Re: THE CREATOR GOD STRIKES OUT!
Peace diwana and Intelliphant
This is a belief about our beliefs or how we crystalise them. It is best taken from the angle of previously established creedal matters from the 'Ashari and Maturidi schools at least when it comes to Islam.
According to the Maturidi school it is neccesary to believe that 'truth' can be discerned with the intellect i.e. using intelligent processes. According to the 'Ashari perspective only revelation can achieve this. Both schools have their reasons but they fundamentally disagree about this issue, because it leads on to how they both view punishment. Maturidis say that every human should be Muslim through reasoning if not by parental upbringing even when the message of Islam has not come to such a person. 'Ashari people say that not all unbelievers will enter hell because the message of Islam may not have reached them. And so on.
What the debate here is that "are humans naturally inclined to believe in Deity or not"
Personally I believe we are naturally inclined however, not necessarily to the refined position of Tawheed, but we do exhibit praise and adoration and worship no matter if we are atheists, polytheists, and so on. It is the article of that worship that may differ.
I like reconciliation and say that both are required, the intelligent processes are required or else we would not be told that insane people are masum, on the other hand we are disadvantaged and many sane people have died living outside Islam, it may be due to their own arrogance but it may also be due to their own sphere of life being deficient. It does however have to do with Tawfiq.
Either way there are also those who do receive the word in the correct manner reject it and those people are called 'kaafir' such people cover up the truth, i.e. they allow themselves to be blinded by their own ignorance and hence cannot see the truth. Why else would they be called kaafir?
Some people do this subconsciously some do it consciously to maintain their position in society no less.
Anyway we come to the chicken and the egg of this topic what comes first guidance or the desire for guidance. It has to be the desire for it as per the Qur'an. Which leads on to the concept of philosophy ... that such a domain of study has developed because people had the desire to know truth. The fact that their own logic and intellect stumped them in more developed theories does not undo the work they have done in getting themselves to that progressed state. It just took someone called Al-Ghazali to pick up the ideas under the light of Islam to answer all their unanswered questions.
As far as this discourse is concerned we should believe that we have the capacity to find the truth otherwise we will fall short of that desire that is needed. We may be in danger of thinking fatalistically by saying that I'm either a believer or I am not.