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

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2kqp7X/bardcan.wordpress.com/

I am not here to press you into changing your views. In fact I welcome your challenges. This is just what it’s like for me.

Why do we have religion in the first place? Could it be because humans fear what they do not know and at the peak of our belittlement, fabricate answers? Could it be that we believe the Earth was made for us, and the only explanation was the prophecy of some huge example of ourselves had built it for us? What’s happening now, is that the world isn’t so big anymore. We can fly around it, rocket above it, and our endlessly footnoted studies bring a true understanding of our home. We realise now that we are not the only species to reside here. So I believe it’s only natural for me to completely abolish my inherited lack of interest in religion, and create my own personalized view of life.

When I was a kid, I never really knew the difference between religions, nor that I even was religious. I just knew that there was someone to answer to for my actions on some sort of judgement day, which I later realised was a paradox because… well how could I be responsible for my actions, if everything was just fate anyways? That was my first smidgen of speculation. Naturally I started asking more questions, which were simply answered by atheism, which of course sounds like a religion in itself, but literally means “lack of” (a) “religion” (theism). Suddenly the thought of a man in the sky, who is abhorrently jealous and resembles more of a kid with a magnifying glass, seemed illogical. They say you feel an emptiness inside of you if you don’t have a God, and it needs to be filled as if it were an organ in the body. I do believe that’s right. The ominous thought that this is your one chance at life. There’s nothing else. When you’re gone its like you were never here. All that effort, pain, beauty, accomplishment, experience… was nothing. That is the hole for me. But in its stead, I was given a new set of eyes to view the world. I could think for myself. I could ask my own questions and find the answers. I immediately understood that we are not more important than any other species, that we are responsible for our actions, and the footprint on our home is growing.

I am told that Atheists have no morals, and live selfishly by the seat of our pants. But I can tell you that morals do not come from tablets or mystical consequences. If I make mistakes, I don’t wait until I die to be boiled in oil for all eternity. I deal with my consequences immediately after the fact. I am mature and responsible enough to predict the results of my actions. And as for selfishness – everyone must be selfish in order to survive, and that has nothing to do with religion. You have needs and you will do what is necessary to get them, including being nice and altruistic. The real selflessness comes from crossing the risk-benefit line for of love and heroism.

The funny thing is that religion in itself is usually pretty peaceful and nice. Its a powerful way to turn a population into a civilization. The problem is that a majority of these people have misconstrued creativity into a fear tactic, swelling with jealousy, hatred, and violence. Different definitions of life are not consoling their contrasting beliefs, they’re mashing the scripted inconsistencies with genocide, war, and suffering. These two highs and lows simply create an unacceptable and immature catch-22. You listen to the instructions from god to be faithful and peaceful, and you will prosper. But at the same time, the extremists of these beliefs concentrate on the fine print detailing those who violate their totalitarian book. People who have never even heard of this ancient storybook are enemies waiting to be slaughtered or assimilated. That to me is illogical as well. To me these things are not worth the ten commandments or spiritual stability.

Here’s what is logical to me: Humans have 5 senses that we know of, with which to interact with planet Earth. Our natural tendency to ponder has led us to ask the right questions and attempt to answer them, to satisfy all of these senses. Anything we can’t explain, we put in the “to-do” box. But those we are able to define using a unanimous system of hypothesis, observations, and conclusion, are considered Proven. But the greatest thing about discovery is that every person on the planet has the right to disprove it. You think the Earth is flat? give me enough fact and proof, and I’ll believe you, because that is logical. There is no ancient storybook that must be followed to the T. Your controversial results won’t slap you on the wrist or burn you at the stake. Even if you’re entirely wrong, your attempt will be embraced and you will have likely found the answer to a question not yet asked. The Achilles-heel of the scientific resolve is that it cannot disprove god. If you turned the question “is there a god” into a scientific analysis, it wouldn’t get past the hypothesis. There are no studies to carry out or a rock we could overturn, and this is only an example of our unrelenting resolve for truth.

I think life is far too complicated for one answer to define it. I think there are many many options, and that they all tie in to the truth. We just don’t see wide enough or live long enough to put all the pieces together, and this concept of a man in the sky was invented by us to satisfy our craving for an answer to the meaning of life.

But life is not always so logical and systematic to me. Spirituality is not defined by faith, you can still be spiritual towards your surroundings. Understanding that I am one small collection of atoms and cells on a giant rock in a giant vacuum doesn’t scare me or overwhelm me. I often sit back and stare at the stars and wonder about all the questions that haven’t been asked, and what their answers might bring us. I gain an appreciation for the curiosity of the human mind and it’s true power. I understand the use of a substance for inspiration, as it gives us an alternate reality, an outside the box playing field.

There is a difference between not giving a fuck and being Atheist. Being atheist is awareness and loneliness. We understand that when you die, so does our memory. We Atheists are so rare and far between that we cannot discuss with these fears with each other. The religious are lucky enough to have synagogues and churches to have mass, confess, seek advice and sanctuary. Atheists naturally must look at the world as though they are almost completely alone. The world is less than 3% Atheist, and 11% couldn’t-give-a-shit-less. Is that number growing or falling? are the concepts of Atheism inherently detrimental to our existence? Are we likely to go extinct? What I am trying to do here is make my friends aware that we exist, to accept and congratulate my fellow evolutionists, to tie Atheism in with unified sustainability, to call people out of their care-free lives of “I don’t know” and increase our numbers, and most importantly, to host constructive and peaceful gatherings to make our mark and show the world that we mean no harm. The beauty of Atheism is that we could not involve ourselves in a war on religion. Religious wars are too caught up in old vengeance and hatred. Atheists have no vengeance and have no ancient roots of godly assassination. We accept diversity because it is logically necessary to be different. I truly believe that Religious extremists would be left scratching their heads if they were asked why they would want us vanquished. They might say that they were carrying out god’s will, but I only ask of them… Let your god smite me himself. Your brutality would make no example.

I find religion is something merely bound between two hardcovers, and is so introverted that it leaves a bad taste. It assumes that humans need a higher deity to make or break us, to tell us what to do, and tell us what is right, like we are those ants marching in one direction. It makes us pretend to be good, as if we’re fooling this all-powerful father in order to admit us into a world of lavishing comfort and endless fertility. A selfish hope of a second chance at life because our first one wasn’t good enough.

I am tired with people living life as if none of this matters. From sunup to sunup they live in the bliss of ignorance and don’t see the horrible things we do to eachother in the name of a god. At the same time I envy their bliss. For me I live a life of logical worry. We cannot survive if we govern ourselves with such primitive selfish tales, and it haunts me to the brink of awkward preparedness. Religion has infected the very roots of our trades and the power of our politics, all in the name of a falsified being, the wrong answer to our questions.