Faith vs Ethics

The greatest contribution of atheism is the provision of a firm basis for ethical conduct. Atheism explains that morality is a social obligation but not a passport to heaven and salvation. The theistic belief in divine retribution sidetracked moral behavior. Believers were more prone to please the god of their imagination by prayer and ritual than to conform to rules of moral conduct“—Ramachantra Rao

This is the dividing line between worship and personal responsibility. To please god is obedience to belief, even if it’s socially divisive. One excludes, the other includes. Doesn’t really matter what religion you believe, it is that you believe anything at all.

“We have the impulse to resist evil, but through faith permission is granted to inflict it. We step beyond the believers mindset; not content for their own sake, but like a dangerous meme is spread. Not out of genuine concern, but religious mimicry”.

Extended Phenotypes

Genetically predisposed to do something useful, the beaver naturally builds a dam with no training from its specie. Some of the ingenuity is quite amazing, being copied in principle by human engineers and hydrologists.

Birds also build nests operating automática with no training required, it’s hardwired and as natural as eating.

Humans build shelters too, and take notice when it is lacking. “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:58

So what is it that humans naturally do, or even usefully tend to with no training? What are we programmed to do?

Through the course of religion we have been trained to wait, to believe empty promises that have yet to come to fruition. To ignore what we see, in favor of words. To propagate wishes as truth, and most importantly, place more importance on what we don’t know than what we do. Maybe we don’t know anything, and that’s the problem.

In a recent study interviewing patients in palliative care, the number one regret was what they worried about when life was good. Humans like to worry—though we all know the uselessness of it so we nobly call it concern, then live a life fighting back nature vs accepting things as they are, infighting our lives away over two false premises—out of worry panted by another.

Left or right, or which religion most closely aligns with what I’ve been conditioned to believe—then fight for it, all distractions from being you, which when we finally learn to do it, is pretty awesome all in itself.

“Man, sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself”—Miles Davis

Anosognosia and Religious Certainty

Anosognosia is a neurological deficit in self-awareness, a condition in which a person with a disability is unaware or in denial of its existence. This disability we are addressing today is belief—regarded as personal achievement or a high mental destination, where “I believe” has become the pinnacle of religious thought. But what is belief other than a set of imaginations that have been carefully honed to pacify existence? There’s no substance to it at all.

Scientific beliefs are corroborated, falsified, tested and reviewed, then applied to produce a result or technology (we have satellites in orbit with these ideas) that actually produces something.

Religious beliefs are simply compared imaginations with other hopefuls for the mere sake of believing. And today, religious belief of any kind (even strictly opposing views) are respected for the simple fact they believe something, or anything at all. Certainly any belief is more worthy than unbelief—at least they have a chance, right?

Yet, belief is nothing more than a set of ideas that may sound really neat (or morbid) but is simply wishful thinking—assigning it some strange importance that will outwit nature does not make it real. But, we’re sticking to it against all reason, turning the mere idea into defensive pride, renaming it faith (which is the arrival at what?) all the while these fascinations do nothing to transcend humanity from this long monotheistic stall.

“Anosognosia is a lack of ability to perceive the realities of one’s own situation. It’s a person’s inability to accept that they have a condition that matches up with their symptoms“ (1) These religious beliefs occur despite significant lack of evidence or the predicted outcomes.

“Go to, thy faith hath dug you a hole”.

Note On My Old God

If the ultimate, monotheistic plural god of Abraham doesn’t exist, would that mean none of the others do either?

As a believer I was so used to discrediting the other gods for so long (way to easy) I never bothered to look into them. I suppose I don’t know enough about them to believe in them, but do I know enough about them to not? Can you not believe in something you’ve never invested?

For now I’ve just let it all go. No chasing belief or fine tuning incredible imaginations to disguise my final destination. It’s really out of my hands. The Christians already control the cosmos with their prayers anyway, so what am I going to do?

“Belief is meant as a temporary waypoint to prove a premise, not a destination in itself”

How did belief become a virtue (rhetorical question) anyway? It is a worthless position of pride faith clinging to someone else’s hopeful imaginations with an argument. It’s all quite ridiculous, really.

“We will never progress as a society until we overcome belief mode and transcend the neurological trappings of faith”.

Reincarnation—Uh, Thanks but No Thanks?

After another round of worthless debate, my criticism of faith is now considered a belief system. I disagree, but I do need a belief to counter the destructive belief of modern monotheism. Forced to unbelief by the non-results of Christianity—I am a believer it has wasted years of peoples lives.

I went to town today to pick up some supplies. Everyone is in a hurry, to and fro like a street corner hooker trying to buy a moment of happiness. Traffic was a disaster and nobody smiling. Where is the happiness in America?

Speaking to my wife on the way home today about reincarnation—after looking at the still growing population and the stressful, non stop anxiety of colonialism, if reincarnation is real, I think I’ll just pass on it next time around—unless I could maybe go back in time.

Aphorisms on Faith

Faith is an attachment to formative persuasions—an idea anchored by self doubt initiated by that same persuasion.

Faith is being directed into contemplating an idea, simply from hearing the questions.

Faith is pride in self deprecated belief absent of independent thought.

Faith is a solidified by the hormonal response, comforting human insecurity and the propensity to be easily deceived.

Faith is a comforting hope that elevates esteem without intellect.

With faith we build barriers between exaggerated reaction syndrome and acceptance. It allows us to blend rather than confronted with raised eyebrows—A state of beliefing though verbal and superficial physical obeisance. The idea of obedience supplants behavior.

Faith is merely stubborn pride repackaged as a virtue. Thought convictions played on insecurity without substance. Really nothing to fight over, but since beliefs are now the pinnacle of human intellect, challenging belief has become an affront to character.

Faith is a tightly held imagination your hope is true—then defending that right to hope with an argument.

Faith is what you resort to when you can’t reason your beliefs.

Faith is a state of mind that allows mediocrity to supplant achievement.

Faith is the result of fusing human limitations into cultural mediocrity. Since there is nothing a believer can do to un-fall this fallen world. Acquiescence defaults to hope.

Transcending belief mode and its limitations will be the key saving humanity. Faith allows the world to end on hope where action is needed.

By choosing a prearranged faith, dogma substitutes authenticity with platitudes.

Faith in your belief turns hope into intellectual and spiritual starvation.

Faith is the evidenced in human stagnation—clinging to the past and the failure to live in self confidence

Mule stables, Fort Spokane—1880

Promises Promises

His covenant was to be everlasting, and they should possess forever the country he should give them. Now it is plain these promises never were realized.

They have never been fulfilled concerning the great blessings with which they were to be favored. For although they won a few small victories over some poor nations whom they plundered, this did not prevent them from being conquered and reduced to servitude, their kingdom destroyed as well as their nation.

And now the remainder of this unfortunate nation is looked upon as the vilest and most contemptible of all the earth, having no country, no dominion, no superiority. Finally these promises have not been fulfilled in respect to this everlasting covenant which God want to have for filled to them because we do not see now nor have we ever seen any evidence this covenant has been fulfilled. On the contrary they have been for many centuries excluded from the possession of the small country they pretended God had promised that they should enjoy forever—Voltaire

Now it is propped up by the United States. Like all of Christianity is propped and joined with governments, for it cannot stand on its own merits. The one foreign domain ignorant enough to believe the imposters who feigned to be prophets and who, in order to more easily deceive the ignorant and simple minded, boasted of acting and speaking by the Spirit of God. The saddest part about believing in a god as the head of your nation—living conceited while vastly overestimating your greatness. Boasting the power of a god who requires the wealth and missile systems of another country to enforce its scripture.

The ritual heritage that we are so fond of it in detail descends from animal sacrifice, colored clothing, blood, livers, bird crops, and kidneys. Animal skins, dung, smoke, foreskins and certain measures of oil with wine—the whole being offered and infected by dirty ceremonies as filthy and contemptible as the most extravagant performances of magic.