|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE LUNACY OF RELIGIONReader comment on item: Michael Mukasey: No to Islamic Law in the United States Submitted by DANIEL REDMOND (United States), Oct 27, 2007 at 18:41 I have never understood the nearly universal psychological need that people display for a belief that our very existence was caused by some imaginary and invisible being in the sky. Belief in a deity doesn't answer any of the mysteries of life, including creation, for you are still left with the question of 'who created the deity and why does the deity exist?' The faithful will ask 'how could all of this just happen in such a way as to create the delicate balance that supports life?' I answer by pointing out the simple mathematical odds that it would happen somewhere. Throughout the universe there are billions of galaxies each containing billions of stars (suns) all of which may have planets (potential worlds) revolving around them. The fact that one tiny planet in one small solar system tucked away amidst billions of other lifeless worlds has evolved to support life demonstrates only the mathematical probability that it would eventually happen. If their Divine Creator was truly competent then how do they explain the vast tracts of space and its billions of dead worlds rendered uninhabitable by hostile natural conditions or the fact that significant tracts of our own planet are incompatible with most life forms? Coupled with this belief in an invisible creator is the equally absurd belief that we don't really die when our bodies are devoid of life but that we go on to a glorious "afterlife." This refusal to accept the basic reality of the finate nature of our existence has perversely morphed into the anti-life philosophy espoused by all monotheistic religions; a self-defeating belief that this life we know is merely a dress-rehearsal for our "real" life in the hereafter and a virtual guarantee that this life is devalued. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (38) on this item
|
Latest Articles |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes (The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998. For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.) |