Most atheists will let the slam slide, we really don’t want to acknowledge an abuser of power. While the pope (as well as whatever analogues exist in the world’s other religions) sits on his pile of gold manipulating the world into endless holy wars, our kind is busy worrying about the fate of the species. Science is the answer. Be good because you are good and you want your life to be an affirmation of that, not because of the pitchforked bogeyman Rome wants to sell you. Apocalypse is a viable last resort as long as you believe in post-death fairy tales, less so if you accept the irreversible oblivion that awaits.
What do I believe?
Look into the deep empty sky each night, what do you see? Nothing. Nothing as far as the eye can see and millions of light years past that. Perception of emptniess doen’t mean we are alone nor does it prove we are unique and specially made by some arbitrary god, it only means that we have not found who (what) else might be out there.
From our perspective, using what we know today, the true beauty of the universe is the fact that we may be alone. If someday we discover that we are not alone, then at a minimum we are only ones of our kind.
That means we are special. Each one of us represents a brief instant in time, never to be repeated. Ever. Billions of years form now the universe will end and there will NEVER be another you. That makes you special and priceless. You don’t need to have been created by some god to have that label. It was yours the instant you were conceived.
When we, as a species, accept this fact then I think the wars will stop. If people could see past their pety disputes and understand that we all family and all we have is each other, the violence would end. I am not holding my breath for that to happen given our heterongenous nature – billions at different levels of education and ignorance is fertile ground for organized religion.
There are also too many vested interests in maintianing the status quo. These include:
- Organized Religion – if you are part of it, why would you forsake the gravey train?
- Politicians – Polemics keep us distracted from the real problems – divide and conquer!
- Ourselves – Religion is reassuring, even though we know in our cores it is all a lie.
What’s the answer? If I had it I would lead the world-wide revolution. Instead I will continue to sell high-end enterprise software across my county until the answer reveals itself or someone tells me what it is. Hopefully one of my godless peers will find an insurance policy for human kind – even if the riteous fight against it the whole way.
