Is Man Trustworthy?

It's funny how those with dogmatic views on "hot-button" issues so arbitrarily justify or deny the democratic process. For instance, concerning referendums to sanction gay marriage, if the majority votes in favor of not legalizing gay marriage, the vociferous "anti-gay marriage" advocates will claim that "man's" verdict is the infallible truth. What a great service democracy is for humanity! 

But how does one suppose these same "anti-gay marriage" advocates would respond if 75% of voters were in favor of legalizing it? "Well, ah, this verdict just, um, demonstrates how sinful and depraved we are, uh, as a society!" We must, therefore, seek God's counsel on this issue! Of course a truly open-minded interpretation of "God's Word" doesn't really have anything to say about gay marriage one way or the other.

Are you starting to see that behind this kind of reasoning is NOT God but competing EGOS all trying to have things their way? Perhaps many of us have taken Burger King's advice a bit too far?

Paradise Questioned?

The idea that man fell while in God's created Paradise seems asinine to me. As if one whispered to another, “you know, we could become Gods ourselves if we broke out of this shit hole!”

But if God's created Paradise was in fact “paradise”, why would anybody have wanted to leave? A seemingly more powerful argument is how in bloody hell could anybody have known or even conceived of anything better (like being his own God*) if everything was already perfectly paradisal?

How then are we to be assured that heaven in the afterlife will not simply revert back to the same supposed “hell” we find ourselves in now? 



*Though after watching the movie Bruce Almighty, why in God's name (pun intended) would ANYBODY want to be HIM?

The Power Of Metaphor

It is my opinion that those who take an overly literal interpretation of any given belief often and easily become distracted from any real meaning said belief might contain. Real meaning in the sense that it can provide practical insights with which to approach life and its associated problems which will arise sooner or later if they have not already.

For instance, taking the story of Adam and Eve literally, I get distracted by the talking snake. No amount of pleading has or ever will compel me to believe this literally. There is just no rational reason for me to believe there has ever been a snake that talked (except, of course, in the world of Harry Potter).

Literalists might figuratively (pardon the irony) feel compelled to argue such details as the type, size and venomousness of snake God or Satan might have appointed to the task of leading humanity astray. But this kind of information serves no practical purpose in dealing with life's matters. However, if this story is taken but metaphorically, it easily becomes meaningful.

I have dealt with this story specifically elsewhere, so I will summarize. Adam and Eve were “told” not to eat from the forbidden tree. It matters not whether God or an authority figure or perhaps even their individual consciences “told” them not to eat of the tree. What matters is that they rebelled against this “command” and it cost them dearly. As a result of this transgression, they became aware of their nakedness and were ashamed, whereas before they knew not even the concept of shame. They squandered away their “innocence”! Once this decision was made, it set into motion a host of negative repercussions precluding a return to “the good 'ole days”. Dealing with the painful consequences of this misdeed then became a prerequisite for any further progress. This is meaningful.

Imagine if people used this metaphor as a tool to avoid making rash or unwise decisions regarding any number of issues in life. One who is tempted to try cocaine, for instance, may want to ponder the meaning of this metaphor before he tries it. Cocaine is very addictive and as a result its use commonly leads to ruined or at least greatly hampered lives only because it was tried just once. The same can be said of young teen-age couples “creating” babies thus greatly limiting their potential options in life. Any number of different scenarios can be supposed making it personal to all of us.

Remember, when people lust for short-term gratification, there is likely despair and anguish in the long-term. Add to this the fact that everything is a trade-off and this metaphor becomes an encouragement to think twice before giving into temptation especially when it involves trading long-term benefit for short-term gain. This is but one of myriad ways a metaphor like this can be applied practically. I love metaphors because they beg us to ponder their meaning(s)!

A Just Set Of Laws

What is justice? A modern philosopher, John Rawls, created a thought experiment concerning just this. How could lawmakers discern what would be the perfectly “just” set of laws for society? His experiment was thus: have the lawmakers create a set of laws knowing full well they will die upon implementing these “just” laws. Here's the rub.....they are told they will then be reincarnated with no knowledge of what position they will hold in this forthcoming society they alone have shaped.

Will they be part of the ruling class? Will they constitute the elite and hence own the means of production? Or will they perhaps be merely a “mediocre” member of the proletariat? This forces the committee to create laws which are fair for all classes, hence perfectly “just” laws. Without this “arrangement”, any potential lawmaker will tend to advocate laws which sweeten his position above that of others. Now, now! No need to judge him.....after all, this is largely unconscious. Furthermore, if you were in this position, you would almost certainly do the same as well. As would I.

Remember, much in life is a zero-sum-game and as such, somebody wins and somebody loses. How many of those in a position to make laws are going to do so predicated on that which is not advantageous to them? Few or none in my opinion.

The trouble with this thought experiment is it “forces” anybody in this position to disassociate from evolutionary group selection. Which is no doubt what most of us unconsciously gravitate toward. And why would we not? This is likely obvious to those that believe in evolution.

On the other hand, for those that do not believe in evolution as a means to explain our inherent selfishness, why might this be so? Satan? Who or what is Satan? Perhaps a metaphor for our penchant to be selfish? But what might this be? Evolutionary group selection?

An Inescapable Truth About Belief

If a religious believer does good deeds beyond which he would otherwise do as a nonbeliever, these superfluous deeds are clearly motivated by reward and/or fear of judgment. In this sense, these “good” deeds seem to lack authenticity. As such, they are merely contrived.

Now, if the believer says that he would perform all his good deeds even if he didn’t believe, then why does he believe? Because it redeems his soul something or other? Belief can actually do something? Well then, in that case, I can't help but think Satan would be saved as well. For how could Satan thwart God’s plans and lead us astray so easily if he didn't believe in and know God.

The point here is to demonstrate how meaningless belief is. Ultimately, a person is what he does and not what he believes or at least claims to believe. See link below for further corollary to this:

http://kurtsthoughtemporium.blogspot.com/2010/04/obfuscating-christian-doctrine-of.html

The Collective Struggle Of Existence

It of course goes without saying that even if there was 1 society built upon 1 arbitrary yet coherent ideology, there would still be a collective struggle due to there being a finite supply of resources (mates, jobs, precious jewels and metals, fancy cars, oil, fame, etc.) It seems we were just “made” to be in a constant state of competitive conflict.

If there were an infinite supply of things, we would all presumably have everything we want. But would this make us (feel) happy and fulfilled? Probably not, as our happiness seems unconsciously built upon being above others because of the way we were “made” to be in a constant state of competitive conflict (this to me is a very justified evolutionary trait which is not so justified in today's overly prosperous societies where life-sustaining needs are met many times over). Hence our compulsion to “outdo” others or at least want to.

Apparently, if there were an infinite supply of everything, there would be no way for the ego to survive! On the other hand, if this had been the case, might we surmise the ego would never have existed in the first place? In any case, this is essentially what I envision heaven as, albeit figuratively. A place where Satan (ego) is completely vanquished.*

My opinion is Jesus was talking about this very thing (eradicating ego) but apparently it went largely unnoticed! For heaven to most people is implied to be a realm where NOBODY is suffering. We could conceivably do this today (to a much greater extent at least) but we are burdened by our own SELFISHNESS/EGO. Hence the belief that God will transform us after we die at which point we will FINALLY be able/forced to embrace an attitude that addresses suffering (like sharing resources when so many of us are overflowing with them).

But is this not the essence of SOCIALISM? Why then do we so vilify (especially the "conservative" religious among us) the idea of socialism as if it were some intrinsic evil? Why do people not acknowledge this CONTRADICTION?

Many will retort that socialism would leave little incentive to work causing the wholesale collapse of society leaving ALL OF US to suffer. HUH? How about being motivated to work JUST FOR GOD! Why then do we "need" excessive compensation above and beyond our basic needs? TO BE ABOVE OTHERS! Which is just what I would expect if evolution has shaped us over time to attempt or at least want to rise above others!

Once again, what about being motivated to work as hard as you can simply and only for God? Why then should it matter whether 95% of your income is taken and given to those that don't have it (including for the sake of argument people that don't have wealth simply because, God bless'em, they are stupid and lazy)? Because you are not motivated to do so for God, rather you are motivated to do so for YOURSELF (which of course includes collectives YOU identify with and support)! Please do not be ashamed.....this is how we are wired!

In the end, might the idea of heaven simply have originated to mitigate feelings of guilt due to all the cruelty and "unfairness" inherent in life?


*Would this be good or bad? Perhaps it would be both good and bad.....for it seems war would become a thing of the past (good). But then so would competitive sports become a thing of the past (bad).

The Ultimate Scapegoat?

In my opinion, the idea of Satan is contrived to explain the many problems of the world beyond our control and, more importantly, to diffuse blame for humanity's problem. What problem? I suggest the fundamental “problem” with humanity is EGO. Each of us has one and it is just something we have to accept and, dare I say, appreciate. It is a “gift” we have as a result of our self-awareness.

When one is conscious, it is apparent the ego is nothing more than the animal instinct within each of us hell-bent on competing, dominating, feeling superior, prettier, wealthier, better, smarter, wiser, more right(eous), etc. And this is fine. After all, this drive enables us to travel along the “frontier of progress” like no other animal ever has. At least here on Earth! But as such, we are aware beings capable of seeing the havoc this type of egoistic behavior commonly leaves in its wake. Just look around the world and see the corruption and disharmony throughout.

The ego needs to see things as absolute in order to feel right at the expense of others who are wrong and it unconsciously wants enemies because it helps the ego feel good or at least better about itself. For example, wars are only ever fought because each side believes it has the truth or moral imperative. “God and His principles are on our side!” it is often declared. But if there is an absolute way to look at God and His principles, why do we not all reach the same conclusion(s) about God and His principles? If He is there but fails to make it perfectly clear who is right, why would I or should I feel compelled to believe He is good? Each competing side believes God and principles are with it and, as such, I find it difficult to demonize the “incorrect” side if it honestly believes it is right.

Furthermore, depending on the perspective embraced, there is no absolute method to evaluate who is right and who is wrong anyway. Therefore, it doesn't matter to me whether one side is correct and the other incorrect, whatever that might mean. As long as each side believes it's correct, I can not label one righteous and the other evil. When one is conscious, this is readily apparent.

The way I see it, one can only do evil if he consciously recognizes it as such. If an unconscious person does something evil, the worst I can say about him is that he is unconscious. The problem I have with labeling him “evil” or in any other negative way is that it will only serve to aggravate him thereby creating more conflict and disharmony. The problem is not that he is evil per se, it is that he is unconscious. Evil is simply a manifestation of unconsciousness.

The idea of Satan is among other things simply a by-product of competing egos unconsciously proclaiming their righteousness by demonizing others simply because they disagree.