By Carl S ~
After a hard and bitterly cold winter, at last the shoots of daffodils have started appearing. Days of snow had passed, the rains arrived, and the roads were dry again. Just one week ago from this date last year, it was Easter. Ah Easter, the celebration of spring, of nature's restoration of life! People died over the winter, never to be known again except in memories, but the perennials, unlike humans, have their resurrection. But this year, yesterday, it snowed all day and half the night long. What a disappointment. I said, “Oh dammit,” and I'm not alone. Once again, Nature surprised us.
Now, many people still believe a god created this weather system and controls it. Foolish non-observers and non-thinkers. I once had a phone conversation with a pastor. He was talking to me as if I was a kindergarten child, telling me how “proof” for his God is “order in the Universe.” I immediately mentioned exploding stars. But he was too busy preaching, not interested in discussing. After awhile, I got so frustrated and disgusted with his attitude and other b.s. that I hung up.
Did early humans think there was order in the world or “out there?” It's easy to say there's order when you're comfortably surviving. Under their circumstances, they'd likely conclude, as one man said, “The world is out to kill you.” What did cave dwellers or tribal gatherings mean by “god?” If they thought a god really was in control of Nature, (which included the effects of alcohol and hallucinogenics), they'd say he’s the kind of person who plays dirty tricks, manipulating nature and human lives. He isn't fair. In fact, when things got pretty overwhelming, like when the ground kept quaking beneath their feet, or floods wiped out everything they'd built up, they might have said, “Maybe we've done something to piss him off to deserve this.” And, if a few wannabe exploiters of these “maybe-ers” overheard those words, why, what an opportunity for them! You can hear them saying, “Yeah, you're right, because the god speaks to ME, and that's EXACTLY what HE said!” With this, those exploiters got a handle on fear; so sure, why not see how far they can expand their reach into minds and daily experiences with this simple explanation? So it began...
And so we get God-experts who make their living by telling everyone: “God is in control..."And so we get God-experts who make their living by telling everyone: “God is in control, but human thoughts and actions have something to do with HOW he decides to control.” These “experts who know” keep their fingers crossed hoping there won't be “the emperor's new clothes” kind of child to say, “No one's in control, you idiot! Your 'order' is just illusion.” There's chaos, and there's a material universe with material things clumping together because they have no choice. Natural laws make combinations inevitable. Every clump of atoms and every organism is out for its own survival. Whatever works. Some are successful, some fail. Things are or they aren't; it’s the roll of the dice. Hey - you pray that prayer will work when you plant, knowing if you don't nurture what you plant, it dies. And if you still believe a god's in control, you try to appease the god for the same reason: you want yourself, family, crops and property to survive. That doesn't prove the god is real, dummy!
So here we are in the twenty-first century with people STILL believing a supernatural force controls nature, who should be appeased whenever he plays really big dirty tricks: tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. They allow others to tell them to be grateful a god gives them these “opportunities” to thank and praise him for sparing some lives while taking most of the others.
Humankind has come a long way from primitive beginnings, but the human brain contains primitive sections along with the logical and sympathetic ones. Instinctual, childlike, barbaric, non-thinking and fearfully reactive parts of the brain are the basis of religious beliefs. Powerfully primitive. And they're invisible too, just like every god! What a coincidence! Religions want THOSE parts to be in control.
Now, many people still believe a god created this weather system and controls it. Foolish non-observers and non-thinkers. I once had a phone conversation with a pastor. He was talking to me as if I was a kindergarten child, telling me how “proof” for his God is “order in the Universe.” I immediately mentioned exploding stars. But he was too busy preaching, not interested in discussing. After awhile, I got so frustrated and disgusted with his attitude and other b.s. that I hung up.
Did early humans think there was order in the world or “out there?” It's easy to say there's order when you're comfortably surviving. Under their circumstances, they'd likely conclude, as one man said, “The world is out to kill you.” What did cave dwellers or tribal gatherings mean by “god?” If they thought a god really was in control of Nature, (which included the effects of alcohol and hallucinogenics), they'd say he’s the kind of person who plays dirty tricks, manipulating nature and human lives. He isn't fair. In fact, when things got pretty overwhelming, like when the ground kept quaking beneath their feet, or floods wiped out everything they'd built up, they might have said, “Maybe we've done something to piss him off to deserve this.” And, if a few wannabe exploiters of these “maybe-ers” overheard those words, why, what an opportunity for them! You can hear them saying, “Yeah, you're right, because the god speaks to ME, and that's EXACTLY what HE said!” With this, those exploiters got a handle on fear; so sure, why not see how far they can expand their reach into minds and daily experiences with this simple explanation? So it began...
And so we get God-experts who make their living by telling everyone: “God is in control..."And so we get God-experts who make their living by telling everyone: “God is in control, but human thoughts and actions have something to do with HOW he decides to control.” These “experts who know” keep their fingers crossed hoping there won't be “the emperor's new clothes” kind of child to say, “No one's in control, you idiot! Your 'order' is just illusion.” There's chaos, and there's a material universe with material things clumping together because they have no choice. Natural laws make combinations inevitable. Every clump of atoms and every organism is out for its own survival. Whatever works. Some are successful, some fail. Things are or they aren't; it’s the roll of the dice. Hey - you pray that prayer will work when you plant, knowing if you don't nurture what you plant, it dies. And if you still believe a god's in control, you try to appease the god for the same reason: you want yourself, family, crops and property to survive. That doesn't prove the god is real, dummy!
So here we are in the twenty-first century with people STILL believing a supernatural force controls nature, who should be appeased whenever he plays really big dirty tricks: tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. They allow others to tell them to be grateful a god gives them these “opportunities” to thank and praise him for sparing some lives while taking most of the others.
Humankind has come a long way from primitive beginnings, but the human brain contains primitive sections along with the logical and sympathetic ones. Instinctual, childlike, barbaric, non-thinking and fearfully reactive parts of the brain are the basis of religious beliefs. Powerfully primitive. And they're invisible too, just like every god! What a coincidence! Religions want THOSE parts to be in control.
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