Just Smart Enough to be Stupid. or Grow Up Already!

Ever since that woman gave that man that piece of fruit that neither of them was supposed to have, humankind has been on a quest to destroy God. Or, at least we should be.

“Wha-? Hey Adam, that’s a bit harsh. Didn’t the apple just represent knowledge?” You ask.

Well, no. The apple was the representation of what separates us humans from animals. Knowledge is just an accumulation of facts. More importantly, the apple represented imagination and free will. The ability to see what different choices could bring and the ability to make different choices not based on our environment.

“You’re fucking cracked. Who cares, as long as I get mine. I don’t see your point and I don’t even want to read your boring shit.”

Yeah, you’re probably right. It probably is boring. But you should care because if you don’t then you are an animal. Animals get theirs or they die. That’s it, that’s all there is. Squirrels get their nuts or they starve. Lions get their antelope or they die. Humans get their Hummers or they, hmm, or they, uh, well I guess they don’t die. Then why do they feel the need to get theirs? Oh yeah, most can’t figure out how to live beyond their environment. It’s less deadly but much more complex, or at least that’s what they want you to think (yes the mythical and ambiguous “they”).

“What the-? Are you on drugs? You’re not even making any sense, man! My bills get paid, I got my cell phone and my hi-def TV and my video game system. I even have a little bit left over to blow money on gambling every once in a while. You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Well, actually I do know what I’m talking about. It’s you that does not know. Maybe I am not expressing my ideas coherently enough. Most humans live in a carefully constructed environment in which they created. Humans have trapped themselves and the advent of more entertainment technologies is supplicating human free will.

“Man, what the fuck? I have choices and I can make choices. I choose what I want to wear, what I eat, what I watch and even what interest I want to pursue. Technology is not evil, it’s good and it is freeing humanity. Go ahead and prove me wrong.”

Well, I can’t. Not really, only because your argument is flawed. Technology is not evil nor good, it is neutral. It is a tool and nothing more. It is our use of it that I am questioning. While some entertainment can touch us in different ways, make us think, force us to ask questions of ourselves and make us use our imagination beyond what we are used to, it can also go the other direction. It can desensitize us and it’s sometimes escapist allure can cause us to forget what is important.

“Alright, now I know you’re cracked. You defined and proved my point, even if you added a little of the down side to it. Also, what do you mean by forgetting what is important?”

Ah, yeah, did you forget already, to destroy God. Admittedly the word “destroy” is a bit harsh (and I used it to generate a little intrigue). More accurately, to destroy the need for God. That’s the meaning of life and it should be the goal of all humans.

“What the fuck are you talking about? God made us and he loves us and we need him, always. That’s just how it works.”

Yeah, okay. Let me give you an example: I know three atheists and two agnostics very well. Well enough to know quite a bit about their inner workings, how they think and what they believe as far as day to day living goes. All five (not one or two or three, all five!) of these people have essentially destroyed their need for God on some level. All of them have some of the highest values I know of. All of them believe in doing what is right. All them believe in self improvement. None of them are really materialistic. All of them want the world to be a better place and generally try to help (on their small level) achieve that end. Yet, none of them, not a single one, believe that they will die and go to heaven or hell based on their actions in this life. What is stopping these five people from being hedonistic, greedy and materialistic? (okay, one of them is fairly hedonistic) I know lot’s of religious people (my dear mother being one) that live in a “ride the bike until the wheels fall off” attitude. They don’t really regard anyone else very much. They are generally self centered and materialistic. Make choices based on status and appearance and think that God will generally take care of them and that it will be alright in the end, because they believe.

“That’s a bunch of horse shit! You could have picked those five people out of any number just to prove your point. And not all religious people are that bad. Some are pretty good, if a bit weird.”

Okay, fair argument. I only used those five because I know them really well. I know many more that are pretty much the same way. I only know one atheist that is fairly materialistic and has a “get what I can get attitude”. That would be my dear old Dad. Despite this, he is still always willing to help and as he gets older, he has shedded much of his self centered and materialistic beliefs. But why, he doesn’t believe he is going to hell?

“I’m sure I don’t know and I’m also sure you’re dying to tell me.”

I think of it like this. If we put it into religious terms and assume certain aspects of religion and God is real, what would be the point of existence. Maybe on some cosmic level we are God’s children and it is his goal to raise us (as a race) until we no longer need him as a parent. Maybe God is just a cosmic father figure. It is his goal for us to exist and perpetuate without him. (Yeah, more than a few Sci-Fi novels have used this premise in some form, check out E.E.”Doc” Smith for a pretty good example of this) And like any parent, if most of us don’t succeed individually, he’ll still pretty much take care of those children too.

“What the fuck? Are you on acid?”

Nope, never done it. My only point is, we as humans should strive to destroy our need for God. Not spirituality, not morals or ethics or values. Those we need and the more mature we become, the more naturally they occur to us (I’m talking big picture, as the human race). If we can’t figure out how to use our imagination and free will to decide for ourselves. Everything in the book of revelations (or any other end of the world story) will come true simply because we have hundreds of thousands of stupid ass Neo-Conservatives (many of which are in government office) that cannot live beyond their environment and are literally creating a self fulfilling prophecy because, “Halleluiah!” they fucking believe. Y’know the ones I’m talking about. These are the same ones that are also starting up schools which will soon pump out Christian Radicals in the next five to ten years (I swear I’m not making this shit up). Too much blood has already been shed in Jesus’ name. Actually if you read about him (even that bibley stuff) he was a fairly cool cat that believed in many of the same things that my atheist and agnostic friends practice every day.

Of course I could be completely off base and we could just regress into a scene from Lord of the Flies.

“Dumb ass. It’s late and I got church in the morning. I’m outta here, as soon as I remember where I parked my Cadillac.”