By Tyler
Mon Feb 24 2014 12:41 pm
Who is crazy? Am I crazy? In the world today there are two very different possibilities for why we exist and how we came to be. There are two theories, which answer these questions and provide a framework for answering more of life’s difficult questions, the Theory of Evolution and the Theory of Creation. These ideas are very different and cannot co-exist. There is no grey area between these two black and white ideas. They CANNOT both exist, therefore, if we find evidence that one of them is true, the other must be false. Though, in today’s society, there are individuals who stand for each and believe their theory is correct. This is clearly a battle of Science vs. Religion. Both science and religion are ways that humans explain and rationalize “why?” and “how?” questions. Religion provides answers through ancient writings and ideas, most of which do not apply to life today. These ancient ideas have been translated a countless amount of times, into what is now, modern American English. It is through religion, in which, irrational people attempt to obtain answers. Science takes beliefs and/or theories, considers the reasoning behind them and tries to disprove them. If they cannot be disproved and are rational, they are thought to be true. Rational people use science and proof provided in the world, to further educate themselves and mankind as a whole. To believe in religion is to take the easy way out, and amass all of nature and everything in the world to one higher power, ONE, SINGLE higher power. Immediately, this strikes me as impossible, and something an irrational person would believe. If this is true, and there is a higher power, who is infinitely powerful and extremely loving of all people, why is there evil? Why is there disease? Why is there tragedy? If there is a higher power, who has the power to control all people, wouldn’t people who do unthinkably horrible acts be rid of this world? If we do go to “a better place” when we die, why doesn’t everyone kill themselves?
In the United States the overwhelmingly most popular religion is based on Christianity, which is based upon the Bible. The Bible was written over 2000 years ago, as a way to answer life’s tough questions. Back in those times, there were many, many, many different theories for our existence and an uncountable amount of different stories. Many of these stories dealt with figures similar to Jesus and “God”. For example, in Ancient Egypt, before the creation of the Bible, there was a son of their God Osiris, named Horus. He was born from a virgin mother, as was Jesus said to be. That may provoke curiosity among some people. But wait, the similarities do not stop there. There are an overwhelming number of events and similarities between these two ancient characters, Horus and Jesus. These include, a break in life history: No data between ages of 12 & 30, age at baptism: 30, subsequent fate of the baptizer: beheaded, walking on water, casting out demons, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, being crucified, descending into Hell and resurrection after three days. There are many other figures with similarities to Jesus in ancient times. Why is it that all of those stories are considered to be false, but the Bible isn’t? The stories of the Bible are so incredibly impossible with what we now know about science. These primitive, ancient people did not know the things we know today. So why is it that we still accept their beliefs?
As humans, over the years we have came so incredibly far as a species, though, we still have a far way to go. In order for mankind to advance farther, we need to unify our beliefs of science vs. religion. All people need to abandon the comforting ideas that are religion. We need to realize that there isn’t a higher power. Ultimately, we need to realize we are the only authority over our own life. This is the next step for humanity so we can further advance and evolve. I realize that religion gives people satisfaction that the hard questions in life do have an answer. Frankly, with our knowledge today, some questions cannot be answered with certainty. It may be unsettling for people to believe that some questions cannot be answered. I’m sorry if I am the one breaking this news to you, but as humans we DO NOT know everything. Today, there are people attempting to find a cure for cancer. If we evolved from primates or another more primitive species, that fact may hold the answer for how to cure cancer. If we were created by a higher power, how would we find a cure? We may have to try and think of what the higher power was thinking when they created this horrible disease and devise a way to reverse it? Or would we just pray that it goes away? We cannot believe that praying is the answer any longer. That is the easy answer and the easy way out. In history, the easy way out has been found to be false many, many times. For example, everyone in the Middle Ages believed the earth was flat. The people could not see it any other way and thought individuals who believed otherwise were insane. Do we still believe that? Of course not, we have found evidence that contradicts that and we dropped that belief from society. We have found evidence that humans have evolved from more primitive species, though we still accept religion? For example, the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells. There is definitive evidence that mitochondria were actually a free-living microbe, when it somehow ended up inside a cell. This cell was better equipped to live in its environment. Due to natural selection, this microbe and the host cell both benefitted from the endosymbiotic relationship inside the host, so it made its way into the genome. Today all eukaryotes have mitochondria because of this natural selection process. So now that this has been proven, why do we still believe we were created by a higher power? We are such an advanced species, but we still cling to these ancient beliefs. This is because humans always want answers. It is part of us to want our questions answered. Most people cannot understand the fact that there may be unanswerable questions, at this time on earth. Due to this quality/defect in our species, we answer these hard questions with “God.” Answering “How did humans come about?” with something to do with a higher power, is such a primitive way of reasoning. We are so intelligent why do we believe that someone/something is controlling our lives?
I believe that we evolved into the species we are today.
If I am in fact wrong, I need some sort of proof other than irrational stories from an ancient book. Some people claim that they have spoken to “God.” This influences them to make the decisions they do in life. For example, there have been people that have killed their own children, killed other people with different beliefs and many more, with the reason that “God told me to.” So, how is it that they are rational individuals, but I am not because I do not believe there is a higher power? The human brain is the single most powerful feature of any organism on earth. It has the power to make an individual believe things that are not true and not realistic. If you believe you are sick hard enough, your body will start showing symptoms of being sick. If you believe that there is a God hard enough, your conscious may fabricate hallucinations inside your head that you spoke with a God. In science, this is a condition known as schizophrenia. People who suffer from schizophrenia experience hallucinations that do not reflect reality. The people that believe they have spoken to a God are thought to be some of the most powerful individuals in the religious community. What if this is merely hallucinations? Why do people worship these individuals and take their words as the words of a God?
There are people in this world that truly believe there is a higher power. For those people, there is nothing that can change their minds. I feel sympathy towards these mentally ill people. If I am in fact the one who is mistaken about this topic, I will take responsibility for my incorrectness, and follow whatever “God” may actually exist. Until I see some sort of evidence, I will not believe. There are too many incredible advances that science has brought to humanity for us to completely abandon it in favor of religion.
----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
