I have been cognizant that humans are hardwired for belief, for at least 20 years. As a Buddhist, I do not believe in a God who has some grand plan and micromanages the universe. On the other hand, I have always believed, and Buddhism supports my assertion that we should all abide by our true nature. Or as it was put in Matrix Reload, we all do what we were meant to do; we follow our basic programming and fulfill our reason for being. From this perspective, I believe because I was meant to believe...but I believe that the universe as a whole is the God everyone is looking for; we are the parts, trying to realize the whole. A very challenging task.
There were several passages in that article which I wish had been expanded. One of them was the claim that, "no society ever survived more than three generations without a religious foundation as its raison d’être." Depending on your perspective, that could mean a punishment from God. Or it could mean that by going against their basic nature, like a brackish fish that ventures into fresh waters for too long, they could not take the stress and perished.
Either way it makes no difference. One of my epiphanies in life has been that the correct solution yields the same results in every problem space. This is engineering talk for saying that no matter what perspective you take, you should come to the same conclusions.
This is about as far as I am ever going to engage in a religious debate. I hope that it was of value. If needed, I'll be willing to clarify, but will not push to prove my position.
Sun Tzu |
