It has been argued that organized religion has been the source of most of the world’s social problems, especially war. I would say that it is not so much the different forms of faith that cause problems. It is the politics and power structures behind them – the people and policies that promote intolerance and fear of “the Other.”

I don’t claim to know who or what God is. My sense of the metaphysical is personal, and it changes from day to day, mostly depending on the nature of my encounter with fellow human beings. My disposition is reactive, and to witness someone throwing their trash out a car window or abusing an animal or child might turn me against people and God, at least temporarily. Conversely, acts of heroism and selflessness, along with the soul-filling experience provided by great art, reinforce my faith in man along with the Great Artist above. One day I am Peter the Doubter, the next Peter the Rock.

While I can’t consistently explain what God is or does, I can say with certainty what God is not, knowing full well certain groups of people will either be outraged by insinuation or ignorant of the mirror being held in front of their faces.

God does not favor humans over other forms of life. Whether one believes in creationism or evolution, it is clear that man has risen to the top of the food chain based on his ability to adapt and innovate – his brain power. Yet, despite being on top, man’s survival depends on a stable ecosystem with respect to all life. Moreover, his mental acuity has always been a double-edged sword: it saves and it destroys, and those who wield it recklessly are a nuclear threat to the planet.

God is not for sale. God is not like a savings bank or the stock market or a casino where one invests in some modern version of the Golden Calf, self-consumed in the lust for more. There is no chariot to heaven, no path paved in gold, and the Gatekeepers don’t take bribes.

God does not favor specific groups of people – neither religions, countries, nor races. To declare that your group – your multi-generational, biologically connected (bloodline) family – is the one chosen by God seems quite self centered. I mean, historically speaking, slaves have come in all shapes and colors, and faith was something that helped them all through the darkest hours. Whether through the parting of the Sea or the shared dream of Martin Luther King, the walk into freedom should not be exclusive, but rather a greeting of open arms. Alleluia!

God does not urge anyone to seek glory in death as a religious act. God does not reward kamikaze pilots and suicide bombers with bombell babes in blissland, nor does He/She heed the voice of hatred and vengeance.

God does not need a map to find you while you live or after you die. He/She does not refer to a register of Holy Lands to determine whether or not you belong there. God’s eyes and heart do not mine the burial grounds beneath the earth for souls like they were some precious metal; they must be focused somewhere else, somewhere much more sacred, yet unimaginable.

God does not ignore the unworldly. The farmer that has never ventured beyond his little town in Nebraska, and the ghetto child who’s never seen the world outside the projects – their souls are just as worthy as those of kings, gladiators and explorers.

God does not direct you to write manifestos, or whisper in your ear urging you to go out and shoot up health care clinics or gay night clubs or concerts.

Today, there is war in eastern Europe and the Middle East, and the threat of its expansion is real. Innocent people are dying, and there is immense suffering. So the question comes to mind again, as it has in the past – where is God? Why was God not there in Gettysburg? In Auschwitz? In the trenches of WWI? In Hiroshima? Today, there is the same calling in parts of Ukraine, in Gaza, Israel and Iran.

The perhaps overly simplified answer is that it is man’s world of war, not God’s, and it seems clear God cannot or will not protect us from ourselves. To avoid a major war would take near miraculous feats of international leadership – the kind that is not rooted in self-interest, ego, or dogma, but rather in diplomatic talent, tolerance, and the kind of Grace that comes only through love of thy neighbor.

Pete Howard, a musician, writer, teacher, and painter, lives in Dunkirk.