I’m a nonaffiliated atheist. Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t believe in the existence of a divine being, or the supernatural. I do not believe in creationism, in fact I never accept abracadabra as an answer to anything. Furthermore, if I had to choose between a simplistic answer, a silly answer and no answer at all, I would undoubtedly choose the latter. My reasoning is that one hundred years ago, people had many more questions. In one hundred years from now, people will have less questions than we do today, or at least the variety of questions they will have in the future would be somewhat different, as some mysteries would have been resolved then. It always has been true, and it always will. The conclusion is simple: today’s mystery is tomorrow’s discovery. Today’s religion is tomorrow’s science. I can wait. In any case, even if I did believe in some super duper being, there’s no way any God would just sit there watching His or Her followers making such a petty, jealous, vindictive being out of Him or Her.
As I was reading Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” I took notes. The book spells out many thoughts that crossed my mind over the years, but I couldn’t put down in words. I know it’s inappropriate to use this figure of speech in this context, yet I can’t resist. If I believed in God, I would have said: “God bless Richard Dawkins”. As I don’t believe in God, I would resort to “Live Long and Prosper”, as our brethren the Vulcan say…
As a scientist, I believe in anything that the evidence supports. Once one shred of evidence to the contrary shows up, I stop believing in a blink of an eye. I believe that evolution is the correct way to explain our presence here, and the presence of many other species. It is clear, easy to accept, and the amount of evidence to support it is vast. The alternative has much bigger questions. God is only one of them: who made God? Must have been a greater God, and so forth ad nausea. If anything, a superb being such as God will probably arrive at the end of the evolution rather than at its beginning…
So how did it happen to us? There must be some benefit in religion, otherwise, natural selection would have gotten rid of it. Then again, natural selection works really slowly, the homo sapiens has only been here for a short time, and religion showed up merely three thousand years ago, so there’s still a chance. Dawkins provides a beautiful explanation for how religion keeps going. Dawkins suggests that there’s certainly a great benefit in listening to the elders. Listening and obeying without questioning. The reason is simple: it may save a child’s life. “Beware of that tiger/snake/enemy”, is a statement nobody should ignore. What if during childhood, statements like this one are peppered with others like: “pray three or five times a day”, “don’t shave”, “sacrifice a goat”? Children don’t have good ways to distinguish the life saving advise from the bull. So on one hand children are encouraged to not question directives, on the other they are given some really strange instructions born in the mind of some lunatic, who accepts it as a superior way of life. I am proud to be a broken link. I was brought up religious, but my children, at least the ones who live with me, are trained to be open minded, inquisitive, and curious.
Often, too often, people suggest that religion is associated with doing good. And that without religion, people will really be and do bad. Bull. Common sense is a much better and consistent teacher when it comes to doing good. If one only accepts one rule: “That which is hateful to you do not do to your friend.” Think about it: one doesn’t want to be murdered, stolen from, spouse taken away. Well, don’t do it to others. Religion, however, suggests that “Him, who is different from us, shall be killed in many strange and creative ways”. Stoned, bombed, buried alive, burned, drowned, and who knows how many other ways… Common sense or religion, I choose common sense over religion every day of the week, except Sabbath. Just kidding…
But what I really despise about religion is that there’s no argument. “I’m right and that’s the end of it”. The bible, taken literally, is hardly acceptable to many extremely religious people there days. Allegory, they suggest. But these are the smart, educated people. Many still believe in Adam and Eve, that the world has been created, in seven days, less than six thousand years ago. They believe that Abraham actually almost sacrificed his only son, that the Hebrews built the pyramids, and had the sea opened up for them as they were leaving Egypt to accept the Torah at Mount Sinai. Others believe that a certain girl gave birth to God with no interference of a male, yet they claim that the same person is Messiah based on his life line through his father, who wasn’t even involved. The amount of bizarre beliefs on the planet may in fact supersede the amount of species that had lived on it in the past, the present and future combined. Amazingly, all believers think that Their God is the only one, that Their customs are genuine, and They and only They will experience salvation.
As for me, I couldn’t be more different. I doubt everything. Indeed, my life is more challenging, but I’m happy with it. Again, if I had to pick the open question or the silly answer, I will go with the open question.
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