Crushed by the countless absurdities, injustices, and pointless sufferings that define this fleeting, tenuous existence…
…it’s no wonder that billions of tortured souls sweep all their anxieties, fears, doubts, disillusionments, and sorrows under so many rugs of desperation…
… that “everything happens for a reason”.
… to “let go and let God”.
… that even the most horrifying facts of life are all part of “the divine plan”.
… that someday, somehow it will all work out in the end—that the righteous will be counted, that all will be reunited with lost loved ones, that all our miseries, all our noble but failed efforts, all our impotence, all our unrequited loves, and all our grief will be redeemed someday.
It’s a lovely thought–and one that can only come from someone with an innate sense of decency and fairness, from someone who feels the pain… from someone who knows that “God’s perfect creation” is anything but… from someone who knows that some afflictions are nothing more than that… from someone anguished by the fact that some sufferings really are beyond the reach of all the love and care in the world.
And so I say to those unfortunate souls who have nothing left but a desperate hope that every injustice will be reconciled in some ultimate reckoning: “I get it.” I understand, as you do, that life can be so unbearable that belief in some future supernatural compensation may be the only thing that helps you survive the day. For this you have my deepest and most sincere sympathy and empathy.
Alas, I feel your pain, but I do not share your hope. For my logical and moral imagination has yet to discover a deity, no matter how brilliant or a karmic vision of a hereafter, no matter how glorious, that can possibly justify so much hell on earth.
learn more… Finding My Religion
When I left my deep faith at 41, the biggest loss was the religious concept of ‘divine justice.’ The idea that the scales would balance in the end was something I held onto for dear life. Letting go of that was tremendously painful…still is. Yet once the house for cards that is religion starts to crumble, there is really no choice but to let it all go. The only alternative seems to be finding some sort of radical acceptance for how bad this world really is, which is rather hard to cope with. At least by acknowledging reality (vs choosing to live in a religious myth), there is maybe some small chance for change…however minuscule. Hugs to all grappling with such painful existential questions.
Thank you so much for sharing all that, Violet. For what it’s worth, your uncommon honest is refreshing. I like your choice of words “radical acceptance”. And I resonate with your point that only by acknowledging harsh reality is there any hope of changing it by our actions, not hope of divine rescue. Ditto to your “Hugs to all…” Thanks for being here.
And there you have my wholehearted agreement. Much as I love choral music I am tempted to abandon it. Praise to any god is an absurdity – and Yahweh is a complete swine anyway. Sadly. Much as I, like you, would like some sort of belief is something better than what has been dealt out to us.
We are definitely on the same page, Anthony. We should start our own secular humanist choir!!!