Whether you used to believe in Jesus or Yahweh, Muhammed or Allah, Krishna or Zeus, I can assure you that none exist. I will even take you further than that and guarantee they do not exist. It is all about your perception of the concept what a god/goddess is. Not a definition, but the concept.

Most folks I meet agree on the following traits about their preferred deity (these are just the bare bones basics):

1. The deity is an actual being.

2. The deity has supernatural powers that influences/controls the Universe in which we live. Including the minute details of our lives.

3. They do not know how or why their deity came into being.

Now, I am going to try and keep this an easy read, so don't get turned off by my numbered formats! First let's talk about the actual being part. A deity is a being; a thing. Most folks agree on this. While it may not be in our particular form of a physical thing, it exists as an actual being. I find this line of thinking extremely frustrating at times. Everyone I meet, including fellow agnostics and atheists always say something along the lines of, "Well, there isn't any evidence for this god." Basically, wanting evidence for this actual supernatural being/thing.

I truly feel this is an erroneous line of thought.

Many people don't try to think outside the box when defining what a deity is. Have you considered it isn't an actual being? Leave all the holy texts aside here. Consider that maybe these holy texts aren't thinking outside the box at all either. Step back and look at what makes a being a god. Supernatural powers and abilities, promises of life after death, setting forth moral codes of conduct, and so on. All of these things are subjective. Some of these traits would be more convincing that a being is in fact a god than others...depending on who the person is making this judgement call. And that is the point I am trying to make about thinking outside the realm of actual beings.

Think about what it would take for people to recognize a being with these traits as a supreme creator and leader. This is key to understanding that a god is not an actual being. The fact that everyone has a different standard for what evidence of a god would be is proof that gods are a status conferred upon that which we need to either give higher recognition to or award an elevated status of reverence because it is so amazingly different than us that is has an advantage/authority because of those amazing traits it possesses.

Yes, gods are just a type of status. Kind of like what we give to A-list Hollywood actors and the super wealthy. They command a reverence and we accept their fame and notoriety based on their works. We don't care how they were able to do it, and we do not try to attain the same level of skill. We are happy to step back and let wonderment overtake us in their commanding presence. Instead of asking a god how it came to be, religious peoples are happy to step back and be enveloped by the wonder of these abilities we do not possess that are amazing to be told. It feels good to know there is someone in control in the Universe since we are too small to control it ourselves. And this type of authority we hand over to our governments, our doctors, our teachers, and so much more!

So, to be a god is to be a famous Hollywood actor. Everyone has their own level of acceptance of just how famous an actor is, and the same goes for the qualifications to be considered a deity. Some have a higher bar to be met than others.

Now let's talk about those supernatural powers! If you meet a being that can shoot fire from its body, offer you healing of disease, and knows everything in your mind, I would think you would be very freaked out! I would be rather freaked out. The question is, how do you handle a situation where the impossible becomes possible? It is normal to feel awe at the amazing and all powerful things we are exposed to. It's perfectly acceptable to feel fearful and intimidated as well. It is not okay to give control of your thinking and life choices to such things out of blind awe or uninformed fear. Why not ask the being displaying magical prowess what the biological process is that it is able to shoot lightening from its fingertips? Why wouldn't you ask it about other experiences in the Universe, or in its own realm? Why don't you try to understand what it is?

I've read the Bible several times. You know what is always missing? Anyone asking Yahweh how he can make bushes spontaneously combust. He never explains how he manipulated the Universe to create the plagues. No one ever asks him how he managed to manipulate the cosmos to make the earth come together either. People just take their blind awe and run with it. What kind of adoration is blind adoration? A supernatural being that is supposedly loving, kind, encouraging, and whatever else, surely wouldn't be offended by asking questions about the how and why these supernatural traits are within it. Still, no one ever asks these questions.

Asking these questions is not being disrespectful. To not ask the how and why of the unknown deprives true understanding of the world around us, and what is truly possible or not. Who wouldn't like to be able to explain how and why they can do fantastic things no one else can?

Here's the wrap up. Gods do not exist. The status of being a deity can only be awarded by those who are willing to confer it upon another. Mankind used to worship fire. We have worshiped the sun and we have worshiped various animals. Why don't we worship them anymore? Because we understand how fire originates, and we now know what the sun is and what roles animals play in our lives and world around us. Personally, I've never met anything that could do what the god of the Bible, Qur'an, and other holy texts claim, and will I allow myself to be silenced in awe simply because someone/thing/object can? Absolutely not! I will try to understand how it works. Period.

Gods do not exist. Unknown abilities, entities? Possibly. If I ever see examples of them, I will gladly leap into the pool of learning and wade to the island holding the answers.