I believe in the great mystery, that we are surrounded by the unknown and the unknowable. We don't know where we came from, where we are going, or why we are here.
Did we exist before we were born, or not? Does our soul come into being when we are born? Or when we are conceived? When our parents make love? When they decided to have a child? We have no clue.
Do we even have a soul, separate from our body? We don't know that either. Certainly we have an animating spirit that moves us, but we don't know what that is.
Does our soul go to heaven when we die? Hell, we don't know. We can't know.
Why do so many ignoramuses prattle on about God and what God knows and what God wants? I am not sure. Power, I think. It gives them a certain amount of power over others to pretend to know what they can't know.
Reminds me of a quote from the great lawyer Clarence Darrow:
“I do not consider it an insult but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure -- that is all that agnosticism means.”
Apparently people were appalled that Darrow was an agnostic. I'm proud to be in his company.
I do not fear the great mystery. There is no point in being afraid of what you can't understand and can't see or describe or hear or remember. No point at all.
© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle
3 comments:
Great post, Roger!
Ron and I were just having a regular discussion during dinner about religion. Proclaiming faith in a higher power is a wedge issue and propagates fear and destructive behavior.
A good blog from Roger as the philosopher.
Thanks, folks.
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