What does the future hold? How does one's vision of the
future impact the way they live their life? Beliefs influence how one reacts
and how they interact with others. Belief systems seem to boil down to one of
two types of world views.
One system
sees a better tomorrow with true human harmony being a reachable goal, even
though it may still be distant today. It will be a time when people can, and
will, work with each other and find a just, lasting, and symbiotic way to make
life better for all who exist here. If we can cooperate in space, at the far
reaches of the planet, in technology, health care, finances, and communication;
then we can equally cooperate in human progress and in human understanding. We
all have more in common than we have that differentiates us. There isn’t a
short term solution. It will require a long term commitment on our part. However,
we have proven that we have the capability, the reasoning, and the desire to
make things better, for ourselves and for those around us. Wouldn’t it be nice
if it turned out we’re all only separated by something like the six degrees of
Kevin Bacon?
The
other belief dictates that mankind is naturally evil and sinful. In this country, the predominant belief system is christianity, but it could just as easily apply to islam or judaism. Those who follow
the christian belief hope, pray, and work for the biblical Armageddon to happen in their lifetime. They believe
Jesus will then come tearing out of the sky to save some of the remaining human
beings who will live for a thousand years with Jesus in control of Earth. Finally, for reasons not very clear, the devil (a supernatural being who was
thrown into a pit when Jesus came back) will be let loose to destroy things on
Earth again. And then, everyone who ever lived on this planet will be tried by
God where a vast majority of them will be judged unworthy of anything but
damnation, and thrown in a lake of fire for all eternity.
Does this sound like the design of
an intelligent supernatural being that transcends time and space? Yet, this is the love and mercy of the Christian
god, according to their bible, and it is the core of the Christian belief. Defenders of Christianity will try to
explain that god doesn’t send people to hell (or the lake of fire); they send
themselves to hell (or the lake of fire). Really? Is it any different than this
scenario?
The Robber says God says
“Give me your money,
or I’ll shoot you!” “Worship me, or burn in hell forever!”
People have free will. People have free will.
They can choose to obey the robber's They can choose to obey God's
commands, or not. commands, or not.
So Robbers do not
kill people. So God does not send people to hell.
People choose to die by People
send themselves there, by
choosing to disobey the robber. choosing
to disobey god.
Would you excuse and pardon the
robber for murdering his victim in this case?
But the ultimate problem is this;
the Christian sees a bleak future that requires a supernatural event to change
it, but they don’t explain how or why it will happen as they claim, except to
repeat passages from their bible, as if that clarifies everything. You just
have to believe, you just have to have faith, you just have to worship their
god and trust that he will make everything right.
The
offer to worship the Christian god is not a choice, it is an ultimatum. The
whole idea is based on a threat. That’s what terrorists do. That’s what the
recent christmas holiday represents; not the birth of a child, but the birth of a method to
threaten you with unimaginable horror. In its most concise form, it is ‘Worship
me or go to hell forever’ which is no different than pointing a loaded gun at
your head and saying “Do as I say, or I’ll pull this trigger.”
I
choose to believe in a very different future for the human race. I do not, for
example, believe we’re on auto-pilot destined for total destruction, nor do I
believe a supernatural event will occur that will resolve, temporarily, the
apparently ghastly conditions we humans have created on Earth. I am certain that humans, with all their flaws and faults, will continue to progress and build toward a better future. There will be set backs and miscues, but we are aiming in the right direction. As long as we don't get sidetracked by allowing religion, ANY religion, to divert our course, we will continue to lay down the building blocks that will lead to a much grander and more equitable future for us and our descendants.
It’s time for the human race to
rise above these two thousand year old superstitions, and throw off the fear, the
belief in a forsaken future, and faith in an unseen, unknowable supernatural
force. We no longer need to be scared of the 'monster under the bed', because it was never
there to begin with; nor do we need magical, invisible friends whom
we converse one-sidely with (in prayer). The bible was written as a means of controlling people. In it, we’re condemned
as being inherently sinful by the very being that, it is claimed, authored the
bible, and we owe that being our lives in perpetuity. Of course, the message of the bible is then touted as the
only salvation available, again according to that supernatural being that
supposedly authored it. When other religions try to use the same argument with
their own holy book, do you believe their claims are true?
The future is far too important to
leave to interpretations that are no different from reading Tarot cards, tea leaves, or the entrails of a slaughtered sheep. I choose the vision that
does not treat human beings as unworthy and must ultimately be saved by an
undefinable supernatural source. We are superior to that and our
eventual growth away from religion will only make our lives and our future that
much better. The day when humankind’s belief in the supernatural is just a
quaint memory, and a footnote in a history book, can’t come soon enough.
