My Stance on Religion.

To begin I would like to ask if you believe in a God? What about more than one God? What about Santa Claus? Perhaps the Tooth Fairy? What is the difference? They are all unfortunately and wrongfully taught and forced as truth at a very young age and even birth, they are all said to accomplish amazing and unrealistic things in short amounts of time. Why is it that of all the many fairy tales and fictional characters that we talk about, God or Gods are believed to be true? There is little to no proof for god in the same way there is little to no proof that Santa Claus exists. Many people look towards the bible and say that these are the words of God and they alone are proof that there is a God and that the stories presented are true. I think the bible is great--if you're up for a fairy tale, it's amazing how there is a whole book of ambiguous passages which can be interpreted no matter how you wish. FYI: wars, famines, killing, rape, fire, etc existed LONG before the bible was written. Once you know the patterns of history it is quite easy to replicate it.

Also, many people use bible passages to prove something that it apparently predicted while ignoring other passages in the bible which contradict it. What is true is that the bible makes absolutely, unarguably asinine claims. People actually believe there has existed a talking snake, but dinosaurs have not (and fossils were placed there by the Devil to test your faith), the Universe was created in a matter of days, but the Earth is no more than several thousands years old. Many religious individuals also reject the theory of evolution despite the heaping amount of evidence which actually shows any kind of proof about it's validity. How is it that you reject the idea of Evolution and Natural Selection for not the existence of life but how it became what it is today? And if you reject Evolution and Natural Selection because these theories suggests that life is the result of a single organism, why is it that you believe whole heartedly that an all knowing-all powerful cosmic being created the universe, the earth and it's lifeforms, but this being which is so intelligent and magical exists from absolutely nothing and there is no proof whatsoever that it exists? Yes, life on earth is absolutely fascinating in the way it works out, but if God created life, and the Universe, than why is it that in our Solar System it is simply impossible for humans and other life to exist on any other planet or in space alone. Earth has all of the things necessary for life including the correct distance from the sun which gives a liveable temperature and light exposure, water, etc. But these should not be seen as reasons at why life exists on Earth that Earth is able to sustain life. If god was so great and did create life on earth, why is it we are the only planet in the Solar System as we know it to have life. If god loved people so much and he created the universe, why would it be that one planet out of the WHOLE universe is the only one to have life? If God loved us so much he would not damn us to a fire pit for questioning if he (or she/it for that matter) is real. A very insightful thought by Epicurus also suggests that that the being which we worship is far short of deserving such praise when he says "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" If we are not the only beings in existence, you must also question how a God has created in a matter of days BILLIONS of different galaxies, planets, stars and other celestial objects. Billions of completely different worlds. This in itself and mind blowingly impossible. Our planet, let alone the entire universe was not formed with the intention to inhabit life or to cater to human ambition, but rather life has changed or evolved over billions of years to exist in these conditions. Over 99% of all species that have ever existed on this planet are now extinct. Where is the intelligent design in this?

Many people are so easy to turn to 'God' to explain everything. God created the earth. God created life. God created evil. God told people to write the bible. Bad things happen because God is trying to teach us something. A lot of you will probably say earth is the only planet with life because God chose it. Many people will argue upon being asked who created God, that God was not created because he has always existed. If always does not exist how is that God has always existed? If God is immaterial how is it that he created a material existence? If God is immaterial, does not take up space and is an infinite being why is it that we label him as a him? Giving God a gender gives him material attributes. Saying that God is omnipotent is a cop out bigger than saying God created everything.

One of my favorite scientists and overall people is Carl Sagan, in his very popular series 'COSMOS' from the 1970s he brought up a very valid and someone existential point when he says "Men may not be the dreams of the gods, but rather that the Gods are the dreams of men." On the contrary it is suggested that there is an omnipotent divine creator that created you and a system of karma or good doing, like a behavior credit system for you to abide to in order to receive good in return. This is typical propaganda, telling people to do something in the hopes that they will get something in return, fear is a big business move, you sometimes must scare people into thinking they need your product. Once there is a shimmer of proof of it people live their lives by it. Good and bad things will happen regardless. You could live in solitude and do horrible things, but that doesn't mean horrible things will happen to you, it all depends on the amount of possibility you give yourself. How are there so many people who continually do for others, yet never receive their "reward" for it? And vice versa. Why does there need to be a "system"? Things happen, and things happen in different ways, there isn't someone or something keeping track of what you do. Furthermore, why should there be a law to abide to, why can't we simply live our lives to make ourselves and those we love happy and not need something spiritual malarky telling us to do so. Why do you need a spiritual law or moral code to abide to, all that does is stress you out and make you think you're not doing it right. Those ideas were created to find more efficient ways to teach and spread the disease they call Faith.

As I have previously mentioned, a large number of people say that their God is a just and divine creator but many people also think otherwise, scientist, author and famous Atheist Richard Dawkins has so eloquently stated that "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty unjust unforgiving control freak, a vindictive blood thirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." (The God Delusion Page 51) I think that everyone should take the time to think about why THEY think that life exists and how, rather than accepting religion for what it is, or accepting evolution for what it is. If you are going to spend your life trying to prove something, let it be yourself. We are the only thing we know truly exists. There is not proof for god, and evolution has it's flaws. Religion is time and time again used as a fighting device and many times over it does nothing but cause fights, wars, and division among humanity in people who could otherwise obtain peace. The only thing we should do is seize the day. I respect everyone's beliefs but I simply cannot accept the fact that people are so willing to just believe anything as it is. Nothing in life is absolutely perfect. That is why we die, that is why things go extinct and that is why absolutely nothing as we know it lasts forever. Religious people think they KNOW they have the answer but, newsflash you do not, and neither does anyone else, so in the meantime, be excellent to each other. With the great extent and infinite size of our proposed Universe, comes great extent and infinite possibility. There may be a god, but there may not be, what we may think of as god is merely a great source of energy within our cosmos. There is perhaps no grand scheme to all of this, we could be dust floating adrift a deep abyss with no intent of purpose. Our bodies in themselves are their own little universe, our perception of size and achievement is far too often guaged relative to human comprehension. It is truly detrimental to simply accept that we are something great, made by something greater. The beauty of being an atheist is to persist in curiosity rather than march blindly with certainty. Only then can we truly grasp we are insignificant beings in a giant plethora of things far greater than we.

Written March, 2010.