Meditation 103
The existence of a Supreme Being is both unknown
and unknowable
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Deep within the heart of America, little Johnny Oblivious asked his mom a question, “Mommy why do we believe in God?” Mrs. Oblivious replied, “I don’t know Johnny I am to scared to think otherwise.” Is fear the basis of religion? Is religion still valid in today’s modern age dominated by scientific achievement? Einstein once stated, “I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.” If one of the most brilliant minds in history didn’t believe in God, what justifiable reasons does any common man have, which would be equivalent to Einstein’s reasoning? The existence of a Supreme Being is dubious, however the true answer is unknown. The human race has no proof, not even a piece of tangible evidence to support the belief of a God.
The world of religion is blind. In the Christian world ideas about science are approached in the opposite manner of traditional science. Christians look to their ultimate authority - nearly always the Bible - to determine what is "true." They then search for evidence that will confirm this pre-conceived "truth." This process is quite similar to the scientific method in this respect. The beginning is at a hypothesis, followed by testing. However, in the scientific method, the data is more important than the hypothesis, whereas in the Christian method, the hypothesis is supreme, and the data can be ignored, if it gives inconvenient results.
How exactly was God created? One might believe that humankind’s curiosity led him to invent answers that can explain the great mysteries of the world. Early man could not fathom a real reason how the Earth was created. Using God as a scapegoat he answered his question. Prehistoric man believed greater beings worked in the skies, bringing down lighting, starting fires, creating wind, crying rain, creating disaster, and giving out disease. One might conclude fear maintained the idea of a God in prehistoric man’s mind. When man saw that God was killing and creating disaster he must have believed that he had done something wrong to offend God. Therefore man must worship him because he doesn’t want God to be angry. Later on in history, God was used as an excuse to justify the wrong doings of the world. For instance, slavery the “peculiar institution” was accepted throughout America for over a hundred years. One of the major reasons whites brought the blight of slavery to America was they believed by christianizing slaves, blacks would be able to grow as human beings. In doing so, slaves would be accepted by God. One might believe humanity believes in God because we can not take responsibility for ourselves. To believe in God almost makes you his slave. One must do what God wants him/her to do and those who don’t are punished by going to Hell. God punishes anyone who practices individuality that doesn’t suit God’s personal preference. If one prays for God to improve our society, and if he doesn’t answer one’s prayer than we don’t deserve it. Humanity is not allowed to question God.
On the other hand, everything humanity has ever known has been the product of some one asking why or how. Science seems to be able to explain everything with proof and evidence right before your eyes. However, religion tended to the answer to all these questions with the stories of gods and goddesses and other supernatural forces that were beyond the understanding of humans. Stephen King quoted, “The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance...logic can be happily tossed out the window." However, science has enabled humans to fly, explore the depths of the oceans, and walk on the moon. What has religion done other then stir up controversy and make money off of people’s charitable donations? How can we have such faith in things that only exist in a book which has been passed down through thousands of years? If you believe in the Bible what stops Is there an omnipotent being that created us all? Philosophers, scientists, and theologians have struggled with this question for many thousands of years. These questions have become even more important now in the twenty-first century. No longer are people persecuted for dissenting religious beliefs as they were before. Furthermore, as we learn more, the answer of ``because God wills it'' to explain everything is no longer necessary. Science is a superior, more reasonable and a rational approach to many of the questions we have about us and the universe we live in. Religion is based on faith, but what is that faith based on? What does humanity show for that faith? Wars, death, destruction, and the limitation on the human expansion of the mind are all effects of the righteous cause of religion. As Nietzsche is often quoted, ``God is dead'' but the debate lives on.