If, by some miracle, all the world’s religions became one, peace and freedom erupted everywhere, and man-made cruelty vanished forever…
… life would STILL be hard.
Our frail bodies would still be at the mercy of genetic mutations, disabilities, and deformities… at the mercy of microbes, venoms, parasites, and predators… at the mercy of solar radiation, the weather, and tectonic upheavals… to name but a few.
Is this not reason enough to unite us in common cause against our real enemy? (Namely, the countless horrors of “God’s perfect creation”)
Hello Frank. I find exceptional value in reading short hard hitting pieces like this. Causing me to search my mind and my heart too. Considering your question; “Is this not reason enough to unite us in common cause against our real enemy? (Namely, the countless horrors of “God’s perfect creation”) There should be only one answer here. The original motto of my birth country was ‘Ex Unitate Vires’: ‘Unity is Strength’. So in whatever endeavor we unite as humans – strength is assured. The next question we need to answer is; how do we unite humanity? Once we solve that one, another pops up; Once we are all united, what do we do about ‘horrors?’ Fortunately horrors stem from (broadly speaking) two sources: Human activity and human perception of horror. Certain humans over the ages have created horrors. But the Universe does not create horrors. The Universe is on an unending cycle of evolution in order that the Earth can continue its existence. Whilst events like, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis wreak havoc in their wake they are nonetheless essential to the survival of the earth. Personally I feel it somewhat naive to believe there is God (however we perceive the being of God – I’m not religious.) who is pushing buttons and pulling levers to have a little sport with humanity. No not at all. My view is that the universe operates on AI, just as cars, airplanes and ships are being designed to function in the future. I see the Universe therefore as being ‘a perfect creation,’ and we humans as a much less so. Thank you for your excellent post Frank, and the opportunity to offer my ‘tuppenny worth.’ Blessings to you.
Thanks so much for the most kind words and deeply considered tuppence, Peter. I hope it’s clear that I reject even the mere notion of, much less the existence of, a supreme being on eminently moral grounds. And yes… UNITY! What will it take for everyone to realize that we are ALL brothers and sisters in the very same boat?
Thanks for the reply Frank, and yes, your view is clear, and fine with me. In all your articles I have read so far I’m left impressed at the gentle yet firm way in which you make your sensible views known to readers. I’m left saddened at the way many divisive religious doctrines are swallowed by the naive masses; when, all said and done, we are all brothers and sisters in the very same boat.
Thank you being a voice of reason and decency, Sir Peter.
As the same goes, nature is horror. I have a similar view. Nature is a blind mechanism for filling up the world with things that are good at surviving and reproducing, no matter what the cost in suffering. It doesn’t care about us. I see no reason why we should care about it, except where it’s useful to us.
Thank you for having the honesty and courage to admit the inconvenient truths that are right before our eyes.
Off topic, but Aargh, tiger mosquitoes! I hate those f*ckers. Me moved away from DC to escape the bastards and three years later they were in gettysburg.
We’ve got Aedes Egypti in ABQ now… pure evil.