Progress Away from Religious Control

Religion was a primitive means of control. Did some, more intelligent ancient people decide to tell others that someone was always watching, and that they would be rewarded after death if they were good people in life? A study published in 2011, from the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK, (found here http://www.academia.edu/503195/_Princess_Alice_is_watching_you_Childrens_belief_in_an_invisible_person_inhibits_cheating) may support that aspect of religious development in our history. That study found that children were just as likely (if the skeptical children were not counted) not to cheat if they were told that the invisible “Princess Alice,” was watching them, as if there were an adult in the room with them. It’s possible that the more religiously inclined societies survived longer, because those people operated under the fear of retribution from the gods. This is the same logic behind the common question from believers of, “If God isn’t real, then what’s stopping you from going out and killing people?” Of course, an answer to that question is that there isn’t any more in the way of the believer than the nonbeliever, because the fear of hell is often not enough to stop believers from committing crimes (and many believe that if they ask for forgiveness, they will be absolved from punishment anyway).   

It is also possible that, since religion and politics were usually one and the same in societies before the founding of the U.S.A., those with religious/political power kept the religious beliefs of a society homogenous, simply by using tribalism, war, physical threats, killings (both under the guise of being ritualistic and those that were not concealed a such), and the fear of being an outcast, which was, effectively a death sentence in those times. In an analysis by researchers from the University of Auckland, (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v532/n7598/full/nature17159.html) they found that human sacrifice, specifically, may have a connection to the stratification of societies and helped maintain power for the religious and political authorities.  

So, when it comes to human progress, it seems to me that refined religion is a “way station”, as Kitcher states. Refined religion is a movement away from the control of organized religion in people's lives. As Christian history has shown in the movement away from organized control/subjugation (Catholicism) to a personal responsibility (Protestantism), the pendulum swings in both directions and massive shifts in either direction are not the final answer to the question of our emotional and societal needs as humans. We need a balance of social belonging (which some refined religions seek to achieve) and personal, introspective thought. 

Secular humanism allows me to achieve that balance. It may not be a religion, but it serves all of the essential emotional and moral functions of having a belief system. It is not beholden to the interpretations of corrupt leaders or various sects. It uses no fairy tales to scare people into submission.  

It affirms the value of human life, regardless of our "tribe," and shows us that what we learn about the universe doesn't have to be rejected because it doesn't mesh with our ancient myths. The universe is an amazing, wondrous place and there's something to the idea that, in realizing how small we are, or how amazing life really is, we can emotionally connect with something larger than ourselves. 

Link to 1st post: http://athphil.blogspot.com/2016/04/blog-post-1-attitudes-about-future.html

Religion vs. Secularism

Continuation of the previous blog post

Additionally, religion provides an individual: 

• An escape from fear

• Most religions assert that there is an afterlife, and that the only life we know is not the only life we will live. Through this, followers are assured that death is not the end of their existence, which relieves a major existential fear. People don't want to believe that when they die their existence ceases, so assurance that this is not the case is calming. Not only do followers of religion free themselves from the fear of death, they free themselves from the fear of injustice. If all actions will be either punished or rewarded in the afterlife, there is no need to fear that people who do evil things will get away with it unharmed.
• The problem with this is that it solves the problem of existential fear with emotions rather than reason. Rather than taking the evidence we have and tentatively accepting that this is the one life we know we have until further evidence, those who believe in an afterlife allow their fear to blind them.Similarly, the belief that "good" and "evil" must necessarily be vindicated prevents people from considering a system in which justice is limited to earthly actions.
• My secular solution to the escape from fear of death is similar to that of the Epicureans. Death is inevitable, so it is pointless to fear it.As for justice, all we can do as humans is our best. There will inevitably be failures in the system, but it is our job to try to preemptively prevent tragedies.

• A sense of fear

  • In addition to relieving people of fear, religions instills a sense of fear in followers. Whether it's through the prospect of divine punishment or being ostracized. Religions provide a source of fear that keeps people organized and under control. Some may argue that a certain degree of fear is necessary to maintain order, although I wouldn't agree.
  • Using fear as a method to control groups is a an effective strategy, but it has some majorly flawed side-effects. Fear of outside "corrupting" influences can lead to xenophobia and even violence.
  • Of course, the secular solution to fear is to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. Fear is the source of many worldly issues, and there are more suitable methods of keeping an orderly society such as incentive. Naturally, there will always be a need for law enforcement, but society should be driven by a desire to improve the future rather than fear of corrupting influences or that which is "sinful."

Could the Jewish and Christian afterlife be the same?

In my first post I discussed more in depth about what the Jewish faith says about a belief in the afterlife. To summarize, I stated that traditional Judaism believes that death is not the end of human existence. Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife. Judaism does not have many specifics passages about the afterlife in the Torah or other texts and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. 

Many people don’t know but my mother converted to Judaism prior to being married to my father. What even fewer people know is that her father, my grandfather, was a Methodist Pastor. Without getting very specific one can imagine the drama that unfolded far before my time. Everything is fine today and I enjoy spending holidays and reunions with everyone. Coming from a family of different religions I always wondered if the afterlife or heaven that I would inevitably pass on to would be the same as my friends and loved ones. 

Written in the Mishna are a number of statements affirming the existence of an Olam HaBah – A World to Come. One Rabbi suggests that “This world is like a foyer leading the world to come. Prepare yourself in the foyer, so that you may enter into the inner chamber Pirkei Avot 4:1.” And teaches Rabbi Eliezer ha-Kappar; “The ones who were born are to die and the ones who have lived are to be brought to life again, and the ones who are brought to life are to be summoned to judgment-ibid 4:29.”

The promise of an afterlife is overly powerful. The promise has inspired many people to perform acts of goodness and charity to better their odds at obtaining a place into the afterlife. This same promise has also led to brutal acts being justified as a way to earn a spot in the afterlife. Rabbi Davis Rose (Emeritus) stated that “In focusing on acts of goodness in this world, in believing in a hereafter open to the righteous of all faiths and in encouraging a multiplicity of viewpoints as to the nature of life eternal has made this belief a blessing for one and all” Rabbi Rose agrees that the promise of an afterlife is a powerful one, but regardless of faith the righteous certainly have a place in whatever afterlife is to  come.

It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist. It is apparent that there are clear similarities between the general belief of an afterlife between Christianity and Judaism. Whether or not that theoretical afterlife exists in the same place or even at all still remains to be seen. 

Post 1: http://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2016/04/thoughts-on-afterlife-and-judaism.html

Links

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2970/jewish/Do-Jews-Believe-in-an-Afterlife.htm

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/afterlife.html

Blogpost # 2

 Blogpost #1

The Afterlife

The second part of this blog post is discussing the question of why an afterlife in heaven that is perfect and eternal has no appeal to me. Firstly, the idea of being “judged” by a god who’s done some not so saintly things themself who will then sentence me to an eternity of hell fire or bliss just rubs me the wrong way to begin with.  Aside from that though, I just think of something never ending and just feel really bored. Like many of the texts that we read stated, the thing that make this life so beautiful and worthwhile is that there is an end to it.  The beauty of life is in its ups and downs; it’s failures and successes. Having goals and reaching them, these are the best parts of life. Think of yourself during this week of finals, you’re studying relentlessly (or at least you probably should be) and then you take that test you’ve been so worried about. Later you log into D2L and see that you rocked the hell out of it. It’s the best feeling ever. It’s knowing that you accomplished what you sought after, that your efforts paid off. The feeling that you were in control and that YOU made that A happen because of your determination. There is none of that in heaven, or at least not in the typical depictions of what heaven will be like. Everything is perfect and, I imagine unbearably unstimulating. Heaven sounds like a whole lot of BORING. And usually when I say this people will tell me that it won’t be boring because I won’t be able to ever feel bored. This is also problematic to me though because if I have to be altered in a way to where I cannot feel a thing that I probably would feel if not altered, that doesn’t exactly sit right with me either. I am not my autonomous self if I am being forced to enjoy something I would typically find boring, and if I am not able to be in control of my emotions than am I really even myself anymore in this afterlife? I just don’t like the idea of it; I wouldn’t want an afterlife that isn’t as real as the life I am living right now.

So in conclusion, I do not think that not believing in the concept of some kind of afterlife is scary or sad. I think it’s quite freeing and I would much rather just have there be a definite end to this life, than to wake up and deal with the headache of an afterlife too. I will never be able to do or experience all the things that I want in just one life, but if it’s not in this life it just doesn’t feel like it would be nearly as satisfying in the next anyways. I am good with one life, and then being nothing more than a rotting corpse in the ground.

Blog Post 2: Existential Nihilism

Existential nihilism, life is without meaning, we are all dust in the wind. Again, when we lived in a more religion-fueled society, life’s “meaning” could simply be found in God, and many folk’s “meaning” still is. But for all the rest, who do not believe in a higher power, afterlife, or grand scheme, it is easy to see how they would find life completely lacking in objective meaning, or significance. After all, a lack of cosmic “meaning” is what we see all around us constantly. Countless living things die every day, and it does not impact much of anything. When we look to the stars and see how big everything really is, and how small we are in comparison, it is not unusual to feel insignificant. Especially for those who do not believe in a divine being, who do not have the faith that someone is watching out for them or that there is a celestial plan for them personally. There are many people who say things along the lines of “How can someone look at all this (nature) and not think it has a purpose?” But in my opinion, there is something a little bit romantic about the meaninglessness of life. If one stops and considers all that has been accomplished by us humans (not just in the grand scheme of humanity, individuals as well), the amazing things we have built and how far we have come on our own, it sounds almost impossible. And the thought that we did it, not for the plan of some divine god, but just because we can, is incredible. We have accomplished more than any other form of life (that we know of), and it was for absolutely no reason at all.

To finish up, I wanted to talk about the negative stigma on nihilism and nihilists. When someone comes along and says “Morality is arbitrary, life is meaningless, I believe in nothing” they are automatically seen as crazy, or just plain wrong. There is this cultural stigma on nihilists where they are seen and portrayed as “bad” people, who want to do “bad” things and use the belief in non-believing as an excuse to get away with it. When most hear the word “nihilist” they envision someone who is just depressed, antisocial and whose life is full of debauchery and sin.

Whereas, in reality, a nihilist is someone who accepts the way life is, and is able to live anyway. While there might not be an objective morality or meaning that does not mean that there cannot be found a subjective morality or meaning. Different societal norms dictate what is moral (lawful), and there are many versions of those, all subjective. All dependent on one’s location and culture. You can choose not to believe that your life is special and created for a specific purpose and still find importance and meaning in yourself and what is around you. Some find that meaning in family and friends, food, music, love. There is no reason that subjective should mean lesser, who can say an objective meaning to life is more meaningful or more important than a subjective one? 

Purpose

Purpose:

The question of ‘What is the purpose of life’ has been debated for thousands of years. Both theist and atheist have been able to produce convincing arguments on the highly debated subject. Theists tend to hold the belief that purpose is given to them or created for them by a higher Being, or their Creator. Most atheist would claim that their purpose is created by them personally, and each has their own individual purpose. The main difference between the two, besides who or what is the source of the purpose, is that the theist’s purpose derives from an objective sense, and the atheists’ meaning derives from a subjective sense.

I first want to start with the purpose of the theist, and although there are many different beliefs even from this stance, I am going to be coming from the perspective of what I believe to be the purpose of life as a christian. What I believe to be the meaning of life is to glorify God and to be in relationship with Him. Now while I believe this is exactly what the bible teaches, and many other christians would agree with me, how that is actually played out in christian’s lives can look very different. Many christians today would say that the meaning of life is to serve God. While yes I do believe that is something we ought to do, I do not believe that to be our objective purpose in life. Mark 10:45 states “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.” God’s original intent for all mankind was to be in a full on personal relationship with Him, but He also gave us the choice to choose to not have a personal relationship with Him. Even though we have turned away and chosen against Him, His purpose for us has not changed. He still wants us to have a personal relationship with Him, which He has made possible through His son Jesus.
Baggini states that the belief in an afterlife does not give us purpose, and I would actually have to agree with him. He states that if our belief in an afterlife gives us purpose, then we would always be looking towards the future, and never obtain purpose for our time on earth. As I stated earlier, God’s purpose for is not to believe in Heaven or Hell, and it is also not that we will one day, when we die, begin a relationship with Him (meaning we would be looking to the future purpose of the personal relationship). God’s purpose for us to begin a personal relationship with Him now, in our broken and fallen state, so that one day when we die, we will be in perfect relationship with Him, as it was intended to be in the beginning.

Since I believe my purpose is that of an objective sense, that does not however mean that I do not also have a subjective purpose. As a sub-purpose of my objective purpose, God calls me to many particular commands to fulfill in my time here on earth. Just some of these include telling others about Jesus and Him, putting others above myself, fighting against my core evil desires, and so on and so forth. Now, how I go about fulfilling these purposes is much like the view of the atheist. I believe God has left it up to me on what it is I want to be my subjective purpose, as long as it does not contradict His word and commands He has given me. God has left my subjective purpose up to me. I can become whatever it is I wish to be and  find my subjective purpose, and still fulfill my true objective purpose. When I become a nurse, I will be fulfilling what I believe to be my own subjective purpose, yet at the same time, still able to fulfill my objective purpose of being in a personal relationship with God.

Secondly, I don’t want to put words into other’s mouths, so I am going to be sharing to the best of my knowledge on what it is most atheists believe to be the purpose of life. Since their purpose is believed to not have come from a divine power, most atheist believe it is up to them to find their purpose. How this is done comes from a variety of ways. First, some believe their purpose is to find what their profession should be, set a goal, or fulfill a dream and be the very best they can be at it. The process of pursuing a dream or goal and becoming successful in that can be very fulfilling and have lifelong meaning. Even once they have achieved their goal, dream, or profession, their purpose does not have to end. They can continue to improve and better themselves and others through their purpose for a lifetime.

Other atheists believe that the purpose of life is to live their life in a way that it betters the lives of those who follow after they are gone, and to ensure that life indeed does continue on after we die, as proposed by Scheffler. The “afterlife” as proposed by Scheffler entails that our purpose comes from the fact that life will continue on after we die. Both the living and the dead are dependent on one another.

As I am sure there are many other theories proposed by atheists as to what the purpose of life is, these two are very compelling arguments and I believe truly can satisfy a subjective purpose.

In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that purpose, in both cases of the theist and atheist, can be lost. Even the objective purpose of the theist can be shattered. Personally for my beliefs, if evidence could prove that Jesus had not risen from the grave, then ultimately and objectively, my life as a christian would be meaningless. Many people have attempted to disprove that Jesus rose from the dead, but have been highly unsuccessful, which is one of the many reasons for my faith, yet for the sake of the argument, let's say it was in fact proven. Even Paul, the author of many New Testament books, states in 1st Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”. Now although my objective purpose would be lost, I would still be entitled to my subjective purpose.

For myself, the scary truth about subjective purposes lies in the realization that if those purposes I have made out for myself are taken away, which is a very likely possibility, should there be any other reason for me to continue on living? Christopher Hitchens explains, after he had been diagnosed with cancer, that he feared he would no longer be able to write due to his illness, and if that were the case, he states he would no longer have a purpose to continue on living. The sad truth about the world we live in, is that nothing is certain to last. If indeed our subjective purposes are taken from us, to what then do we account our reason to carry on as people?

Blogpost #1

The Afterlife 

As an atheist, I’ve pondered the thought of death a good bit and have been asked quite a lot what exactly I believe will happen when I die. If I do not believe in god, then it’s a safe assumption that I must not believe in heaven or hell either, and that is correct. I don’t. So what do I believe will happen when I die? My answer is a whole lot of nothing. My vision of what the afterlife will be like is simply that it will not even exist. I will die, and simply be dead. No golden gate of heaven opening as god greets me with a smile or fiery pits of hell I am eternally burning alive in, just blissful, peaceful death. And I don’t mean this in a depressing “I hate life” kind of way. I love life, I love being alive and being an inhabitant of this beautiful planet we call Earth. However, I also feel that one lifetime is more than enough for me, and that if dying is an inevitable thing I’m going to have to do, when it does happen I’d rather I just stay that way. However when I tell people this, especially to those with faith, they usually don’t understand how I can believe that death is the definite end. So I get asked lots of questions that are some variation of “How can you believe that there is nothing else after this without feeling like your life is meaningless and has no purpose?” or “How can the idea of an eternal life of perfection in heaven not appeal to you?” 

For the first part of this final report, I want to address the first question, of how I can believe that there is nothing more after death and still feel that life is significant. For myself, it is not too difficult because I believe that in the grand scheme of things, my life actually is pretty meaningless. Again, I don’t mean this in depressing way. I mean it in a way that, in terms of my existence in this universe, I kind of am unimportant and there is no true set “meaning” or “purpose” to my life. It is meaningless, which is not saddening but actually incredibly freeing because I am left to make my OWN meaning and purpose for my existence that will only matter to me and those involved in my life. This meaning for my life that I create is not dependent on whether a god deems it meaningful, or whether a god finds it worthy of heaven. If the afterlife is taken away then I am still left with this life. In my eyes that makes it still equally, if not more worthwhile because suddenly this is all you have got, and so you better make the best of it. There is no option of anything more, whether that “more” is good or bad. I don’t see how that concept doesn’t make this life all the more precious than before if anything.