Thoughts on Religiosity--Part 2

Most great religions developed during the time when science considered the Earth the center of the universe.

Religious doctrine still depends on the importance of our small bit of space and our human existance as the center and the primary depository of attention from God the Creator. To the true believers, expousing any thought against this doctrine was and still is considered to be blasphemy!

Balsphemy has obviously changed over the years. One might have been burned at the stake a few centuries ago for claiming that the Earth revolved around the Sun. The mainstream Christian religions moved past that position for the most part! But Creationism vs. Evolution is still in dispute with some who take the Bible literally. There were no apes in the Garden of Eden. Science vs. religious doctrine is still in play!

The more we find out about the universe, the more it appears that our little world is nothing but a speck of dust in the vastness of it. If there is a divine being who created it all, is there an answer to this question: Why should this speck of dust called Earth be so special that this Divinity would watch over us and provide for an afterlife for our continued existance in some form?

If we all sat back and suspended our beliefs for a time, would we be humbled by our position in the scope of the universe, and would we think that we vastly overestimate our importance in the scheme of it all?

Religion always has sought to explain the unexplainable in order to provide a safe haven for us to escape to when stressed. It has been there to provide some certainty where there was none. "Why?" can always be answered, even when there is no apparent answer. "It is God's will!" "It is the will of Allah!" "The gods are angry!" We can take action with prayer and sacrifice to make us feel "better". Those of us brought up in religion still look to God in time of peril. the "indoctrination" always remains somewhere in our psyche.

Religion is a two edged sword. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", in some way is an ethical guide in most great religions. But it is often overshadowed by what might be termed "The Onward Christian Soldier" side of the blade. That side appeals to those who feel chosen by their God over all others, and feel it is their responsibility to save all who do not believe. Unbelievers are doomed to be damned to some form of punishment in the afterlife! Isn't it interesting that the Christians, Jews, Mormons, and Muslims, all who think of themselves as the only chosen ones, have the same lineage from the God of Abraham.

Bottom line, it all seems to be a continuation of the tribal warfare which has been part of human existance since the beginning of life on our little speck of dust. Different tribes fighting over ideas, land and wealth, perceived superiorities, and sex and females.

There are always going to be gaps in human knowledge that cause humans to seek spiritual answers where no others exist. The last human alive will still not know all the answers to all the questions.

Today, the human race seems to be still mired in the muck of egotistic selfishness, no better that our early ancesters who lived in caves. We just have more advanced weapons, and more complicated reasons to go nah-nah, nah, nah-nah as we stick a finger in the air, or drop bombs on each other.

We do things to each other which seem to put us and our planet on a road to self destruction.

I have this notion that the demise of the Earth will result from a collision with a giant asteroid or comet hurtling through space. Just like the dinasaurs, we will all be gone, and perhaps the next denisons of our small rock will be giant insects with small brains, who will battle each other just like we do. It probably won't happen soon in relation to our lifetimes, but I think that considering the scope of the known universe, it seems to be a certainty.

Here's a "Twilight Zone" thought! Perhaps the Universe is just a video game being played by a "teen age something" in a place beyond our comprehension. We will end when the game ends. Is that as good an explanation of our existance as any?