Imagine what world history could be without
BELIEF: no infidels to decapitate; no flambéed astronomers in the Middle Ages;
no Christian Crusaders murdering disbelievers; no witch hunts; no
Creation-based ignorance; no saving of relics from schizophrenics thought to be
Christian visionaries; no Sunni/Shiite differences; no 40-virgins for killing
people; no immaculate conception; no resurrection; no Mohammed on a flying
horse; no Kosher kitchens (save big on plates!); no restrictions on eating pork
(this could strain world supplies very quickly!); no “you killed Jesus” from
anti-Semitic Christians; no molestation of boys by Priests; no clitoral
mutilation of powerless hapless girls; no destroying of world heritage Buddhas;
no resisting the study of science and evolutionary genetics; no fraudulent
hypocrites saving souls on television; no lives
squandered over the Talmud while awaiting the real Messiah; no
religion-based resistance to women’s health care; no QAnon. The list is endless.
BELIEF itself, it appears, is the problem. Religious
faith (the most shortsighted of all BELIEFS) is the biggest problem of all, but
pure BELIEF, defined loosely as accepting something as truth without the
benefit of evidence, has caused generations of human misery and closes doors on
the advancement of all peaceful endeavors, science, and understanding on any
subject.
Believing stuff is a protective
neurological function. I get that. But just because Homo sapiens evolved into
having the capacity to BELIEVE in stuff doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be challenged
in modern times.
Instead of BELIEF, try “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.”
Thomas Jefferson added this secular phrase
to the Declaration of Independence. It came from the works of Greek philosopher
Epicurus (ref: Greenblatt, S. The Swerve:
How the World Became Modern—a must read.)
Epicurean (secular) thinking was of course punishable by death once
Christianity took over in the western world. For Jefferson to incorporate a
snippet of secular humanism into the Declaration of Independence is remarkable.
If an individual’s happiness comes from a
lifetime of studying one religion or another, so be it, but if that study or BELIEF
results in death, oppression, or the pursuit of subjugation, etc…we have a problem.
The time has come to challenge and reject BELIEF.
No longer should BELIEF be sacred, immune to criticism. Use evidence instead of
BELIEF. Go with factual truths. Replace “I believe” with “I think” in
conversation when there is uncertainty. Change your mind if new evidence comes
to light. Grow. Advance. Improve!
Until BELIEF is rejected worldwide and every
individual places higher value on humanity, life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness than on BELIEFS and BLIND FAITH, there will be blood in the streets.
Cheers,
January 17, 2015
