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Aug. 29, 2006 The existence of anything is demonstrated by the evidence generated by that object. However, some people assert that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. The problem with this line of reasoning is that it makes it possible to support a belief in literally anything our imagination can come up with. According to this theory, then, just because there is no evidence for aliens doesn't mean they don't exist. This is also true of other imaginary and mythical beings we've invented. Angels, demons, fairies, elves, ghosts and of course, even God, can all be said to exist if we are allowed to excuse the absence of evidence. Add to this the fact that you can't prove a negative and you have the recipe for all sorts of weird and interesting beliefs being passed off as fact. Let's take just one example. In America the existence of Santa Claus is believed by most to be purely fictional. We tolerate this mythic tale because it is fun and gives us a way to ease our conscious when dealing with small children and the gifts they are expecting at Christmas. However, based on the above conclusions it actually makes more sense to believe in Santa Claus than it does to believe in God. The evidence for his existence is everywhere. Beginning soon after Thanksgiving every year images of Santa Claus appear on lawns, in stores and malls, in newspapers and magazines, on television and we hear about him on radio. Songs have been sung about him and stories have been written about him. With all this evidence it must be obvious that he does exist, isn't it? Well, actually, we find this argument to be ridiculous because everyone knows that Santa Claus is a myth. Yet there is far less evidence for the existence of God. Believers use a favorite quote from the Book of Romans to help support their interpretation of the evidence. It says in Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." What most believers interpret this verse to mean is that all you have to do is look at God's creation to see the evidence that he does exist because the universe is so perfect. However, as I have said before, the universe is not perfect and there is room for improvement everywhere you look. For instance, the earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle. It's elliptical. Why is that if God is perfect? Whales contain the leftover bones of legs and feet buried in their flippers. What do they need those for if God is perfect? Most of the animals that ever lived on the planet are now extinct and that happened before humans ever came on the scene. Why is that if God is perfect and he made those animals perfect to start with? Every year thousands of people are killed by natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, drought and disease. Why is that if God is perfect? Thousands more are born with birth defects they did nothing to deserve. Why is that if God is perfect? The list could go on and on but I think you get the point. The evidence for God, then, is questionable. If he does exist there would be answers to these questions. If he doesn't it makes more sense to believe that the universe is simply governed by natural law including the law of entropy, which means that everything goes from order to chaos. Physical laws are not simply human constructions but the language used to describe them is. This is especially true of mathematics so even though the universe eventually decays, the laws governing the cosmos and the language used to describe it remain the same. The point is that the universe just does what it does because that's the way it works. There is no rhyme or reason for it but time, chance and coincidence happen to everything. Since we are the only species with self-awareness we also have the need to give meaning to everything. Since we don't know everything yet, we think we have to fill in the gaps with something like the concept of God. As a result we invented God and religion to help us explain the universe until science could give us the truth. In reality, then, as we learn more and more we need God less and less. To that end we would be better off to give up on our old superstitions and myths including Santa Claus and God and accept the universe the way it is. In all fairness I must admit that science can never explain why things are the way they are. It can only explain how things happen and since the why question is metaphysical we are forced to consider the possibility that maybe there is no reason why. In fact, life really doesn't have any meaning outside the meanings we ascribe to it in human terms. Since mortality is what makes life precious it would be better to spend our time and energy making this life the very best that it can be. That is all we can do with the present reality since the past is gone and the future never comes. Yet our children and grandchildren will judge us based on what we did with the knowledge we had. They will wonder why we spent so much time on mythology and so little time solving the problems of humanity and by then all they will be able to do is to learn from our mistakes. It will certainly be too late for the rest of us. ------------ About the author: Keith Cantrell lives in a small town in Oregon where he was a fundamentalist, born-again, evangelical Christian for over 35 years. After many years of questioning and research he has finally become an agnostic. He has written a book entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Book" and it tells the history and origins of the Bible. It's the only book on the market that takes the Bible from cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation and explores who wrote it, where it came from and how it all got put together. It's the 21st century. Isn't it time you knew the truth about the Bible? This book is available at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks and Amazon.com. Read it and tell me what you think! After all, I could be wrong! Email: kwcantrell@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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