June 2, 2015
Organized religion gets good people doing bad things that they probably wouldn\’t do without someone interpreting the directives of a supreme being for them…today I find these organizing stories strange fairy tales…
My buddy, Clive, suggested that we have a gene that pre-disposes our belief in a supreme being.
Clive is a die-hard atheist and has been for years, who repeatedly infuriated our former Baptist headmaster. I can only wonder if ol\’ Stan is furiously staring at him from somewhere in limbo). As noted, Clive had many an argument about the existence of god with ol\’ Stan — and only playing first team rugby saved him from expulsion! Since Clive has always been well read, I usually follow-up on what he suggests to me, particularly when this god gene \”thang\” makes so much sense to me.
I probably carry this god gene because I\’ve been a big \”prayer\” ever since I can remember. I was brought up a Lutheran with the fear of god nailed into me (although my Catholic acquaintances seem to have had it much worse!)! I prayed nightly to the heavenly host hoping for nothing but the best for me and my family. If I wanted to skip my prayers — I feared it would be tantamount to not passing on a chain letter!
I prayed and prayed when I saw \”The Exorcist,\” fearing that I would be possessed by Satan (just like Linda Blair). Though I believe I avoided possession (as far as I know) — I\’ve had more than one girlfriend who has either manifestly expressed her demon possession; or, has been oblivious to it (only to let the demon[s] loose on me!).
And this wasn\’t the only stuff I prayed about : when John Lennon sang \”Christ you know it ain\’t easy\” — I wasn\’t sure I could listen to the song because I didn\’t know if the Lord\’s name was being taken in vain (even though I liked the song immensely); when Mary Magdalene sang \”He\’s just a man and I\’ve had so many men before\” in Jesus Christ Superstar, I got pretty freaked out as well — as this didn\’t sound like the celibate god I would regularly attempt to commune with; whenever I was worried that I contributed to a pregnancy — I also got on my hands and knees; and, when my 3 boys were gestating — I prayed for 3 boys. So I was either well conditioned, or, I carry the damned gene!
And now, whenever anyone asks me if I believe in \”God\” — I suggest that I do — but not in the same way most Christians and Jews do (you know, the cross between Gandalf and Santa Claus). I believe that god is every living thing, and, the Agent that contributes to human discovery and science. I\’m sure the pantheists, Zoroastrians and romanticists would agree with me; but in these days of artificial intelligence (and since we\’d like to believe that we are continuously evolving ) god must be evolving as well! Perhaps within Minecraft?!
I also believe that god once asked Itself: \”What am I?\” and decided to suicide (blow Itself up) and reconstitute Itself to figure out what It is: hence that god particle running through everything following the Big Bang.
Are we in the reconstituting phase or mid explosion? There is universe of answers to the question.
So the next time Clive and I debate the existence of god — I am going to ask him to explain the universality of the utterance of \”gawd\” during orgasm. Does it stretch across cultures, or, is it a Judeo-Christian genetic \”thang\”?