THE BAFFLING MYTH OF BELIEF

How is it that that vast majority subscribes to beliefs that have absolutely no basis in fact, much less science? How is it, knowing what I know, that I find myself in such a small minority? How can an intelligent and educated group of people abdicate what their senses and their intellect tell them and believe in a concept that is in irrefutable conflict with provable realities?

How can that same majority believe in a premise based on ancient writings that are rife with conflicts, inconsistencies, half-truths and outright distortions of the truth? At least science is self-correcting. But religion and belief in a God, is a distorted exercise of constant confusion and wild interpretations that continuously circle around upon themselves, leading to endless conflict. It is anything but self-correcting.

How is it we give such importance to emanations from people that lived over two and three thousand years ago and yet ignore what provable facts, scientific observations, undisputed theories and “truths” tell us? Why were religions created between 1,500 to 3,000 years ago? Why not now?

Why did the Catholic Church spend 1,500 years vigorously squelching scientific discoveries, under the punishment of death or banishment for the perpetrators? Why now is the Catholic Church reeling under a large segment of the priesthood who have fallen from grace by committing violent, illegal acts against children, all the while being covered up by bishops, cardinals and the Pope? Why indeed? Could it be that the basic premise is flawed?

For those third-world civilizations that lack education and even the bare necessities of life, it is wholly understandable that they would grasp on to “something” if that “something” promises them “light” in a medieval darkness and is told to them by an authority that they will not or dare not question. And maybe this is exactly how ancient civilizations were convinced. But for well-educated individuals to buy into the same archaic myth is undeniably baffling.

All religions have a few common tenets. Primarily the most important tenet is to get people to behave in a prescribed way, which changes over time. The method to extract compliance is fear and intimidation; namely fear of reprisals from God, fear of not ascending into Heaven at death and fear of the “Fire and Brimstone” of Hell. All three fears are the fears of apparitions with no provable evidence of their reality. Pray tell what could God do to us that random acts of fate don’t do to us almost every day of our lives. Millions of people have died in wars, pestilence and famine perpetrated by small-minded despots exercising dictatorial control over un-educated and naïve populations.

Secondly, only one person has supposedly returned from Heaven and the evidence for such an extraordinary event is only hearsay and very old. And finally, the only Hell that exists no doubt is the one we experience here on this Earth.

Three of the five major religions believe in a “one god”, whether God’s name be “God”, “Jehovah” or “Allah”. The Hindu religion believes in thousands of gods. The Buddhist religion has no known deity attached to it at all, but rather believes that there are eight “right” ways to help people behave in the “right” way. Only now the monks tend to worship the statue of Buddha as a God.

So what is truly the “right” way? Are the Hindus right? Are the Muslims right? Are the Christians right? Are the Jews right? Are the Buddhists right? And if there is in fact a God, what possible dimensions and characteristics could we prescribe to that God. I am totally convinced by evidence that we are very far from knowing if there is a God, much less what characteristics we can subscribe to him, her or it, just as we are very far from unraveling the secrets and dimensions of our Universe. The difference is that we can measure the dimensions of the Universe with instruments of science, but there is no scientific way to measure the dimensions of a God that won't speak directly to us or give us specific signs that we can measure.

I suppose one could say that God is dimensionless and un-definable. Someone called this “the square that is not there”. If such is the case, then why would we put so much stock in something that is dimensionless, un-definable and unknowable? We don’t bow to the Universe as we learn its dimensions. We don’t give homage to the Sun for the very reason we can define it in many terms. The ancients did, but they didn't know any better. The Sun is a mystery no longer in most respects. Someday, we may know and define the dimensions of the Universe and remove its mystery. Someday we may even find a link between the Universe and some Intelligence that finally presents itself by some measurable manifestation. And then again, we may find just the opposite. We may find that the Universe is completely definable and there is no link whatsoever to a deity, just as we have found that the Sun is not a deity and nothing more than a nuclear furnace that heats our home.

Unfortunately, like all tenets of any religion, they are subject to interpretation by every individual that reads them and that’s wherein lies the basic problem. My interpretation of the so-called sacred writings may conflict so badly with yours that I may go to war to prove to you that my interpretation is right, especially if I possess a greater power than you. In other words, drive it down your throat, whether you like it or not. History is replete with such wars. The next problem comes when we try to translate those sacred writings from one language to another. So much gets lost in the translation by the ineptness and biases of the translator. The Bible was written first in Hebrew, then Greek and finally English. The possibilities for translation errors, is almost infinite. What value does the ancient writings have, if the translations induce significant errors?

And then comes religion’s ritual and liturgy. Each religion has its customary rituals that are practiced routinely when those of the same faith gather together. The Catholics are still waiving a little tin cup around with smoking incense rising into the rafters. Muslims must bow towards Mecca five times a day. And have you observed a Jewish ceremony? It's almost tribal. But why should that be so surprising when life during ancient times, which these ceremonies mirror, was mostly feudal and tribal. You were either rich or poor then. There was no in between. No middle class. And the rich and privileged, lorded over the poor.

All religions are steeped in tradition, cultural idiosyncrasies and liturgy. Over time these traditions change, sometimes drastically. And what do these rituals accomplish, scientifically? Is there something magical about incense smoke and why bow towards Mecca five times a day? Why not 2 or 10 times? And why the Crusades? And why the Witch Hunts of post Medieval Europe and the New World?

Thousands of years ago, men sacrificed a young virgin to appease the Gods. Or they laid dead animals at some alter. In fact, what did these rituals accomplish? Absolutely nothing, except in the distorted, naive minds of their perpetrators and the crowds that gathered around to witness them. Most of these ceremonies were founded on fear, intimidation and uncontrolled emotions.

Now, fanatical members of the Islamic religion want Americans and Israelis to die because we live decadent lives and practice Satanism in violation of their interpretation of a book called the Qur’an, written over 1,500 years ago by a man who decreed that men should only have four wives, (he had ten) and that “men are in charge of women”. After the fanatics attack the U.S. with an unprecedented loss of life, many Americans attempt to find solace in their own religions that are based on 2 to 3 thousand year-old emanations from ancient peoples who had absolutely no perception of today’s reality.

The provable reality is that we are but a very young and successful species on the third planet from a common star, in a garden-variety galaxy among billions of similar galaxies, in a Universe, the dimensions of which are not yet fully known. This reality does not make us small and unimportant. On the contrary, it makes us aware of who and where we are and the great potential for discoveries that lie ahead of us as we wonder about and explore our emerging Universe.

This reality does not make us immoral. It allows us to explore the solid reasons why morality among people is an absolute necessity if we are to live in peace with one another and raise our children in love, strength and provable truths. Morality is pragmatic, not deity created. When will we finally grow out of antiquity and quit fighting over apparitions? f there is a God, he already gave us the tools, our minds. If everyone had the same knowledge, one person or group could not “lord” over another. Only education in provable facts and the eradication of non-truths will allow us to continue as a very successful species.

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http://www.ethicalatheist.com/docs/baffling_myth_of_belief.html