Aug 04 2009
There is no point (2)
I was walking along the beach today and I was amazed by the movement on the sand beneath me. Vast numbers of tiny animals swarmed as they became aware of my approaching feet, which must have seemed enormous to them. I wondered what they fed on, presumably the washed up seaweed. In turn this made me wonder what the point is of their tiny lives. They seem so abhorrent yet they occupy they are animals the same as us. What is the purpose of their existence? – to produce more horrid little creepy-crawlies? to keep the decaying seaweed from cluttering the beach? to feed whatever their predators are? None of these possibilities are purposeful. It wasn’t much longer before I related their existence to ours and began again to wonder what the point of our existence is.
Then I further wondered why does there need to be a point? Why do many of us want to believe we’re here for a purpose in addition to that of being alive. Life has to be revered and enjoyed for what it is. Yet most religions seems to try to persuade us that we’re here as part of a larger plan. They then seem to try to persuade us that there is another better life after this one and that we should make sacrifices in this one to ensure we are in favour when we get to the next one. I eschew all that. I’m a practical person and I know I’m alive, lucky to be here, and I’m going to ensure I enjoy what I’ve been blessed with to the best of my ability. I don’t need rules imposed by a religion that espouses a master plan to keep my behaviour within certain boundaries. Being a civilised human being I will achieve that without behaving in an uncivilised way. I don’t see the need for a greater purpose – being alive is sufficient for me.
I see religion as a major source of evil. Of people assuming power over other people and seeking to persuade them that their way is the only true way. I see the Taliban and others less ruthless trying to impose Sharia law on a population. This law that removes most of the rights of women. I see the Pope persuading his followers that birth control is evil when the globe is in the middle of a population explosion that threatens it’s very existence. I read about immigrants in the UK murdering their own daughters because they have brought ‘shame’ on their families. The Crusaders, the Spanish Inquisition, Northern Ireland, 9/11 – the list of evil done in the name of God is endless. A believer seems to consider himself superior in some way to a non-believer, that he should then force his beliefs on the non-believer, even to the extent of doing without regard for the well being of the non-believer.
We, in the UK, should stop the indoctrination of children with various religions; we should ban faith schools and disestablish the church of England. The country will integrate more quickly then and become more peaceful.
