The latter part of the title refers mostly to my fictional characters: I create them, right? And they cannot fathom me unless I will it? - In which case, I'd better have a damn good reason.
I think I've personally broken the record for images in one post. But believe it or not, I was not thinking of "graven images" until after. Of course I'm not taking them down. And now, the reason for this post: a semi-imaginary conversation between myself and a religious nut. I am not attempting to portray any generalization of one group; I merely mean to point out the flaws in certain areas of religious reasoning and logic.
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NUT. Do you believe in God?
ME. Not sure. I don't think there is sufficient evidence.
NUT. He does not live on evidence, but on faith! Who do you think created you??
ME. My...parents?
NUT. Well, who created them?
ME. Their parents? It's a chicken-and-egg question.
NUT. So you just admitted that you don't know!
ME. I did not! There was no need to admit something I wasn't hiding. I don't know if He, or She, or Whatever, exists. At least I don't pretend to.
NUT (taken aback). How dare you! I know He exists, because He visited me in a dream! *1
ME. I suppose, by that line of reasoning, that a three-headed green cow exists?
NUT. Of course not.
ME. But I saw Her in a dream! I could swear up and down until the cows come home, no pun intended, yet still there's no reason for me to believe you.
NUT. Gahh, you will burn in Hell!
ME. If there is such a place, do open the door for me when I join you.
My personal theory is that, while there may be some sort of higher being, perhaps of time or a separate spatial dimension, or even a writer (I couldn't know if I was fictional) - but some of these claims are utter bogus. For example, according to the Law of Conservation of Mass, nothing can simply vanish from all of existence, or be newly created for that matter. There are so many quarks, atoms, etc. in our universe, particles, which at one point - (billions?) of years ago - formed amino acids and eventually led to simple life. I just combined memories from my past two science classes. Hooray for memory! Also, I think that either to explain or comfort, people create myths and such. Explanation includes Zeus of lightning and comfort implies scenes such as a loved one's deathbed. "You'll go to Heaven and see [another loved one]!" - which is a bit more socially acceptable than "You'll be turned to ashes and spread" or "You'll rot in the earth until your cold, unfeeling bones wither away through the centuries." Personally I wouldn't mind that, although I'll probably be cremated. People create deities in terror, pray "just in case" in an emergency but never otherwise, etc.
Again, I have many friends of many religions, so I'm not knocking any beliefs; rather, I am questioning the foundations of faith and knocking those who attempt to push their doctrines down others' throats.
I do believe in doing good things for others, and I don't have to worship anyone/-thing to do so.
*1 - I never had any such dream, but it served its purpose, I hope.
First: there are plenty of people who pray when things are perfectly good, and religion doesn't just play a comfort role-it provides artistic and moral inspiration as well. Religious bigots are annoying as hell, yeah, but that's not really religion's fault.
ReplyDeleteSecond: there is actually a whole class of subatomic particles that wink in and out of existence at random, completely violating the Law of Conservation of Mass.
I don't believe that a religion is at fault for bigoted members. I was pointing out select people.
ReplyDeleteAnd really? They never taught me that. Huh. Anyhow, it's possible that they are of a higher dimension, I suppose?