Taliban and God can't exist together

PERSONAL WORSHIP

If there was a God, there would be no Taliban. I had been concerned about the way the Taliban force their attitudes on to others, particularly women and non muslims and since I have been concerned I decided to consult God directly and sent an e mail. It came back from the server as undeliverable - the address does not exist.

It left me with the same feeling I had after my father died - a feeling of terrible loneliness and responsibility because now I was the head of the family.

I decided something positive needed to be done. Firstly I reduced God to a single pixel on my screen. If he ever does turn up again in this world it means there is a small window for access back into my life.

I would still go to church but it wouldn’t matter which one or which faith because what really appeals is the spiritual feeling I have at times when people worship together. I will still think of Noah when I see a rainbow because the stories are etched into my mind and I do like them but I will read the stories of the other faiths too.

Then I will create my own god, just for myself. A deity in my head who is going to be my friend. One I can silently talk to and express my joy and thanks to when I am happy. A voice to reason with and chew over the state of the world and why. A voice to encourage me and a voice to appeal to when I am in a mess. My deity will help me to sort myself out when the going is tough.

These are all small decisions to make life easier but I have taken one large significant one. I am going to live my life on a higher plane of consciousness - for more than just pleasure.

It means I am not going to be a Taliban. Quite the opposite. I am determined to put no one into a metaphorical burkah. Everyone I meet and know about will be treated as my equal, men and women, young and old. I will respect them. My race and my ethnicity will be global - a citizen of the world and I will try to play the role that I thought the one pixel god should have and that is to live peacefully and to strive for peace, to see the good in people and not be negative. I will believe that the world can be made better by the efforts of people and that the resources are there to do it. - I need to encourage and support what is good for this world of brothers and sisters.

So off I go on my own. A new beginning at Christmas