"god is dead" etc

Posted by 79 at 11:26pm Aug 4 '09
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the idea of a power beyond our ken is quite attractive. it's a bit more comforting than trusting in chance ("throwing dice"). and many people the world over live happier and more productive lives, believing as they do. ghandi, the dalai llama, mother theresa, and many, many others.


i don't believe in anything. this includes believing that there is no higher power. for all i know, someone pulled the strings. someone may have our universe in his/her/its proverbial hand.


there's no evidence either way. that's where belief and faith come in, right? but no matter how hard i believe that up is down and black is white, they won't change. if i based my life on the belief that there was a superior power who could change those - well, where would i be? still exactly where i am, except without the ability to deal with the world as it is.


i'll be frank - i think the question of whether or not the universe is the creation of a consciousness beyond my ken is completely and utterly moot. if that consciousness is really concerned with me (or my soul, or whatever) enough to even pay attention - much less pass any sort of "judgement" - i really can't respect that. i'd use the metaphor of me looking down at an anthill, except that it doesn't in any way convey the immensity of any Creator Of The Universe looking down at me.


i don't know, and by definition can't know, whether there's Something More, Someone Else out there somewhere. it's as possible as the opposite; a simple glance at logic will illuminate.



so i'm agnostic. the questions raised by religion, or lack thereof, all give the same answer: moot.



so what's the point of an agnostic taking part in a religious discussion? not much at all, heh. but "religion" as it's been used is a question not necessarily about deities but about moral codes.


morality is usually defined in terms of either religious beliefs or ivory-tower philosophies. however, in my opinion, both approaches simply try to explain what's already happened. hypotheticals are offered from all sides, examples abound, and how many priests/academics/politicians/etc/etc/etc are going to admit they broke whatever moral "laws" they proscribe to?

some of them do - it's this "repentance" thing they talk about. "damn, i broke the laws i was forcing others to live by, but i feel better now!"




that doesn't work for me. i don't "believe" in a higher power. i try to act and live so that i - i myself, personally - won't regret my decisions and actions. "try" because i can't always know the best way. i've made mistakes, but i learn - i don't blame a higher power when things don't work out, i don't pray to one and ask help, i don't look for an escapist loophole [whether it's the presence or absence of someThing Above Me].




maybe there is a God, a Creator. maybe there's Destiny. maybe i have Free Will. maybe there isn't, maybe i don't.


by definition, i can't know for sure. so why bother worrying about it? to me, it seems like spending one's life trying to convince one's self that there's a lightning bolt about to hit you, or that there isn't.


why not just live?
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