How Relevant is God Anyway?

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"What I have done is to show that it is possible for the way the universe began to be determined by the laws of science. In that case, it would not be necessary to appeal to God to decide how the universe began. This doesn't prove that there is no God, only that God is not necessary". Stephen Hawking

One blog post I've been hanging out at lately is having a interesting discussion about free will. The question posed was; " How is it a freely given choice if punishment for choosing the wrong choice is so severe?" This in the context of a monotheistic God (a Christian God to most of us westerners).
You can find the Blog & the comments here.
There is a christian apologist commenting on that site who seems to be crossing the line over to humanism as apposed to what we think of as traditional christianity*.
Her comments & the overall discussion got me to thinking... how relevant is the existence or non existence of God, anyway?

I mean, the fact that God cannot be proven but only believed in, makes any rational person a hairs breath away from being a nonbeliever. Believing in God takes lots of faith, but what is the point of that?

The Unitarian Universalist (UU) denomination is as liberal as Christianity gets. I went to one of their churches for a while before I shed religion altogether. At the UU you can pretty much be on whichever path you want, & also enjoy traditional traditional church trappings, like singing, prayer, sense of community, etc... you can be a UU & not believe in God in any traditional sense of the word.

The author of this site goes so far as to claim you can be a Christian humanist w/out believing in God. Basically, because Jesus was a really good guy. This Christian POV doesn't give God any relevancy.

As a secular humanist I don't count on there being a God to protect me, guide me or satisfy my needs. No praying for divine intervention & no heavenly reward. Life is truly what I make of it & having meaning & value in my life stems from my own conscious existence & the fact that I am a human being.

In fact, humanists and theists are alike in that they create an image of an ideal and choose to follow it.
The humanist ideal stems from what a good human being is and what he/she has the potential to be. The Christian also thinks about what would be good, and then attributes those qualities to god.

I would conclude from that, it is the concrete things that remain equally true for theists and humanists, regardless of god's existence, that have the most value for human beings.

None of this is to say the existence of God does not matter, when militant fundies are breathing down our necks trying to force us into a version of an intolerant & wrathful god. If any ones idea of good/God includes devaluing other human beings as worthy of eternal punishment, or their idea of God includes exclusionary concepts of inequality such as condoning genocide, slavery or even servitude, then that religion/morality/God has to be rejected for the sake of all humankind.


*BTW, Lion this is just my opinion, I'm not trying to put words in your mouth.

I'd Rather Believe in Flying Cars

Blogger oneblood asked about my meter maid avatar. Specifically, whether it was a reference to the Beatles. The answer is yes, but it also a reference to the statement, "I'd rather believe in flying cars" The best way to explain that is to rehash the post with the original thought I did back in 2008...One subject that I have been increasingly fascinated with & a subject that sparks my imagination is pondering the future of humankind.

As a secular humanist, I am not a doomsayer, but an optimist & I believe there is plenty to be optimistic about regarding our future... it just depends on how you look at it... What I mean is our ideas of what the future ultimately holds for mankind are based largely on what we choose to believe. There are a couple of bloggers in my blogsphere that have similar visions of the future based on science & (to be honest), science fiction.

I find their views compelling because I also want to see the future as something other then religious doom & gloom... Religions attempt to predict the future and adherents are encouraged to believe the particular spin of their particular religion. The above doom & gloom apocalyptic vision is a product of an outdated prophecy, perpetrated long ago by ancient & primitive religions that want us to think that humankind will ultimately fail. There is no reason we have to believe fables handed down to us from at least 2000 years ago. Why not believe in the potential of humankind to rise above the obstacles? As a Secular Humanist, I get to pick my own scenario of the future. Using religious predictions for the future of mankind as a model the scenario doesn't have to be practical, feasible, or even make any sense.

With that in mind my scenario is based on the fact that I choose to believe human beings have the potential to achieve wonderful things. To me flying cars represent the optimism and sense of ingenuity and vision that has always moved humankind forward. So keep your doom & gloom...."I'd rather believe in flying cars."


BTW, according to this site, you'll be able to buy your flying car in 2011.

Hang'n in There!

Hi ! thought I'd better post something before everyone thought I was dead! I have been busy with work, Christmas crap, etc...& a nasty bout with the flu. I think this is the longest I've ever gone with out posting in the 5 years I've been blogging.

I've been really involved in the philosophy class I'm taking. If you've ever taken one you know how what is involved. A lot of convoluted reading that takes concentration. I love it but, I won't bore you with the details...
The point is I'm still here!