Artistic Footprint

This is a continuation of my first page on the topic: The Unknown One

Spirituality is a label for the unknown. It is faith to some, and a hypothesis to others. The unknown always exists; we just haven’t found it yet. Organized religion is a cure for the unknown. This may seem trivial in just one sentence, but consider all the difference that it means. Fate, divinity, entitlement, and personal conscience are polar opposites, and completely different lives are lived. This is not a subject concerning my usual distaste for organized religion, but more of my take on the underlying need for religion. That “hole” that is felt in the absence of god.

Divinity: You begin as a miracle and you are thankful for the life you’ve been in-debted. Immediately you are told the story of where you came from and where you are going. But your entire life is being watched by a divine judge. You understand that you were born a sinner, so you worship, pray, and confess to the almighty so that he will grant you divinity and a place in bliss.

I was born because of a very divine set of circumstances, the timeless chance from when a collection of elements wiggled under their own power, until life began in my mother. Amazing feats accomplished are testament to the desire of life to just be. My life is divine. My home is divine, and I am thankful for the luck to be here. Earth is my bliss, and I hope that one day we will make contact with another lucky planet in the abyss of space.

Altruism: Acts of kindness are reciprocated with more valuable things. The mentality that you are given awards for your deeds can quickly turn into the obvious loophole. Commit an act of goodwill not because of the altruistic nature of the act but for the tasty award afterwards, like a dog begging for a treat.

Faithless people are completely capable of living wholesome, good lives because they understand the repercussions of a good deed. They see the results and as a team of strangers helping each other, they are rewarded by being part of that team that progresses. It’s called human morality.

Entitlement: God has given us the Earth to do with it what we will, and in time Armageddon will come and those worthy will have earned their right to enter heaven. Well your prophecy is right; Armageddon is on its way. It’s called climate change, and it has nothing to do with the decision of a false divinity. Divinity wouldn’t subject such calamitous destruction, only human greed, false sense of entitlement, and lack of appreciation will.

I am at the mercy of Mother Earth. She is untameable and strong willed, and regardless of our impacts, She comes with a reset button. I can be anywhere in the wild and see through unfiltered lenses her beauty, strength, and fragility. Appreciation is not just a kind whisper of thanks for each breath, but to act accordingly to ensure more fills my lungs.

Fate: The idea that we are not in control of our lives has, in my opinion, only startled creationists and made them fear. Firstly, this is a symptom of a lack of trust in their divine chess-player, and secondly, has given the opportunity to invent the concept of “free will” This is a monumental step forwards towards being able to figure things out for yourself, but still carries the taint of a limiting set of rules. god may have a plan for you, but your plan isn’t working. I see a species of humans with 5 senses, and we adore being curious with them. Testing, inventing, and questioning. Organized religion kills this curiosity with its answer to all the things unknown, in an effort to cure our fear of them.

Self Conscious: We are in an amazing time. Unprecedented scientific advances are being made, and I mean that in the sense of: Humans, for the first time ever, are becoming able to make the world around them relative… something to understand. The concepts of ghosts, the supernatural, and the unknown are being questioned. Before we had the means of questioning, we were amazed by the things we could not explain – things as simple as dreams, mirages, and illusions were called magic and miracles. But now our brains have wrapped around them and turned them into fact open for debate should new evidence be found. Self-awareness is a trait experienced by few species. Self-consciousness is only just now being tapped by our species, held back only by pre-defined explanations to curb our fear of the unknown. We have spilled blood sweat and tears for the right to think for ourselves. Whether you are religious or not, at least have the decency to experience curiosity. Never ever take a manuscript or preaching as verbatim.

Atheists are feared. We are seen as people with no direction, no concept of right and wrong, no motivation, and people who have chosen their own doom. I am appalled by the lack of credit we give ourselves. To label someone as imperfect in comparison to an imagined definition of perfectness not only shatters confidence, but is simply a cop-out. We cause destruction and then hide behind the saying “I am only human.” I believe that we should embrace our imperfections as an opportunity to change, to hold ourselves accountable and save ourselves from the concessions made by the false definition of perfect.

The unknown exists, perfect does not.

This is continued in The Unknown 3

The Unknown.

I had a moment the other day where I snapped to a realization of what the faithless feel. The prospect of having no way out but down, 6 feet under. No heaven, no hell. All your hard work and all the good things you wanted to see… you’d never be able to because your memory does not live on. All those fairy tale stories you’ve been told since you were a child and your dog died, to diminish your fear of death. It hit me hard that death is now… the ultimate fear.

And then I envied the faithful. I envied their plan and their assertive direction, regardless of how shockingly self-centered it is. I thought: “I wish I had a plan.” And it truly does show in how I live my life. I’m living the compromise of good and evil, I do what I have to to get by. I treat life like a rollercoaster and only look back when I can spare the time.

I questioned the consensus that religion was morality and wondered – am I capable of that too? Morality… See they don’t believe Atheists have it. I also wondered… was I born with the ability to live my life or am I a sheep in a yard and every move I make was never mine? It is the perfect question. The Meaning of Life. How could we possibly know? Can we ask someone who was resuscitated from certain death?

How is it even possible that we are moral people if we ate the forbidden fruit in the first place? We were born sinful and inadequate to live in heaven, lest we live “for good.” The concept of being a good person so that you may flourish in heaven is nothing short of a selfish paradox. Why not be a good person to benefit your fellow neighbours as opposed to your selfish hopes for endless happiness in heaven? Who is this person to say that they are the supreme being and all must be as divine as him in order to enter? My question is: Why is Here not good enough? Is it because you had to pay your taxes? Is it because you had to – god forbid – move your own lungs to obtain oxygen? Why is it that I shudder in blasphemic fear as I re-read those words because I shamefully defaced the holy one? Is he sitting in his cloud red-faced with jealousy because one of his children questioned his existence? If I were his child, would I not have the right? From a moral standpoint, I think so.

I am more than happy to be the next guy to say “I don’t know,” because that is what I preach. The unknown is the typical thing that makes people scared. Are there aliens in space? Its dark and I can’t see, so my heart races. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me if I die. But our ability to overcome the unknown is what has made humans so amazing, except when we question our lives.

The Bible and Qur’an are ancient scripts, whereabouts unknown but deemed not from earth. I think these are interesting specimens that can be explained given the time that they were written. Consider yourself in a world thousands of years ago. The sun, moon, and stars orbit our flat Earth. Questioning these facts is punishable, known well in Galileo’s experience, by either death or allegiance. Traders from afar would tell their salt-sprayed stories of travels to distant lands, trading with natives of different cultures and races that are treated as alien species much like if we today found Martians. They would tell you that the oceans were ruled by sea monsters and that falling off the edge of the planet was a legitimate navigable hazard. These stories are simple in reality, but spectacular in nature, just like the story of god and his week of labour.

Many things had yet to be discovered. Physics defined matter as gravity and gave size and shape to the Earth in colossal yet relative numeric value. Chemistry found the abundance of energy we exploite daily, described the atom, and predicted reactions. Biology redefined how we treat diseases, how we are related genetically to other species, and came up with the descent of man so evident in species like the Capuchin monkey to extrapolate, the Landlubber Fish.

When the churches and Mosques realized that they could not curb the injustice of questioning god, they adjusted their teachings to cope with the footnoted conclusions of research, hidden behind the phrase “god is more than we can comprehend” as if any answer we provide simply is not compatible, or in a different language. Anything that was unknown was given a “god stamp.” If we don’t understand it, we fear it. We needed to cure this fear by saying “its god’s will” or “god gave us free will” – amidst his plan? I arrogantly see this as ignorant laziness, and a weak stomach; the incuriosity for things yet to be understood. It’s the same drive that sent a man to the Moon, and another to the ocean floor. The uniqueness of humans to seek out the unknown and define it to me is… romantic. Yes I do fear death. All of us should. But I do not fear the drive to stay alive, nor the curiosity of our environment and what makes it tick.

Perhaps I generalize religion. The over-used word lacking a synonym, a box filled with like-minded thoughts. But allow me to drive the train further into the ground. I think of a religion as something more like a superstition. The urge to hold your breath when you drive past a cemetery, or to throw salt over your left shoulder should you spill it. These all solve one problem and lead to one destination. There is a fear that has consequences. But I say… question it, and in doing so we will discover amazing answers.

I believe that we are all out there in an endless pursuit of truth. Do I want us to find it? No. I enjoy thinking about it too much. There must always be something to discover. Say Heaven is the answer to life, yet so conveniently improvable and naturally designed to cure fear… and we all accepted this as so, then why bother with the residual curiosity of our minds? Our only ties to god are an ancient (yet mysteriously revised) script, delusionary dreams and our own conscious mistaken with a deeper voice.

I challenge you to see the world through evolved eyes. Being faithless teaches you impeccable skill in appreciation and responsibility. Earth is your only chance, you are rewarded or punished for your deeds the moment they’re discovered, not after your judgement day. Your memory lives on with the people you interact with directly, not on some headstone. What I’m saying is that you can see the world in reality, not through the lens of ownership, but the nod of approval of two co-existing members of life.

The only anomaly between us and the rest of the living world is that we dominate Earth, whereas the hunted, the hunters, the plants, the animals, the fish and the birds – all live perfectly together and have so since the first bacterium. There are those who arrogantly believe that because we are so intelligent, creative, destructive, and advanced, no other being could be designed so perfectly for this earth. I just see a bunch of monkeys with expensive toys. Relinquishing faith and superstition has given me the ability to live like an animal, to appreciate what allows me to live, and be able to one day thank life by dying here on earth.

This is continued over more beers and saving the world in the kitchen Here

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