Religion is not science, nor is it mathematics, where 2 + 2 is always 4, or chemistry, where the formula for water (H₂O) remains constant across time and place. Science relies on repeatability and verifiability: the same experiment, under the same conditions, must always produce the same results. Religion, by contrast, operates in a different domain. It is not about proof in the laboratory sense, but about meaning, hope, and interpretation.

This difference matters. Religion speaks to the "meaning of meaning" — the questions that formulas or measurements cannot settle: Who are we? Why do we suffer? What is justice? What should we live for? Unlike scientific facts, religious truths are often personal, subjective, and contextual. What inspires one individual may leave another unmoved. What one community interprets as divine intervention, another may dismiss as a coincidence. Precisely because of this, religion requires humility, tolerance, and an open mind.

That leaves us with the problem of interpretation. If religious experience is personal, how then do we decide what counts as a true religious sign, and what is merely self-serving imagination? History is full of leaders —political, economic, and even spiritual — who have cloaked personal ambition in the language of divine will. From wars justified as "holy" to policies defended as "God's plan," faith has often been used as a tool of power.

Here lies the central challenge: Where do we draw the line between genuine faith and manipulation? If every action can be explained away as "God's miracle" or "God's punishment," then responsibility evaporates. Individuals and institutions can escape accountability by shifting the burden upward, leaving injustice unaddressed on earth while invoking heaven's approval.

Personal responsibilities often come with social consequences. This brings us to a critical question: When do we stop attributing every event, every success, or every failure to God and start acknowledging our own role in shaping the world? Faith should inspire ethical living, not replace it. To believe that God has "done the miracle again" is one thing; to abandon our responsibility to act justly, care for the vulnerable, and confront corruption is another. It's crucial to understand that our actions matter, and we have the power to shape our world.

In today's social and political reality, this distinction is urgent. Consider some of the undeniable facts facing many societies today. Corruption in governance often survives under the guise of religious legitimacy, with officials claiming divine sanction while siphoning resources meant for the public good. Likewise, gender and minority rights are too often curtailed by appeals to "religious tradition," leaving vulnerable groups silenced. Not all. How about environmental crises, which are exacerbated when disasters are framed merely as "acts of God," instead of wake-up calls for human responsibility in stewardship? It is when people refuse accountability by attributing everything to divine will that societies stagnate, injustices multiply, and religion itself is misrepresented.

Faith must be used as a tool for empowerment, not an excuse. True faith does not absolve us of responsibility — it deepens it. Faith must not lead to disobedience of law and lawlessness. Belief in God's power should not translate into human passivity. On the contrary, religion at its best empowers believers to be agents of justice, compassion, and healing. To act with integrity, to resist corruption, to stand in solidarity with the oppressed — these are not betrayals of faith but its most authentic expressions. Let faith be the source of your strength and inspiration to do good in the world.

Seen this way, miracles are not only divine interventions that suspend natural laws. Miracles also occur when individuals and communities, inspired by faith, refuse to misuse religion for selfish ends and instead take responsibility for building a fairer society.

To build a responsible society, we must spare God the misrepresentation. Being honest and accountable creatures is not to deny God, but to honour God by living truthfully. When we stop misusing divine language as a cover for our own failings, we spare our societies the corruption of mind — and perhaps, as the essay suggests, we even spare God some headaches and misrepresentation. Let's uphold the values of honesty and accountability, as they are the foundation of a responsible and just society.

Faith, then, should not be an escape from responsibility but a call into it. If God has "done the miracle again," let us not respond with complacency but with commitment: to justice, to accountability, and to a society where belief inspires integrity rather than excuses and failures.

Video: https://youtu.be/DtT4XHVasqU

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