“I know for sure that God does not exist – and thank God he does not exist.”
I first happened upon philosopher and guru Osho when visiting LA, perusing through the Bodhi Tree bookstore. There I saw his book, Intuition: Knowing Beyond Logic, and as I had been currently struggling with my own, I picked it up.
For those who haven’t read or heard Osho, he is certainly a controversial figure.
Case in point: Intuition says that we should let ourselves go fully into our animalistic nature and vices in order to become free of them, which will connect us to our deeper intuitive sense.
In this excerpt from one of his talks, he postulates that if God “created” the world, that would have signified a fixed end point which occurred on the seventh day of creation. That’s it – done. Perfection would be the world’s truth, and therefore evolution would not exist:
He goes on to say that we need God as a “hypothesis of how the world was created,” and yet we fit this God into our own definitions of time and space.
As for Charles Darwin, Osho thinks it would be “against God’s nature to rule out evolution,” that in fact, evolution is an extension of what God created. Darwin’s work merely shows that creation is a continuous process, imperfect in nature, and will never be finished – exactly who and what we are as human beings.
View many more Osho clips here. Feature photo: tamburix
What do you think of Osho’s contentious views on God and evolution? Share your thoughts below.
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10 Comments... join the discussion!
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I agree with Osho. April 1! hehe…
Interesting…but I guess you have to agree on his premise that God, being perfect, would ONLY create a perfect world. There are those who believe in God and also evolution, saying God provided the spark. Of course, there are those who completely deny evolution and literally think the earth is 6000 years old or whatever. Not much you can say to them to convince otherwise!
When you think of it like that, that God fits within our concept of time, and took 6 days to create everything, it sounds quite absurd.
Thanks for introducing me to Osho…although I think I might stick to reading his books. I don’t have the time and patience to listen to him! (no offense Osho)
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There are literally thousands of philosophers, religious leaders, gurus, etc. who claim to have the “understanding” of who God is. I respect their views but I can’t help to notice that o n l y o n e said: I a m G o d. He was crucified for blasphemy for saying it. After his death, 11 poor fishermen changed the world preaching that He had risen from the dead.
Jesus did not share a philosophy of God, He died to reconcile humanity with God and he brought the good news that God is our Father and God wants to live in each human being through the Holy Spirit. That sounds pretty radical to me, but I believe it. Jesus was either insane or He was who He said he was.
As humans, I believe, we are wired to search for the meaning of life and death. We long to know where we came from and where we are going. I suggest the book “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis as a must-read in this search.
I respect everyone’s beliefs and encourage everyones search for meaning.
Thanks for the article.
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Interesting Christine! His last statement sums up my thoughts, only he states the exact opposite of my position. Osho says, “If evolution does not exist, than life is pointless.” On the contrary, if evolution exists, life is then pointless. There is no end to be met, no purpose to be fulfilled. Everything then is just a series of accidents. Some people believe that, and I respect them. I just happen to disagree. My purpose and personal “evolution” if you will, is so extensive and God formed. God did rest on the seventh day, but He’s been working ever since. It’s interesting how this philosopher touches on the character of God that he does not believe exists. It would seem more accurate to learn the character of God from someone who knows Him personally, as well from someone who is actually well-versed in the scripture. Osho, while seemingly very wise, has eluded to God’s word, but severely distorted it. Most people do this when trying to contradict scripture. It’s also interesting that he formulates God as a hypothesis and refers to the unproven theory of evolution as fact. One point I agree with whole heartedly: Evolution as a means of creation, has no place with God. If you believe in evolution as opposed to a six day Creation, you can not believe that Christ is the Son of God. Either the whole of scripture is true or not a word of it. God did not create the world through evolution. Are there changes within a species? Yes, that’s called micro evolution or natural selection. Evolution used as anything other than to explain micro changes is a farce and a lie used to discount the existence of God so that humans do not have to answer to a higher authority. Humans desire to be their own god; it is in our very nature. Always enjoy your blogs and other posts…keep ‘em comin. Hope your neck feels better soon!
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The title itself is a little confusing. Saying that God is a problem admits to His existence.
I agree Mere Christianity is a must read for those searching for a spiritual life.
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Great discussion everyone – there are a number of thought provoking ideas in the comments. It’s always a pleasure to read that people can disagree and remain civil at the same time.
That said, I have read “Mere Christianity” and enjoyed C.S. Lewis arguments very much. But I continue to disagree with the stance that man can only evolve through their acceptance of a Christian God. The reality is that humans are “perfect” in the sense that they’re imperfect. The universe is perfectly set up to create continual collisions between people, animals, things, conflicts, ideas, etc.
Humans by nature love to create order from the perception of disorder. Often, they seek purpose from something outside of themselves, which comes in the form of any belief system: Christian, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist or otherwise. The only logical understanding of God then has to be the realization that “it” is beyond our attempts to conceptualize.
What we believe has much more to do with our individual worldview than any “true” God above all others.
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With all due respect to everyone, the core of Christianity is precisely the claim that God is not a theory, philosophy, or a belief system. God is three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That sounds crazy to many, and even more crazy to many is the claim that God became human in the person of Jesuschrist.
If we humans were able to “understand” God then God would not be God.
As well-intentioned as all religions are, they simply fail to convince me that following their principles I can experience the inconceivable love of a God that for my sake became flesh, died on a cross, and then rose again to give me new life in the here and now and eternal joy with Him in heaven. I may be totally wrong, maybe the whole Bible it’s a fairy tale and there is nothing after this life, and when I die I will simply disappear into oblivion, and if that is the case I guess I won’t find out that there is nothing after this life, right? All I know is that since I became a Christian I live a life with the most delicious peace and fulfillment that I never found in anything else before.
Keep on searching my friends!
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Well said Ian. My biggest beef with religion is that it is not chosen for the most part by the individual. It is instilled at an early age, not giving the child a choice. It is one thing to “find” or choose a religion as an informed human being, but quite another to have it forced on you.
Also, for every religion there seems to be a thousand different degrees – from fundamentalism to liberalism – each one thinking theirs is the right path. And this is within the same religion. Who are the sinners?
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well lets thank god he is dead.
know his aligations will remain between him and god.
however id like to see his answear when he is infront of god.
denying his existance, we’ll see how far that will get him. people dont be fooled by this bullshit.this man is full of shit. my opinion…..↵ -
I have read so many books from Osho. Hundreds. And yeah, he was a master. Don’t you know that The New York Times claimed Osho as the most dangerous person since Jesus Christ? Yes he was. Dangerous in a very positive way.
Osho said that Jesus spoke in metaphor. Whatever Jesus is saying, dont take them literally. Jesus said, “Iam the son of God” don’t take that literally. He was saying that you also could be the son of God. Everyone could be.
Then, define God?
You guys better read Osho coz I cannot explain well..
I believe you will love him, and when you read, he knocks on your door.↵
