, turn, turning darlen and take good care of yourself.
I’m glad your reducing your stress…..I need to follow that lead BIG TIME!!!
Okay, I will wade into the somewhat turbulent waters of this thread.
First off, Dr. Steve, a gutsy, and as always provocative post and line of thinking.
Secondly, a concept VERY relevant to those of us recovering from the trauma’s of a P. It takes us back to the questions of how we got here and why.
Third, what we have learned, is that what Spaths want more than anything, is power and control. What is possibly more powerful and controlling than being GOD?
Fourth, I agree with Donna’s comment, that we need to seperate our concept of God, from the teachings of organized religion, which is arguably one of the most long term destructive forces unleashed on humanity, and definitly as an organization, socipathic in nature. Let’s not forget how we had to kill the heathen, burn the witches, enslave the savages in HIS name, all at great profit to those who went along. (Hence America, etc.)
What could be more empowering to those who evangalize on HIS behalf, than the concept of this all seeing all powerful, plans your destiny, unprovable, unseeable entity? Just as all wars, ultimately, can be traced to a conflict over “resources”, so all of organized religion can be traced to a structure of “control”. To top it off, we cloak the resource wars in religous terms, to this day, to get the people off the stench of what is really going on.
To those that are offended by this debate, I would refer you to the many many posts that discussed in depth, your relationship with GOD. His supremacy in your lives. The notion that without HIM you would be nowhere. Leaves us agnostics, athiests somewhat biting the dust, if we were not secure in our own approach to these belief systems. So I would suggest you tolerate our scepticism, as much as we tolerate your faith.
For myself, I believe that GOD is in the details, as in quantum physics, as in What the Bleep, as in the connectivity of all life and all things we have yet to understand. HE could be zeros and ones, the incredible language of DNA, he could be string theory, he could be the big bang, or the black hole.
There is an incredible rationality to all the chaos that makes up the universe, and our attempt to put a “being” behind the enigma has been co-opted for private and personal gain. End of story. That does not mean that those of us who question, or are sceptics of an all powerful being pulling the levers and switches are not in awe of the absolute perfection, or the mind numbing disfunction of all that we can absorb, see, or comprehend.
In short, in think the God that Steve is referring to is the one that was co-opted by sociopaths, and therefore made in their image. Punitive, wrathful, judgemental, without conscience.
The God we find in our hearts is the consciousnous of the beauty and inescapable connection of all that exists. We ignore it and defy it at our own peril. Personally, I find no need to worhsip at an alter, or refer to a scripture to seek that connection and nurture it.
Peace and love. Amen
(((((witsend))))))) Yea the roller coaster ride! Ain’t it fun? NOT!!! But it takes TIME for our bodies to get accustomed to LOW STRESS HORMONE LEVELS and it really is sort of like an alcoholic with the D-Ts, we’ve had high levels of stress for so long that our body adjusts and gets “used” to that so when the stress level goes down we don’t feel “RIGHT” and get anxious which fuels the stress levels back up and so on.
Winding down, weening ourselves off the high levels of hormone and all that carp takes time. I still don’t have the “bounce back” capability I used’ta have when I get a big SHOT or hormone but it is IMPROVING.
I am back now (after about 6 months) to where I was pre-the-new year’s bout with son C that sent me for a spin and a loop. So ONE BIG episode left me spinning down again for 6 months, but back to OK again. Back to feeling better. But when you consider I’d been HIGH for YEARS I guess that is pretty good.
Our bodies can adjust to a lot of things from alcohol, drugs, high sugar levels for diabetics, etc. and sTress hormones, but we can get accustomed to them being down to normal again, and even if it takes a while, we can do it. Plus they damage our bodies just like HIGH levels of any of those things do too, but we can recover at least some of the damage and that is why it is in MHO SO IMPORTANT to keep our levels of stress DOWN. I found that by evicting ANYONE from my life who was stressing me I benefited very much. If I allowed them to stay in my life, I paid in STRESS and Anxiety and I don’t need it.
I need PEACE and CALM, and you can’t get that if someone is yanking your chain all the time. The worst person who yanked my chair though was ME so I had to get myself where I didn’t ruminate and worry so much and keep my own level of stress high.
THAT’s the BIG TRICK to learn. Still don’t have it mastered, but getting better. So we can just keep plodding along. One foot in front of the other! ((((hugs))))
Erin,
I honestly got to the point where I felt I had to do something. It wasn’t a choice it was a need.
I just couldn’t function anymore the way I was. Stress is crippling when it takes over your life. And it had taken over mine.
I don’t have health insurance and I just felt like if I kept going the way I was going I would end up in the hospital.
I don’t even know how I managed to stay focused on this, because my focus, was something I also felt I had no control over anymore. But I think I just faked it until I made it 🙂
That’s right ……sometimes we just gotta fake it till we make it!
I sooo know the feeling of being sick of being sick, it evolves into JUST DO SOMETHING….anything…..shake it up!
It’s the natural evolution. I wrestle with it to.
I’ve become a procrastinator……NEVER in my life have I sabotaged myslef so much with putting some things off…..and it always bites me in the ass!!!!! I know better….and if I just did it, it would be done and I wouldn’t have to ‘worry’ about getting it done.
Stupid, I know…..but I will find out ‘why’ I’m doing it…..I have my suspicians……
I started talking out loud to myself…..and listening to myself, coaching myself out loud.
I like the effects of this…..I listen.
Just DO NOT get sick, I will tell you…..NONE OF THE STRESS is worth it in the end!!!!
Oxy,
You are up late!!! Peace and Calm…..Wow it really is hard to get used to. Who knew?
I still can’t seem to get the anxiety in tow.
But I am not always waiting for the other shoe to fall. And that alone helps the stress.
anitasee, I enjoyed your perception of this thread. Very well said.
I hate to leave when Witty shows up….but ive got to get some sleep tonight.
I’ve been up the past 2 nights UP….working! No sleep!!!
I’m spent!
Night night…..i’m handing the Late Night tiarra off to ya’ll!
Hens….your being WORKED by your doggie…..much better than the alternative though!
At least you know where to find the Tballs…..I have NO IDEA where Holly hides things…..they just go POOF…..
Like i’m doing right now!
Night….
Gem, shabby, learned…..I have thought of each and everyone of you while I have been gone.
It is actually comforting to be back.
Gem I have read some of what you have written about your grand kids more recently. Hang in there. You never know. It is possible they will seek you out one day.
xxxx
Anitasee Your above post is written with eloquence and intelligence. Thanks for putting into words how I feel about the God in my heart.
alicia, I hope you will stay with us here at LF.
Please don’t let one person ruin the good
experience you have had here at the website.
Thank you again, Donna, for having this available to us.