Atheism: Shouldn't it Be Obvious?
Growing up, I never pondered the existence of God much, nor did I think much about religion. Then, at the age of 15, I was exposed to the theory of evolution and the big bang theory, and suddenly, as if it had been at the back of my mind all along, all thoughts of believing in God as the creator flew out the proverbial window. Science could explain creation much better than religion. It just made so much more sense. And with God the creator out of the way, it was easy to see that the idea of a god in itself really held no water, nor did heaven or hell.
Now, this was in 1970, and the hippie movement was still pretty much in full swing, and being a young hippie myself, it wasn't hard to find freethinking individuals with whom agnosticism and atheism were not blasphemous ideas. But as I grew older, my beliefs were met with ever-stiffening resistance. I figured it out at 15. What was it that kept people in the dark?
I believe it was Karl Marx who said that religion was the opium of the people, and this began to make sense. People, including myself, have an innate fear of death. We are the only animals that know we are going to die (with some possible exceptions aside). It is a comforting feeling if one can believe in an afterlife, and all the religions of the world teach of an afterlife of some sort. I suppose one can believe in life after death without religion, but religion gives afterlife a framework with which one can more easily feel at ease. But life after death is just wishful thinking, a way to allay one's fear of death. I myself believe that at some point a rational adult would figure this out, but very few have. As they say, ignorance is bliss.
What really boggles my mind are the people that believe in the fundamentalist teachings of creationism. I forgive those who for lack of a better education believe in creationism--they know not better. But for those that can go to a library and crack a book or get on a computer and search the Internet, they can look up the facts and have no excuse. Overwhelming scientific evidence supports the theory of evolution. And if it's good enough for the scientific community the members of which spend their lives in the pursuit of truth, it should be good enough for anyone. And with this latest push to teach creationism albeit intelligent design in public schools as a competing theory with evolution, I say to its backers, shame on you. You should know better.
Fundamentalism in any religion is bad--history has proven that time and time again with horrible atrocities as the result-- but fundamentalist Islam has given rise to fanatical Muslims hell-bent on destroying everything Western. But why? The United States is not blameless. For the better part of a century its various administrations have cultivated a residue of hatred by propping up fascist régimes around the world with only its own self-interest in mind. It should have come as no surprise that terrorism would reach its shores.
But this sudden hatred against everything Danish over a political cartoon should really make one think. If a cartoon can set in motion such destruction by militant Muslims, what will be next? What will happen when a faction of fanatical Muslims get hold of a nuclear device? It's only a matter of time. Detonated in the wrong place, it could spell out World War III, which would end civilization as we know it. It may already be too late.
Now, this was in 1970, and the hippie movement was still pretty much in full swing, and being a young hippie myself, it wasn't hard to find freethinking individuals with whom agnosticism and atheism were not blasphemous ideas. But as I grew older, my beliefs were met with ever-stiffening resistance. I figured it out at 15. What was it that kept people in the dark?
I believe it was Karl Marx who said that religion was the opium of the people, and this began to make sense. People, including myself, have an innate fear of death. We are the only animals that know we are going to die (with some possible exceptions aside). It is a comforting feeling if one can believe in an afterlife, and all the religions of the world teach of an afterlife of some sort. I suppose one can believe in life after death without religion, but religion gives afterlife a framework with which one can more easily feel at ease. But life after death is just wishful thinking, a way to allay one's fear of death. I myself believe that at some point a rational adult would figure this out, but very few have. As they say, ignorance is bliss.
What really boggles my mind are the people that believe in the fundamentalist teachings of creationism. I forgive those who for lack of a better education believe in creationism--they know not better. But for those that can go to a library and crack a book or get on a computer and search the Internet, they can look up the facts and have no excuse. Overwhelming scientific evidence supports the theory of evolution. And if it's good enough for the scientific community the members of which spend their lives in the pursuit of truth, it should be good enough for anyone. And with this latest push to teach creationism albeit intelligent design in public schools as a competing theory with evolution, I say to its backers, shame on you. You should know better.
Fundamentalism in any religion is bad--history has proven that time and time again with horrible atrocities as the result-- but fundamentalist Islam has given rise to fanatical Muslims hell-bent on destroying everything Western. But why? The United States is not blameless. For the better part of a century its various administrations have cultivated a residue of hatred by propping up fascist régimes around the world with only its own self-interest in mind. It should have come as no surprise that terrorism would reach its shores.
But this sudden hatred against everything Danish over a political cartoon should really make one think. If a cartoon can set in motion such destruction by militant Muslims, what will be next? What will happen when a faction of fanatical Muslims get hold of a nuclear device? It's only a matter of time. Detonated in the wrong place, it could spell out World War III, which would end civilization as we know it. It may already be too late.
posted by John Ivey at 6:22 PM
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