Petting Cows and Eating Dogs

Ever wonder why cows are sacred in India but served medium-rare in Texas? Or why, in some parts of the world, dogs are pampered as family members while, elsewhere, they might be served as the main course? It’s fascinating how geography unknowingly shapes our beliefs and behaviors.

Imagine being born in Mecca instead of Manhattan. Would you still be a devout Christian, or would you be praying toward Mecca five times a day? Such hypotheticals reveal how many of our beliefs are—at least initially—shaped by geography more than personal conviction.

Now, instead of debating whose deity is superior or which dietary rule is holier, consider this: Are we all just petting cows and eating dogs in our own culturally approved way? Maybe, despite 1 Corinthians 4:7, you would choose Yahweh over Allah, even if you were born in Mecca. I don’t know. I imagine it’s possible.

A Thought Experiment

When considering what could be cultural conditioning versus the character of G-d (I write G-d this way because I deeply appreciate the holy mystery behind the three-letter word we casually refer to as God. This reality is so far beyond description, I hesitate to limit it via such a familiar term), I invert my thoughts, questions, beliefs, and assumptions about G-d.

So, if our beliefs stem more from where we are born than what we believe, does it make sense that people who don’t approach “God” through a specific cultural lens are doomed to damnation? I don’t think so.

Call me crazy but I don’t think a G-d that sends people to hell for eating dogs and petting cows—unable to get past the cultural limitations of their geography—isn’t a G-d at all. Such an image seems more like something a manipulative monarch created thousands of years ago only to be embraced by those who happened to be born on “holy ground.”

Questions, just questions. No need for definitive answers. After all, certainty is the playground of the unconscious.