Thoughts - continuation

What are my views on life? What's it like to be me?

My views and my being become important only in the context of people whose belief system is radically different to mine. So, let me try and answer it, starting with a brief prologue.

In a society steeped in faith and unquestioned belief in God, and a way of life that is transgressed ceaselessly by religion, dogmas, rituals and culture, where do I stand? This is a question that I have to answer on a continuing basis - to myself first and sometimes, in words or by action, to people that matter to me. That I am accepted the way I am, is in itself a great credit to the people that I am close to - but, it does bother me sometimes when they themselves accept matters of faith without mental scrutiny and in most cases, against their own better judgment.

At the outset, I should make it clear that I have never argued, nor do I believe, that science is the only way of understanding, viewing, or perceiving the world. I have never claimed that things that cannot be studied scientifically must or may not exist. However, I do believe and will argue that we must investigate a subject scientifically if we wish to obtain objective, reliable information about it. Anyone with a rational mind will readily admit - objective, reliable, scientific information about God is entirely non-existent.

God is typically defined as an actual, objective being with an existence independent of what anyone thinks. If so, there should or must be an empirical evidence of the existence of such a being, and there is every reason to demand it - because the existence of God is an extraordinary claim and it is not in accord with everyday experience. It is only right to ask for evidence, and strong evidence, before accepting the existence of a being whose qualities clash so drastically with observed principles of reality.

To all appearances, the cosmos runs by itself, guided only by the regularities of natural law. There is no obvious sign of a superior omnipotent God directing the movements from the heavens, and even those theists who believe in miracles would probably admit that it is beyond any hidden hand to control the vastness, the emptiness and the sheer size and mass of its stars and what's left of some of them.

In short, that's my belief, and based on that, this is what I am.

I am unique and I realise the significance of it. I am alive in this vast universe of grandeur and mystery that surrounds me and appreciate the brief but wonderful chance I have to learn about them and enjoy the beauty of it all. I am willing to put aside my ego for the cause of discovering solutions to current-day problems, without the help of a deity, so as to improve the future for me and others.

I don't believe in gods, devils, dragons, fairies, unicorns or any other creatures of the human imagination. I have the freedom to make my own decisions. I can have whatever kind of food or drink I like, and love whoever I want, and take full responsibility for my actions. I live in a world ruled by logic and reason, not supernatural gibberish and psychic mumbo-jumbo. I experience the world as it is, not filtered through the preconceptions of a rigid, inflexible mindset.

I have a fearless outlook and a free intelligence, free from ancient superstition and no one tells me how or what to think or do and there is no forbidden knowledge. I do good for its own sake, not because I desire reward or fear punishment. I am not afraid of the dark nor noises in the night. I am secure in the knowledge that there are no ghosts, no evil spirits, and no demons waiting to get me when I turn out the lights.

I don't blindly accept everything I am told. I don't subscribe to blind faith, illogic and prejudice, but to clear thinking, rationality and scepticism. I am free to form my own opinions, rather than having my outlook coloured by a belief system that tells me what I should think. I lack belief in all gods, all religions and all supernatural entities alike.

I see psychics, crystal-ball gazers, horoscope readers, fortune tellers, tarot card readers, conmen, fraudsters and god men and can only feel amused at the gullibility of those who fall for their obvious scams. It does not surprise me that their gullibility stems from blind faith, fear, ignorance and greed and on the other hand, the perpetrators’ success is doubly assured with judicious use of God in the backdrop and a smattering of religion to cloud the mental vision.

My life isn't dictated by the mistranslated oral renditions of a tribe of primitive nomads who thought the world was flat and diseases were caused by evil spirits and that, my misfortunes are caused by my sins of omission and commission in my "last birth". I am not predestined or born into some particular social class or station in life, but I set my own path and make my own goals, limited only by my imagination and my willingness to apply my skills.

I am accountable to myself, not to some divine voyeur constantly looking over my shoulder and marking down every transgression, no matter how insignificant, to use against me later. I don't have to throw myself down in agony and beg some terrible cosmic dictator for forgiveness for being the way I am. I accept responsibility for my own actions, instead of blaming predestination or malignant demons who constantly tempt me into evil. If I hurt or wrong anyone inadvertently, I will try and willingly correct or rectify my mistake, else I can obtain forgiveness simply by asking it of and receiving it from the one offended or hurt. There is no reason whatsoever to spill blood over such matters, or for vengeance to be taken.

I bear no responsibility for the oppression of the weak, the slavery of native peoples, the massacres of those who believed differently, and the atrocities perpetrated against every other group in history that suffered under the heel of dictators, believers, priests and churches who justified their actions by claiming to act in God's name and with God's authority.

I can view and enjoy the sunrise on a pink and blue dawn and appreciate and understand the astronomical significance, the distant snow-capped mountains and know they're the result of a fiery, slow-motion collision of two vast continental plates drifting on a sea of magma, or the gold-speckled green leaves of the trees of the forest and know they're photosynthetic organisms with many of the same genes as ours, feeding off sunlight and water to produce sugar and wood, and realise that the knowledge of these things only makes these sights far more beautiful.

I can shake my head at the hypocrisy, corruption and intolerance of the fundamentalists of all hues and shades. I view life as a wonderful opportunity, not as a never-ending hell of suffering, a burden to the spirit or a hindrance to be escaped from. I do not believe for a moment that there is a better life after death, as a reward for mindlessly obeying some fundamentalist crank, in the name of religion. I don't believe in eternal life, or resurrection, or reincarnation, or any other concept that cheapens the value of the all-too-brief time we have on earth.

I believe that all human beings are created equal, and that they possess certain inalienable rights, and among these are the rights to life, right to express one's views without fear, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

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