There have always been questions that have plagued humanity since homo-sapiens became self-aware. Existential questions are difficult if not impossible to answer. Many people find comfort in the Bible or the Koran, to ease them from the burden of such small but significant questions. String Theory and the Big Bang Theory both support the idea that there is no need for a God. If humans lived a life without any God, what would be the perks of being completely alone in this vast and expansive universe?
This article is not meant to insult anyone of any faith; it is merely a matter of examining what the world would be like if religion was no longer a daily practice. Perhaps beginning with the negatives is appropriate, and then move onto the perks.
First of all, many people who depended on their faith to keep them motivated will fall under depression. Some have dedicated their whole lives to “finding God”. To realize that there was no God would come as a grievous shock to many. Some believers will still believe, despite all proof, some will not cope, many would commit suicide, but some would learn to adapt to this reality.
There are many that argue that without religion there would be no wars. Throughout history so many have been started “in the name of God”. The reality is there would still be wars. Religion was never the cause for war; it was solely an excuse, a way to manipulate people. The real reason for wars is because human beings by nature are greedy and violent, and that is not changing any time soon. In a world with no religion, politicians will still find a way to involve their nations in battle for expansion.
Atheists have often been asked by religious followers: if religion is false, where do we get our sense of morality? The short answer: rationality. Is it a coincidence that every successful civilization has the same types of laws? Is it a coincidence that acts such as theft, murder, rape, injuring, kidnapping, drug dealing, looting, and other types of violence are regarded as “crimes” or “unlawful” by every successful society? Two societies whom have never interacted with each other and share different religions condemn the same sins, and encourage the same good deeds.
A tribe or modern civilizations cannot develop without establishing what is right and what is wrong. If murder went unpunished, and humans killed each other willy-nilly our species could not survive. Therefore, murder is considered “wrong.” A human being is physically helpless by himself. A lone hunter would struggle to gather food, but a group can work together to trap and ensnare a large amount of prey. From that, humans learned sharing and teamwork is “right”.
Stephen Hawkings once said “Time didn’t exist before the big bang, so there is no time for God to make the universe in. It’s like asking directions to the edge of the earth; The Earth is a sphere; it doesn’t have an edge.” But without God to lead us through life, how can being alone in this universe have any perks whatsoever? With the acceptance that there is no Heaven or Hell, life after death or reincarnation, people will no longer do good deeds for a reward and to avoid punishment. Instead, good deeds will be done because it is the right thing to do. A universe with no God is a universe, where consequences are only limited to one’s life. There is no eternal damnation or salvation.
Then what is the point? Why live if there is no God, Heaven or Hell? If what one does is inconsequential or irrelevant in collaboration with the universe, why bother? But that is precisely the point. There is no point! If it does not matter whether one lives or dies, then one might as well live life and enjoy it; ignore what happens afterwards. This idea can be scary, as it entails how insignificant each individual is. Just because something has no purpose, it does not mean it cannot be enjoyed.
Believing in Hell, demons, and Satan leads a life of anxiety. Believing in psychics, Ouija boards, and future cards, leaves things to chance. Believing in Zodiac signs, horoscopes and astrology creates prejudices. Blind faith discourages critical thinking or independence. Believing in ghosts, angels, or other forms of apparitions excludes scientific analysis. A universe without God disposes of all those disadvantages. Instead, life can be focused on managing one’s future, accepting differences, creative thinking and finding facts. The supernatural is made to make life more interesting, but is the universe not interesting enough? Stars, space, landscapes, auroras, genetics, shooting stars, chemistry, physics, cultures, art, history, etcetera. Are these real things not engaging enough that human beings must replace them with superstitions?
This topic is too complex to summarise in one article. It may even be too complicated to summarize in a book. All of this is hypothetical; God cannot be proven or unproven by science. Being alone in the universe does have its perks, for without God, humans would lead better lives.
Opinion By Ignacio Gatti
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10 Responses
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“String Theory and the Big Bang Theory both support the idea that there is no need for a God” ahha
how the big bang happen ? and where the matter that we see in the universe come from ? and what’s outside of our universe ? and what’s the chance of the universe to be created so perfectly by chance?
What people should understand that we didn’t create the science the science is created by God and our “science” only descriptive, meaning we describe “HOW” things are created but “Who” created them not the science because is it a tool, we can create cars with science right ? who create cars the science? …..
The easy explanation and logical explanation for all of this that there is God.
The self awareness of human beings led to the inescapable road to believe in something else. We cannot fathom an existence without meaning, suffering without reward or cruelty without punishment. It MUST be something else that let us cope with our hard lives. Believing that all our toil will not be compensated and that our tormenters will not be disciplined will destroy our hope. We need a God to support us. Unfortunately, the fact that we need one doesn’t make it real. As “intelligent beings” that we are supposed to be we should live our lives decently, with austerity and respect for others and love to the ones who love us. No supreme leader needed.
I liked the article , but I have to disagree , and my next statement is backed up by the 5 responses that I also just read . I don’t believe that if every body believed that if there was no God that we as human as we are would live better lives . Look at the response that just the notion of no God brought out .
You should just live a life that you can be proud of and raise your children the same way .
Dear fake “Richard Dawkings” (fake atheist). Of course we get morals from rationality. From the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/): “Ethics, sometimes known as philosophical ethics, ethical theory, moral theory, and moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct, often addressing disputes of moral diversity”
The Bible teaches us that slavery is OK as long as you treat them well, that it is OK to genocide the people that is occupying the promised land, how did we change this wrong morals if not though rational analysis?
Despite the fact I don’t agree completely with the writer, I think he has the guts to expose his views of such a controversial topic. Mr. Dawkins, he is not a fool, he is an inquirer. Although I am sorry he claims that : … without God, humans would lead better lives.
I almost forgot to mention the mass slaughter carried out by Godless communist countries, butchering millions. The writer of the article is a fool.
What a load of pompous twaddle. So we get moral laws from rationality? That begs the question where do we get rationality from, and who/what defines which rationality is moral. All histories tyrants have been rational to themselves. Also, our esteemed author brushes past string theory and the big bang – where do the physical laws that we use to theorise such beliefs originate?
We believe in God because of the most powerful law of nature – self preservation. Even if there is no organized religion, self preservation will cause many people to still believe in a higher being, in the hopes of living forever.