Saturday, June 28, 2008

To "The Religious" who "follow the leader" thanks to evolution!

Many are easily absorbed into a religious frame of mind, which is not surprising since they are simply following the evolutionary trend to "follow the leader"...(not a "god gene" exactly, read on!)

WE ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS and evolved in GROUPS.

Social animals have social hierarchies, and structures to allow for dominance and submissiveness within the group. We can't all be CHIEFS or WORKERS, we need "management systems" to be a healthy, viable community.

Leaders of the group held in their heads (until writing happened) ALL THE RULES NECESSARY TO HAVE THE GROUP CARRY ON...they were super important to survival, singing the history of the group, reminding the young what is good to eat and what to avoid, knowing what to expect as seasons change, knowing how to make a rope/bowl/arrow/fire etc. etc. etc.

Over hundreds of generations of humans, those who didn't "follow the leader" wandered off and got eaten by wolves. B'bye!

Those who survived long enough to procreate, (having followed the leader and the "rules"), contributed more than their fair share of genes that provided for acquiescence to leaders, as that was already "in their nature".

What we see TODAY: substantial, yet no way to substantiate, "belief" in a "higher power". That "higher power" is the 'shadow' of the ancient leaders your ancestors followed, and therefore procreated so you can be here to read this! It is the current manifestation of the "follow the leader" inclination!

The religious are uncomfortable to even consider their life without "a leader"...and so imbibe whatever religious balderdash they are served, to regain or establish a feeling of comfort...some call them SHEEPLE, perhaps not far from the truth, but I don't agree...it is a spectrum of compulsion that has them "believe" some are more strongly affected, some less!

The rest of the mess is just dressing on the salad...to keep them in the tent!
explanations of origins 
explanations of the future...
expectations of how to live "morally" (In actuality, religions are NOT the SOURCE of morality, they simply reflect our moral human nature! (religions just claim to deliver it...))
afterlife (quite useful to usher them into the tent...)
sin
soul 
vision of hearing/seeing dead grandma giving advice
praying something good will happen
praying something bad will happen
(SOMETHING is going to happen, so, if one Prayed Right, and/or Prayed ENOUGH your prayers are "answered"!)
near death experiences - white tunnels of love (as oxygen fails the brain)!
hell
etc. etc. etc.

In reality, not the fantasy in one's head, there is absolutely NO EVIDENCE THERE IS ANYTHING ELSE "OUT THERE" in terms of "higher powers"!

Perhaps that thought by itself is so disturbing to someone whose being is looking for "leadership" that it is simply unacceptable!

THERE IS NO "HIGHER POWER", YOU ARE IN CHARGE, regardless of what you believe, your chemistry dictates your actions and you can "blame" or "credit" your belief systems as you see fit!

"God made me do it" isn't a defense that works in a court of law, for a REASON! 

YOU "make you do it". That requires individual responsibility, perhaps that's another reason to believe, so you don't have to have so much on your own shoulders, "It's god's plan" not a mistake I made!!!

I am sensitive to your "beliefs" as you are compelled to follow (something), or be dependent on the thought that there is a "higher power" looking after you. 

I can't help but pity you just a bit, sorry, I'm human too.

Since I'm human: Why don't I have this aspect as part of my being?

I definitely "follow the rules" - since I got to be this old!

I speculate we "nay-sayers", "devil's advocates" and "questioners of authority" keep things fresh. We are around so that COLLECTIVELY we don't fall into a trap that precludes curiousity, creativity, thinking out of the box, as that's how new things are discovered...BLIND FAITH is dangerous - google Jonestown and kool-aid!

The world is changing (and always has been) therefore no one "idealized" view of reality can survive forever...some of us are here to point out the new "changed" reality in which we live.