yes,
that essay, the one i've been whining about in the cbox.
warning! contains talk of religion, mostly in a negative way.
Gods, Culture, and Human Nature
For as long as homo sapiens have flourished there has been a Supreme Being keeping watch, creating; master of fate and divine in definition, watching from Heaven, from Mount Olympus, from Vaikuntha, Jannah, Shamayim. It is this divine being – be it God, Allah, Zeus, Krishna, or Yahweh. The prospect of Gods and Goddesses watching over us – judging our actions, influencing our lifes, causing miracles and travesties - has fueled wars of the past and present, taking millions of lives. Our calendar is filled with religion-based holidays; schools give students a break in winter for Christmas, and a break in spring for Easter; it is difficult to go a day without hearing about a religious debate. What is it, then, that makes deities – celestial beings that might not exist - so revered?
The powerful concept of a Supreme Being is unique to our species. None of humanity's predecessors had this concept; and perhaps this is why they died out while we thrive. This belief, however, seems to cause more problems than good – and what if nobody is correct? Is there truly a divine force in the world?
Let us assume there is a divine force, and let us assume that this divine force is the Christian God – one of the most popular religions. Let us also assume that the Bible is His word verbatim, and as it is His word it should be followed, even in every day life. The world, then, was not created over millions over years, but in a mere six days. The sun and time are propelled by God – the can stand still, and time can go backward. Food can multiply to feed the hungry; magic exists; under the Earth is a fiery pit, designed to torture souls of non-believes; high above the clouds, with food and mansions, dwells a kingdom reserved for the followers of God. He is a 'civilized' God, in a Christian view, compared to other Gods. This God, however, required animal and human sacrifices much like the 'savage' Gods of the Aztecs; He punished families into the fourth generation. On his orders pregnant women and children were dashed upon rocks until nothing was left but a bloody mass; women are inferior to men, the white race reigns supreme, and the crippled must not look his way, for fear of being smited. Should this God exist, and play with our lives, one would live in fear of eternal damnation, of fire raining from the skies and of the water rising above the mountains.
Perhaps, though, this divine force isn't God, but Allah. Then which Allah is he – of fundamentalist mentality, or of everyday men? Should he be of everyday men then he is a peaceful being, who teaches one to be honorable, kind, and humble. He states that one should not kill unjustly, that one should care for an orphaned child, and to refrain from being arrogant in your beliefs. If he is the fundamentalists' Allah, however, he is a God who promotes religious warfare. In His eyes there can be only one God, the Allah; tolerance is forbidden. Women are inferior, and every court case, every dispute, is settled by sharia law. There are the Muslims shown in life; the peaceful Muslims have all but ceased to exist in these times, grouped together with fundamentalists as terrorists. It is easy for one to forget that Muhammed's army fed and treated defeated Christan troops, while Christian crusaders slaughtered thousands.
Should this be the God that exists, what should the world be? Should it be split in half, or left to rot under an indecisive God? Such a terrifying world that would be.
Supposing, though, there is no God. Where do moral standards come from? Are humans born with the natural instinct to discern right from wrong? Some seem to be born with such an instinct; others do not; and even if God was proven to be a myth, the concept would live on. It is difficult to describe death to a child – and thus we say that the deceased is 'in a happier place, watching over you'. We use 'God', 'Christ', and 'Lord' in every day language, carelessly flinging them into conversation. There will always be fantastic stories derived from the Bible – Noah's Ark, Jonah and the Whale, Adam and Eve; stories that teach good morals. It is possibly the belief of God that gives humanity hope – 'times may be dark, but the Lord will make the sun rise again'. It is a belief that has been passed down for hundreds of years, scaring citizens into abiding by the laws of humanity, in fear of eternal suffering.
Does God, then, truly exist? He is a cultural figure, yes, influencing stories and life; beauty, it is said, comes from God. His angels are symbols for all that is good and right; the Devil and his demons are vile, hated creatures, standing for all that is terrible. He influences life in major ways, despite never showing His face, and never leaving a trace of himself.
Perhaps he exists, then, in the human mind. It is easy to believe that any good thing is an act of divine force, that each life has a purpose and at the end of the tunnel there is a reward for being good; it is nice to think that there is a Heavenly Father, who loves humanity as a whole, and watches over us, rewarding and punishing us like a stern parent. When one needs hope and guidance, the answer seems to be to find a religion, and believe in that deity; then, when things look up, credit is given to the Supreme Being chosen, and a new follower is earned. It brings us closer together in the form of churches, temples, mosques and synagogues; it forms charities and help programs such as Islamic Relief USA and the Belmont House. It fueled discoveries of new states, of new nations; without religion, the United States of America might not have grown to its size, because ideas of religious tolerance and Manifest Destiny – a double-edged blade on its own – would have never occurred.
What of atheism and agnosticism, then, if God exists in the human mind? Perhaps they have nothing to believe in but science or fate – that what will be, will be. Maybe they believe in karma – that by doing good deeds, good deeds will come back unto themselves.
Or perhaps they have nothing to believe in – jaded, hurt, left alone in the dark. They might find some kind of religion later in life, after a miraculous change for the better; or they might be strong enough to function without need of a divine force, operating on the belief that life is life – controlled only by random bouts of human development and interruptions.
This concept that God exists only in the human mind would be ideal, if it weren't for the fact that God can neither be proven or debunked. It is the inability to prove or disprove a celestial being that leads to wars, and ultimately to death. If it were accepted worldwide that each man, woman, and child had – or had not the need for – a special, individual God in their minds, then there would be no need for bloodbaths over which God is true; there would be no hate crimes over race or sexuality, because the religious books would never have been written.
God exists, but He is not real. He is but a mere figment of our imagination, created to help us cope in life and bring us closer to those of our own criteria – and drive us away from those who are different. The belief in a Supreme Being brings food to the hungry, and death to innocents; this concept spurs both hate, and love. As His existence is proven only by war, it is a but a mere step to logically assume that God is real only in the mind of men.
