Ceiling Fan Lobotomy: The Box. Date Friday, April 26, 2024 - 07:54 PM PST Topic Religion One Saturday afternoon, I was having a lovely conversation with a friend who is a comfortable intellectual equal of mine. She, a psychologist, and was visiting my house to see both my brother (exclusively) and myself. Our conversation lead from fundamental particles (and how stupid string theory is), to sex, then to glass beads. She, very intelligent, is also very religious. No problem there between us, but is a disagreement on occasion. She asked me why I don't believe in god. I answered because the only record and account of god (The Holy Bibble) has been mistranslated, edited, added to, and used as toilet paper for millennia, by popes, kings, monks, scholars, and the average Joe. If there was any clear wisdom in it, it is probably gone, for I did not see any when I read it. (Also, I do not have access to the Dead Sea Scrolls and cannot read Judaic cuneiform- but oh well.) Then she prodded further. As with most people with faith, belief, or religion, it is a pivotal and important cornerstone to their life. Life with out that sense of enlightenment and comfort of knowledge would be dark, confusing, and horrible. Understandably, without such a force like a god to explain the universe, existence can be perceived to be quite lonely and confusing. She didn't understand why I would deprive myself of this 'knowledge': why I choose to be 'in the dark' and why have 'no faith' at all. It was difficult to find the words to describe the way I feel and believe. So I took a few minutes, (because I hate not having a reason for everything I do) and thought. Here was my answer: Ever since I was a child, I found answers to questions that I came across. As I became older, the questions became more complex, and difficult to answer- beyond Mom. Thus I began to read, discovering that it is impossible for her to know everything, and possible for many people to know a little about everything. More answers came into my mind. The insight, the knowledge was wonderful; it crept into my mind, and refined everything before it. As I grew older still, I began to ask 'bigger' questions, like "Why". In that, I first found god; a vengeful, all-powerful white man that lives in the clouds, with whom you do not fuck nor ever question. I accepted that answer as I would cough medicine, because I had to, nothing else was available. Science and books seemed to avoid the question, as this was ready to give an answer. Then I discovered other religions; what a wonderful thing this variation, this diversity of thought. All were oddly similar, yet it became obvious and clear that culture influenced the structure of these religions. Then I researched the time and origin of these faiths. The correlation in my mind is that religion is a very safe and easy way to explain my question "Why?" because nothing else, at this moment, can explain it for all of these people. Also, no religion seemed to hold a 'truer' truth than another. They were all equals, with different names but the same answers. That inconsistent pattern was insufficient to answer my 'why'. So where is the answers? -I am still looking. The answer to questions like “Why?” can be found in a philosophy that came into my mind from all of my experiences. Keep in mind that this answer in this post is not the final one, nor does it answer any other question other than “Why do you have no faith”, but is a point of view that may allow other more profound answers to come for easily in my mind. Science is stagnant in its answer and religion is too sure of itself with a total disregard for any questioning (all the while providing no concrete answers sufficient for myself). I feel atheism is as ignorant a point of view as religion of any sort, because it too has the qualities of being too sure without proof. Thus my answer is- "I have no idea". No experience, nothing in my life has even come close to explain what is existence, and everything beyond that. I have no clue what the answer to the questions "Why?", "What is existence", "What is life", and "Is there a God?". I feel that taking a religion, or a belief on this subject is too cocky of an approach because I feel naive on the subject. I don't understand the universe, why should I act like it. I find assumption on something so beyond the grasp of humans right now to be dangerous. However, that does not mean I cannot seek, or even find these answers. I believe that everything has a reason, every question an answer, every problem a solution. The answers can be strange and surreal as Quantum Theory sometimes reveals. It can be a single letter or number long, or several Library of Congresses long. It may be too big for one mind to grasp, or simple enough for an insect to contemplate. But I accept the fact that I do not know. When I ponder any of these questions, I like to think of a void. In this void, there is a box, a black box. Inside this box is the reason, the answer, THE solution. It is infinitely large, infinitely small, exists in no place in the void at once, and is timeless, so it can adequately hold the answer inside it. Throughout my life, I will learn, and most importantly think. I will seek out the answers, because the journey to these thoughts is fun as my childhood had demonstrated. I may find the answers while I am alive, I may find them also when I die. I may, and probably never find them, but no harm in trying. I assume nothing, and I keep an open mind. As she, my friend, stated, “Be careful for the answer may be right in front of you". I will keep that in the back of my mind. Someday that box may hold a shape, exist at the same time and place I do, and allow me to pry it open to see its contents. Until then: Why do I lack faith? My answer is The Box. This article comes from Shmeng http://www.shmeng.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=416