A God who created us and loves us wouldn’t need us to worship it. It wouldn’t be bothered if we believed in a different god.
A God who created us and loves us wouldn’t enforce a rigid code of piety, not when the world offers so many different, wonderful lifestyles.
A God who created us and loves us certainly wouldn’t condemn us to eternal punishment for choosing sin. It wouldn’t hold our failings against us.
That’s not what a cosmic, omnipotent entity would act like. The vengeful, judgmental, petty God is clearly a human reflection.
We are a species that struggles to define itself. Many aspects of our being make us ashamed; many others eclipse our understanding. It’s not surprising that it’s taking us a long time to learn to love ourselves.
Perhaps that’s why the major religions of the world, which all do emphasize love, are still tethered to self-loathing. Perhaps that’s why our vision of an almighty creator (especially two thousand years ago) is a cruel one, its love often indistinguishable from hatred. Perhaps that’s why we have cardinal sin, and caste systems based on spiritual shame.
It’s time to take the next step. Extract the teachings of love from our religions; shed their thick skins of judgment. Let’s love ourselves more purely.