Posted by Steve on 09/21/07 06:40

let me surprise you with this.

far from dawkins and removed from the extremes of atheism, i think religion
is the most profound expression of human-kind. science and logic are fine
activities in which we find ourselves sometimes engaged, however they are
not endeavors that speak to the more central, the more essential nature of
man. man is inquisitive, yes, and science and reason help satisfy that vent.
neither, though, speak more closely to that which defines us best and
distinguishes us most from any other animal than does religion. it is the
fulfilment of our most basic traits that have made us stand out like no
other. those traits are our overwhelming desire and capacity to infer
meaning and purpose.

it is of no surprise that we, the tool makers, determine the best way to
solve problems with solutions outside of ourselves. should it be any less of
a revelation that we would in introspect look at ourselves to ask, what is
our purpose? and to solve a problem, we must understand the causes and
effects in which it occurs. we must know the nature of the problem; its
meaning. it should only be expected that we too are no less grounded and
that one should be afforded to us. bertrand russell once said that without
god, there is no meaning to life. how ironic that he affirms religion in
that statement. whether there is or is not meaning in life, it is
irrelevant. it is the desire felt by all to have it that is! religion
affords man the ability to affect his own meaning. religion, in fact, is
more an expression of what we value most in life. that is, after we consider
our purpose and have settled our meaning, we hope.

being an atheist myself, it may be interesting for you to consider that i
find at the core, the heart of religion, the grandest of hope and the
aspirations that man can be liberated from himself and reach a more noble
existence. i find in myself, the hope that man can actually become more than
a noble savage. i see, oddly enough, that at the core of me is what i find
at the heart of religion. i see that though the question of god's existence
is irrelevant to me, religion is uniquely human. and, though not religious,
i find myself with the same end desire i believe characterist of religion.
it is not atheism that is correct. it is not religion that is correct.
neither are as important as, that both for different reasons, are doing and
thinking about the same things - at the heart of it, being human.

truly, it doesn't matter from what source i think those terms are derived
whether human or divine, for it is, either way, what i believe man does
value most. i believe hope is most simply expressed through religion and
impossible to describe through logical processes or scientific methods. man
cannot with ease quantify hope or observe its nature.

religion should not be condemed as passe. long after we have lost a need to
'say god did this, see his mark?', we will still have need to reason that
our meaning is not limited to an era of existence on this planet, but that
there is more. we will always hope. that is how we understand our purpose
and on what our meaning is based. i believe russell did not consider human
nature deeply enough. would he have, surely he would have said, without
hope, there is no purpose for man and without purpose, there can be no
meaning. for that would have spoken to the heart of us all, and to the hope
within us all.

cheers.

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