Rants & Rambles
4 - On the Nature of Faith
Close to three million modern-day pilgrims traveled to Rome while Pope John Paul II lay in state; tens of thousands crowded into Vatican Square to attend his funeral; and again to await the naming of the new Pope. Those numbers are hard to grasp, even with the aid of aerial photography and constant news feeds. Some of those people were there simply because it was one of the most important events of the decade and they wanted to be part of it. But the impetus for this mass pilgrimage came from something far deeper than a voyeuristic desire to join the crowds. Most of these people were moved by faith.
Faith is a fascinating trait: a powerful blend of optimism, assurance, and trust. I don't mean here the mundane faith you might have in certain natural inevitabilities, like the coming of tomorrow's dawn, or the personal faith you might have in the trustworthiness of a close friend. I mean religious faith: being certain that God exists (or gods), and that your way of worship is the correct way. The emotions may be similar, but the underlying pretexts are not.
Religious faith is a strictly human trait, as near as we can tell. We might some day discover beings from another world who hold religious faiths, but none of the species we share our planet with seem to. It is perhaps the only characteristic that we humans alone can claim. Chimps and ravens have been seen to use simple tools, and even to alter a natural object to make it a better tool. Elephants have been seen to actively care for sick and dying herd-mates. Wolves and ravens, among other species, are known to mate for life and to show honest affection for their spouses and their offspring. No other animal has achieved written communication, but many species have wide vocabularies of sounds that are very close to being simple spoken languages, and individual apes and birds have painstakingly learned to communicate with sounds, symbols, and signs. As for art: whales sing, and elephants draw and paint. But none of these creatures worship.
Whence Comes Such Faith?
At some time in the millions of years that it took us to diverge from the other apes, we humans developed a particular set of physical attributes: a brain capable of self-awareness and curiosity; an emotional system capable of wonder and awe. We still shared the gregariousness and primal fears of our primate cousins, but we left behind most of the instincts that still drive much of their behavior and that of other creatures. In the place of instinct we came to depend on learning and teaching. We learned by trial and error, and we taught what we learned to our companions, mates, and young.
At some point in our trial and error, we began to ask questions that went beyond "is this nut poisonous?" and "how can I crack open this shell?" We began to ask "why?" Not the immediate cause-and-effect why of "why did he just die after eating that nut?" We began to ask more abstract questions: "Why are there nuts in the first place?" Well, because the tree needs seeds to make more trees. Yes, but why?
Now combine that curiosity with a sense of awe: Why is the evening sky so brilliant? Why is the spring grass so amazingly green? Even more powerfully, combine it with a sense of fear: Why did the ground shake and rumble? Why did fire flash from the sky? Why did that giant wave sweep away all of my family but me? And finally, combine it with a sense of love: Why did my family have to die?
This avid curiosity and these deep emotions demanded big answers.
Science today can provide physical answers that would have seemed godly, or at least magical, to the first creatures who asked these questions. They didn't know about viruses or ionized particles or plate tectonics or the breakdown of cell walls. And so they created gods.
There's More to God than Religion
Religion is not simply about gods; it is also about society. Part of the teachings of early peoples (I won't call them "primitive" because their minds weren't, only their technologies) developed into rules of comportment. Thou shalt not kill. Honor thy father and mother. Do not covet they neighbor's goods. These rules, be they commandments or taboos, developed first as social rules, and then were incorporated into the local religion. That gave them great force, because they came not from the clan chief, but from God, the ultimate alpha male. Behave or be punished in a big way.
Along with the basic rules necessary to maintain harmony among the tribe came other rules necessary to placate the gods: Don't eat meat on Friday. Don't have more than four wives. Don't use birth control. Don't marry an unbeliever. Don't touch someone from the wrong caste. Don't hesitate to kill anyone from another religion or sect.
For me, the most obvious clue that there is no true religion is that there are so many of them with so many contradictory and irrational rules that have changed so many times over so many years.
How to Explain Life without God?
I am not religious - I do not believe in God or Goddess or gods - so you must take everything I say here with that grain of salt. I am perhaps overly objective to justify my atheism. I try very hard to avoid cynicism, as difficult as it is when faced with the concept of Crusade or Jihad or Inquisition. I will be the first to admit that religious people have performed many wonderful acts of mercy and charity, and that faith has inspired many beautiful works of music and art. But I cannot ignore all the killing, destruction, and intolerance perpetrated in the name of so many different gods. Nor can I ignore the complete inability of any religion to explain why their god allows a tsumani or an earthquake to kill hundreds of thousands of basically innocent people, or even to allow one poor fool to be struck by lightning.
Early humans, groping with a harsh existence and casual death, asked why? They needed an answer and they weren't content with "that's just the way it is." I am content with that. I prefer the concept of random, unmeditated, unmalicious death to that of a wrathful god. I prefer dying in an arbitrary tsumani to being drowned for my supposed sins, or to having my head chopped off by a religious fanatic.
Without Faith, Who Would Be Good?
But without faith, you may well ask, without religious teaching, what is our moral compass?
Good behavior was originally a social contract, not a religious contract. It should return to that. It should be based on mutual aid and altruism, not fear of burning in Hell. The love and compassion we feel toward our family members should extend to our clan, our neighbors, our village, our country, and our entire world. One reason it doesn't is because of religious bigotry. Most religions have in common the basic Golden Rule to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Most do not seem able to follow it, particularly when faced with a competing doctrine.
Consider that, along with awe and wonder and the ability to ask why, we also developed a great capability for compassion. What other animal can shed tears at the plight of another? This should be the lodestone of our moral compass. This should be what we teach our children: a depth of compassion that makes the Golden Rule as natural as breathing.
Without God, What Purpose Life?
But without God, what is the purpose of life?
This is the big question, the greatest why: Why am I here? Surely I have some purpose, some reason for existence, some deed I am supposed to perform to make the world a better place (or at least no worse). I believe most people ask this question at some point in their lives. Many find an answer in religion: I am here because God put me here to do His will. The definition of His will varies from religion to religion, and in many cases is very inscrutible, but that doesn't stop millions upon millions from seeking comfort in the sure knowledge that they do indeed have a purpose, provided by God.
I believe that's a cop-out. By putting the answer into someone else's hands, they dodge the question, and then usually drop it.
Life has whatever purpose you choose to give it. It would be wonderful if we all did have a pre-ordained purpose; instead we have to make the effort to create one for ourselves. That's hard work, and again most people let the question drop, allowing themselves to be fulfilled by easy everyday pleasures and achievements. They let their job be their purpose or they take up a hobby. They become atheletes or collectors or movie buffs or gourmets or intellectuals or couch potatoes, depending on their upbringing, education, drive, talents, ethics, and a host of other variables. I did it myself for a long time, content to be a husband, father, carpenter, and corporate cog. I also dreamed of being an author and eventually found my purpose there: to entertain and teach; hopefully, to improve someone else's life through my books and stories.
You'll notice that I have qualified many of my statements with "I believe." That's because I can't prove any this. I also believe I don't have the right to force my opinions on anyone. And I believe adamantly that I am right; even an atheist has to depend on faith. I just don't expect three million people to come view my corpse. In fact, I pray that they don't!
|
"Religious faith is a strictly human trait... We might some day discover beings from another world who hold religious faiths, but none of the species we share our planet with seem to."
|
