Mysticism+Knowledge=Reality
This is the simplest way i can explain it. We have a natural desire to know reality. but we only have so much knowledge, so we make stuff up (mysticism) to fill in the blanks...
Have you noticed that through history, as our knowledge base has grown, god has shrunk. We used to need 200 plus gods to compensate all that missing reality, now we only need 1. I maintain, then, that god, just like every other religion of the past, is merely something we made up. Some christians actually have the nerve to claim that because i can't explain every little nook and cranny of evolution, it must be false and creationism must be true because i can't explain it any other way. This is absolute crap.
Some christians sya they believe in god because of some feeling within them. to them i say, "no you don't, you believe in him because you parents [or someone else] told you to." I might add that at one point you also believed in santa clause and the easter bunny. people are actually willing to believe almost anything in order to feel they comprehend reality. Why do you think cults are so popular? but then rationalization kicks in and people start to realize they don't really understand everything, but rather than admit this, they create things to convince themselves they believe all this garbage. hmm... what if god doesn't really.. oh wait... pits of burning sulfur... Hosana hey sanna...
(andy says hi)
if religion were merely mysticism, it would be ok, it wouldn't be good, but it wouldn't be quite the destructive force it is todya. So, another equation:
Mysticism+Crap=Religion
Perhaps i should define what i mean by crap. if a religion consisted merely of saying "i believe i was created by god" it would be harmless... but whenever we start with religion we get into the "god says this... this is bad... here is an entire book of stuff you should and shouldn't do... oh, btw, here are some select groups to hate... and especially anyone who disagrees with us" This "morality" is what i called Crap. in fact, some of it is actually good, but, it mixes itself in with everything else, and when you're done, it comes out a large pile of BS. Lets look a few examples of crap:
1. Homosexuality is evil, and homosexuals go to hell
2. If you are raped, you should marry your rapist and continue living as if nothing happened
3. Destruction of property is OK if you're really mad
4. Being self-interested is bad.
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9999999999999999999999999999999999999999. And don't forget, Hitler was a christian!
This is why religion is bad, because it attaches a set of ideals to something that all humans need, a form of mysticism (and the reason these ideals get attached here is because no one would be stupid enough to believe them otherwise).
I realize that some of my views may offend people. I've given this a great deal of thought, and this has been my decision:
If you are actually stupid enough to believe that i'm evil, jaded, unclean, or going to hell because of my sexual orientation, then i really could give less than a !@#$ about whether or not this offends you. If, on the other hand, they attach themselves to a religion, but are smart enough to think for themselves on a few, select issues, then they have my deepest pity, and perhaps someday they will come to a better realization of reality.
Notice what i didn't say:
1. You are wrong.
2. I am right.
3. I hate (any person or group of people here)
if you concluded any of the 3 above things, they were not my intent.
Yes, i know this is an incredibly long rant, and it has yet to directly answer the question posed:
No, in my mind there is not a God that created the universe, however, i believe god is more of a goal of evolution, the point for which existence exists. In a world that follows perfect laws, there is no need for a god, and in fact, he contradicts the laws as we currently understand them.
I do maintain this: Life has a purpose.
I conclude this as follows:
At least some of our actions have purpose.
Life is nothing but the sum of our actions.
Therefore, life has purpose.
I will not shut up and patiently await someone to tell me i'm stupid. 10... 9... 8...
