I have always wanted to write a '10 Things blah blah' or '10 Reasons why blah blah' article, and when I had a rather philosophical conversation with my sister and her hubby yesterday, I decided to go for it. I dont believe in the existence of a God, or in any Religion and
I think that if you do believe in a deity, or multiple ones for that matter, you have been had in what is a very old hoax that just refuses to die its natural death. So here are 10 reasons why I dont and cant believe in God:
1. Science baby!
My first and foremost argument, if I may call it so, is Science! Good old science with her theories and proofs. The best thing about science, and also the most frustrating thing sometimes is proof. When someone discovers something, or invents something, he has to prove it. Nobody has to take your word for granted and there is no such thing as faith involved. You only have to look back at the annals of history to see how many misconceptions and half truths were buried by noble inventors and scientists, who also paved the way for all the modern technological wonders we enjoy today. There's no magic or miracle involved here, no 'leap of faith' required, all well proven and well understood scientific discoveries.
Ah but say anything that religion/God doesn't agree with, and you will be persecuted and probably murdered. History is littered with great thinkers and scholars who were thrown to the gallows for daring to utter a single word against religious truths and dogma. To think that the priests and clergy would say that the earth was the center of the universe! One only needs to take one look at the stars and you know it isn't true.
2. But there are so many daddy!
When it comes to religion, one size does not fit all. Today there are six or seven major religions, each with a staggering amount of followers each. That in itself is damning evidence, if I may say so. Considering that if you believe in a particular religion, and that makes you a infidel by almost all other religions, almost everyone on planet earth is going to hell one way or the other. Though there
does tend to be a common thread running through all the religions, some of them are simply too crazy to even consider joining up, and yet they have mass followings! Makes you wonder what kind of circus we are living in, but then, all these religions together do make for interesting viewing for a casual observer like me. To put the cherry on the cake, there are more religion related and ethnic cleansing deaths than all other causes put together.
3. Oh the humanity!
Terrorism, the only word that can make a shiver run up the most hardened man's spine, and the only word that a wise man would not speak lightly of. Religion seems to bring out the most insane, sadistic, cruel side of a human being, and this has been the case for thousands of years. Tens of millions of people have died because they either didn't 'fit in' to the reigning supernatural belief, or that they were trying to make others fit to theirs. In fact there are many countries that have shed any pretenses of secularism and proudly tout the fact that they are havens for believers of a particular religion. It is tragic that man has no tolerance for a different way of life; all must be the same, believe in the same, and many are ready to kill or die trying to make this happen. It is our differences and the variety of life that makes it all multicolored and stunning to look at. Sameness is not and can never be much to talk about. Imagine how boring it would all be, if all the world was like a fast food franchise, the same darned thing everywhere.
4. The numbers don't add up sonny!
The Bible says that the earth is 6000 years old. But there is a staggering amount of evidence pointing to the contrary. There are many artifacts, fossils of ancient animals, rock formations and a multitude of such things that are many million years old. Ask the scholars of any religion to explain the contradiction of Earth being created by God and the colossal amount of evidence for evolution that exists, and they either don't have an answer, or their answers just raise more questions. So tell me, God created all the things on earth, and then buried fossils here and there to have a little fun did he?
5. Moral compass my foot.
My theist friends always throw this at me whenever I question their beliefs; imagine the horror of being without a moral compass, for if there were no God, man would become an immoral heathen, bent on raping and murdering all that he sees. Excuse me, but I don't need a God or a religious book to tell me that raping someone is a crime.
I know what good and evil are, what right and wrong are and I know this because of the morals instilled in me in my childhood. Doesn't good parenthood take care of most moral dilemmas anyway? Do you really need a holy book to tell you that loving thy neighbor is a good idea, or that killing someone is not?
6. Fate - a four lettered word.
I am sick and tired of hearing people say, 'It was meant to be', or 'its all a part of God's plan. If God has a plan for all of us, then do we not have free will? Are we just puppets in a grand show that is being played for someone's entertainment at our expense? A certain religion even speaks of Karma, where the sins of one life will be paid for in another. I find this ridiculous and hard to comprehend. Why is it so hard for people to accept that there is no meaning to it all? That there is only one life and the purpose of your life is what you make of it. That death is truly the end, and there is no afterlife or another life for that matter. If there is such a thing as fate or destiny, are children born with AIDS in Africa fated to live short lives of extreme agony and humiliation? Is that really their destiny, to live such lives? Or are they being punished for crimes of other men? When an old friend of mine passed away in a brutal accident in the prime of his life, I often wondered what the purpose of his life was. Ask a priest the same question, and he would probably reply, 'Man cannot comprehend all that God does, for if God is a human being, then our understanding of our world is that of an ant.' Such answers just serve to make me feel like I am just a puppet and a part of a cruel joke that will never end.
7. Aliens: the truth is out there.
There are billions and billions of stars in millions in galaxies throughout the universe. Are we really so foolish to think that the earth is the only place in the entire universe where intelligent life can exist? Were we one day to establish the existence of alien life beyond doubt, where does that leave all the holy books that say that the earth is the only haven for men, and all else was created for a starry sky? Would these books be then re-written to take these new alien beings into account? Not that it hasnt been done already many times over. Just the existence of the Old and New testaments are proof enough that these books don't and can't encompass all that is out there.
8. The Chaos theory
Chaos is just as capable of creating our world as is intelligent design. In fact it is the more likely, since the minute you accept the possibility of a Creator, isnt the question of his origin automatically the next one? Some believers push the complexity of nature's creations as solid proof that an intelligent creator exists, for how could chance and a soulless nature create such wonders? Taken at face value this is a very good question. But Science has an answer. The complexity and marvels we see around us did not arise overnight. These creations are the result of a slow and stunning process called evolution. Take the example of the human eye. It is a design that is unparalleled in Science in terms of ability and complexity. But this wonder evolved over hundreds of prototypes of millions of creatures, that began from a humble single celled organism, and then hundreds of differently abled sight devices in all our ancestors. Nature's splendor is no accident or a Spiritual being's brainchild. It is the culmination of a long and much convoluted process of minute additions and improvements.
9. The arrogance of it all
To state that all the fantastic and stunning creatures of our world were all created to make a beautiful and varied home for the human beings is arrogance of extreme proportions. All the mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, insects and every other form of life are as much a citizen of our blue planet as we are. Even women are much inferior to men according to most religions, and to refuse to treat them as equals stinks of an ill-conceived attempt to gain the upper hand. I cannot and will not place myself above any of nature's creations, for if global warming, weather fluctuations and natural catastrophes are anything to go by, nature does not appreciate the condescension.
10. The beginning question
Where did we all come from? Why were we created? What is the purpose of it all? We are back to the same old question that has made man look up the heavens, pardon the reference, and come up with all kinds of crazy answers. A close perusal of the long dead religions of our ancestors and you will see that they were not as different from the modern ones as you might think. Yes the names and number of deities might differ, and yes the rituals and practices are changed too, but isnt it all in the same vein? That man is but a humble creation of a great power that is beyond our comprehension. I end this rant with a simple answer to all of man's origin dilemmas: the universe has just been there all the time. There is no beginning and no end, just as there may never be an end to the mass worldwide delusion that is Religion.
I think that if you do believe in a deity, or multiple ones for that matter, you have been had in what is a very old hoax that just refuses to die its natural death. So here are 10 reasons why I dont and cant believe in God:
1. Science baby!
My first and foremost argument, if I may call it so, is Science! Good old science with her theories and proofs. The best thing about science, and also the most frustrating thing sometimes is proof. When someone discovers something, or invents something, he has to prove it. Nobody has to take your word for granted and there is no such thing as faith involved. You only have to look back at the annals of history to see how many misconceptions and half truths were buried by noble inventors and scientists, who also paved the way for all the modern technological wonders we enjoy today. There's no magic or miracle involved here, no 'leap of faith' required, all well proven and well understood scientific discoveries.Ah but say anything that religion/God doesn't agree with, and you will be persecuted and probably murdered. History is littered with great thinkers and scholars who were thrown to the gallows for daring to utter a single word against religious truths and dogma. To think that the priests and clergy would say that the earth was the center of the universe! One only needs to take one look at the stars and you know it isn't true.
2. But there are so many daddy!
When it comes to religion, one size does not fit all. Today there are six or seven major religions, each with a staggering amount of followers each. That in itself is damning evidence, if I may say so. Considering that if you believe in a particular religion, and that makes you a infidel by almost all other religions, almost everyone on planet earth is going to hell one way or the other. Though there
3. Oh the humanity!
Terrorism, the only word that can make a shiver run up the most hardened man's spine, and the only word that a wise man would not speak lightly of. Religion seems to bring out the most insane, sadistic, cruel side of a human being, and this has been the case for thousands of years. Tens of millions of people have died because they either didn't 'fit in' to the reigning supernatural belief, or that they were trying to make others fit to theirs. In fact there are many countries that have shed any pretenses of secularism and proudly tout the fact that they are havens for believers of a particular religion. It is tragic that man has no tolerance for a different way of life; all must be the same, believe in the same, and many are ready to kill or die trying to make this happen. It is our differences and the variety of life that makes it all multicolored and stunning to look at. Sameness is not and can never be much to talk about. Imagine how boring it would all be, if all the world was like a fast food franchise, the same darned thing everywhere.
4. The numbers don't add up sonny!
The Bible says that the earth is 6000 years old. But there is a staggering amount of evidence pointing to the contrary. There are many artifacts, fossils of ancient animals, rock formations and a multitude of such things that are many million years old. Ask the scholars of any religion to explain the contradiction of Earth being created by God and the colossal amount of evidence for evolution that exists, and they either don't have an answer, or their answers just raise more questions. So tell me, God created all the things on earth, and then buried fossils here and there to have a little fun did he?
5. Moral compass my foot.
My theist friends always throw this at me whenever I question their beliefs; imagine the horror of being without a moral compass, for if there were no God, man would become an immoral heathen, bent on raping and murdering all that he sees. Excuse me, but I don't need a God or a religious book to tell me that raping someone is a crime.
6. Fate - a four lettered word.
I am sick and tired of hearing people say, 'It was meant to be', or 'its all a part of God's plan. If God has a plan for all of us, then do we not have free will? Are we just puppets in a grand show that is being played for someone's entertainment at our expense? A certain religion even speaks of Karma, where the sins of one life will be paid for in another. I find this ridiculous and hard to comprehend. Why is it so hard for people to accept that there is no meaning to it all? That there is only one life and the purpose of your life is what you make of it. That death is truly the end, and there is no afterlife or another life for that matter. If there is such a thing as fate or destiny, are children born with AIDS in Africa fated to live short lives of extreme agony and humiliation? Is that really their destiny, to live such lives? Or are they being punished for crimes of other men? When an old friend of mine passed away in a brutal accident in the prime of his life, I often wondered what the purpose of his life was. Ask a priest the same question, and he would probably reply, 'Man cannot comprehend all that God does, for if God is a human being, then our understanding of our world is that of an ant.' Such answers just serve to make me feel like I am just a puppet and a part of a cruel joke that will never end.
7. Aliens: the truth is out there.
There are billions and billions of stars in millions in galaxies throughout the universe. Are we really so foolish to think that the earth is the only place in the entire universe where intelligent life can exist? Were we one day to establish the existence of alien life beyond doubt, where does that leave all the holy books that say that the earth is the only haven for men, and all else was created for a starry sky? Would these books be then re-written to take these new alien beings into account? Not that it hasnt been done already many times over. Just the existence of the Old and New testaments are proof enough that these books don't and can't encompass all that is out there.
8. The Chaos theory
Chaos is just as capable of creating our world as is intelligent design. In fact it is the more likely, since the minute you accept the possibility of a Creator, isnt the question of his origin automatically the next one? Some believers push the complexity of nature's creations as solid proof that an intelligent creator exists, for how could chance and a soulless nature create such wonders? Taken at face value this is a very good question. But Science has an answer. The complexity and marvels we see around us did not arise overnight. These creations are the result of a slow and stunning process called evolution. Take the example of the human eye. It is a design that is unparalleled in Science in terms of ability and complexity. But this wonder evolved over hundreds of prototypes of millions of creatures, that began from a humble single celled organism, and then hundreds of differently abled sight devices in all our ancestors. Nature's splendor is no accident or a Spiritual being's brainchild. It is the culmination of a long and much convoluted process of minute additions and improvements.
9. The arrogance of it all
To state that all the fantastic and stunning creatures of our world were all created to make a beautiful and varied home for the human beings is arrogance of extreme proportions. All the mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, insects and every other form of life are as much a citizen of our blue planet as we are. Even women are much inferior to men according to most religions, and to refuse to treat them as equals stinks of an ill-conceived attempt to gain the upper hand. I cannot and will not place myself above any of nature's creations, for if global warming, weather fluctuations and natural catastrophes are anything to go by, nature does not appreciate the condescension.
10. The beginning question
Where did we all come from? Why were we created? What is the purpose of it all? We are back to the same old question that has made man look up the heavens, pardon the reference, and come up with all kinds of crazy answers. A close perusal of the long dead religions of our ancestors and you will see that they were not as different from the modern ones as you might think. Yes the names and number of deities might differ, and yes the rituals and practices are changed too, but isnt it all in the same vein? That man is but a humble creation of a great power that is beyond our comprehension. I end this rant with a simple answer to all of man's origin dilemmas: the universe has just been there all the time. There is no beginning and no end, just as there may never be an end to the mass worldwide delusion that is Religion.
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