Contributed by Dick Palmatier
I am writing this because, after a lifetime of thinking about the following, I have come to certain conclusions about religion and why I am here, and would like to share some of them if anyone is interested.
I mostly have opinions, subject to change upon presentation of good evidence, and only a few beliefs (also subject to change). I don't believe in a god, gods, angels, devils, elves, ghosts, abominable snowmen, Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or any other supernatural-fictional being. I believe I am a product of a haphazard random occurrence where a particular sperm penetrated a particular egg cell, and which resulted in my exiting my mother's womb nine months later. I came into this world a product of evolution, with no designated purpose other than to exist, make myself happy, and to aid in the happiness of those I soon learned to love. Being an aware animal, I decided early on that how I viewed myself was of utmost importance. I consider myself, mainly, a person who tries to behave in a good manner toward others. I care what those whom I love think of me, but have decided it's none of my business what any others think of me. When I die, I believe, that will be the end of me. No afterlife. No rewards or punishments by a spooky entity counting my sins, adding up my good deeds, and deciding whether I should spend the rest of eternity burning in Hell or playing a harp while floating on a cloud. I will be dead! This is my life. Here and now. In this span of time. I have some regrets, but realize that most of my mistakes were made because of my ignorance at the time, and I would do better now.
I like science because of the way it finds it's truths; by testing, retesting and proving mostly beyond a reasonable doubt, that something exists. Scientists hypothesize, then test and open their findings and their minds to the retesting by other scientists. Their methodology is such that the possibility for error is minimized by blind and double-blind testing. I find all of this reassuring in that the facts given to me by true scientists are less likely to be compromised.
FAITH is usually the reason most religions give to explain their beliefs because they really have no facts to explain them. A belief based on Faith alone, not open to review, serves no purpose other than to allow the person involved not to have to think about that question any further. Because a person believes something is no reason for you or me to believe it. A belief is a belief, and a fact is a fact. That thousands, or even millions, of people believe in a particular supernatural phenomenon does not make it so. The supernatural is by nature unproveable. The Faith-believers may believe the way they do out of fear of the unknown, or because of their need to be accepted by their affiliated tribe. Other reasons, throughout history, has been the threat of punishment or even death by the leaders of the existing religious cults.
The universe is enormous. It is about 93 billion LIGHT-YEARS wide. Light travels at 186,000 miles per SECOND. Nothing travels faster. It is 13.8 billion years old and contains hundreds of billions of galaxies, each containing hundreds of billions of stars with untold planets surrounding each star. The Milky Way, our home galaxy, stretches some 100,000 light-years across. Andromeda, the next nearest galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away. (Heaven is where?)
The Dutch philosopher, Spinosa, said that you can't find God in the scriptures as it is nature and all of its laws, which comprise “god”. Personally, I find happiness and contentment in being outdoors where I can see and listen to the sights and sounds of nature. Not to be happy in the "church" of your choosing would suggest you need to find another.
I opine that faith is the stubborn adherence to a belief, both unproven and unproveable. If there are facts supporting your belief, your belief is not based on faith, it is a real belief. Therefore, faith remains as something only supportive of the unbelievable and is proof of nothing. Science and logic tells us we cannot prove a negative. This is why scientists hypothesize before testing a theory. We non-believers cannot prove the non-existence of a god. It's up to the believers to prove he exists, and they haven't done it yet. And please don't use the Bible to prove the Bible.
To conclude: This is all indicative to me that no entity who looks like you and me and possibly has 99% the same DNA as a chimpanzee, as we do, could possibly have created and be controlling it all!