What we believe is not as important as why we believe it to be true. Our worldview is the product of our acculturation wrought by both our parents and our community; the indoctrination of education; and experience of our lives. Those ideological tenets that bring order to our lives and explain its purpose are those we cling to with a steadfastness that defies the challenge of either evidence or logic. Unless we allow our minds to remain open to new ideas and concepts, our outlook on life will become staid and unyielding over time until that time when our outlook become as archaic as that of our ancestors Many decades ago I abandoned religion completely, as the idea of an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving numinous being never made any sense to me. For many years I studied the texts of all of the major religions and found they balked at the idea that mere humans possessed the capability of understanding the universe—and frankly, that pissed me off to no end as it insulted my intelligence. During that period I also read several books on philosophy; and, became especially intrigued by the treatises of Friedrich Nietzsche (“Beyond Good and Evil”) and Albert Camus (“The Plague”). In pondering the events of my life and my world up to that juncture, the idea that human beings were born into chaos, and with laws and morals being arbitrary, it was up to us to figure out what was “right-and-wrong”. Over time not only did I embrace atheism—the idea that there was no ‘God”; therefore, all religion was invalid—but, also, the existentialist worldview. Though I have comfortably settled upon my lens through which to view the world, I continue till read a variety of treatises under the premise that I am a dedicated seeker of knowledge, open to new ideas and concepts—and the notion that no one has the ultimate key to the instruction manual of existence. During my doctoral study, I read a book that reshaped my world view: “The New Science”, written by historian Giambattista Vico in 1726. Within its pages were intriguing insights into the development of the human mind that influence my thinking to this day. His argument was that intellectually, human beings developed in four distinct stages. In the initial stage (The Age of Gods) humans were not unlike a toddler attempting to comprehend the world, which allowed for such things as magic and gods. In the second stage (The Age of Heroes) humans began to comprehend that they were able to interact with their world; but, were only able to explain it in terms of ‘heroes’, those gifted with god-like strength and wisdom. Then came the next stage (The Age of Men) in which human beings gained the knowledge to reshape and remake their world in a manner that suited them. Finally, there was a fourth stage (The Age of Man as God), in which human knowledge had progressed to the point where they could create life themselves, not unlike a ‘god’. These ideas still make sense to me, for in my five decades of living I have seen the transformation of my community and my world wrought from the human mind that seemed mere ‘science-fiction’ when I was a child. I have seen human beings walk upon the surface of the moon; I communicate with friends and family all over the world via cyberspace; I store my written work on flash drives that I can carry everywhere I go; and, much, much more. Having immersed myself in the past, and comparing my life with that of my ancestors, I have no problem with the notion that human beings are capable of progress and change that will either create a better place for ourselves and our descendants to live; or, will wrought the destruction of the planet. Either way, humans, not gods, possess these options and responsibilities. ‘Heaven’ and ‘Hell do not exist in a netherworld—they represent the outcomes of our choices here and now. Thus, “Judgment Day” does not belong to any God or gods: It belongs to our children and their assessments of our actions on their behalf as to their future existence on this planet. So, therefore, the question is not what you believe; but, why do you believe it?
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 07:30:50 +0000
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