There are 2 basic, mutually exclusive possibilities, for the origin of life and the universe:
Intelligent Design
Atheistic Naturalism
or more colorfully,
Goddidit
Nuthindidit
All other Questions in life hinge on the assumption of one or the other of these base worldviews.
I have listed the Big Questions of life before, but to provide a more complete philosophical overview, I'll repeat them:
Origins
Meaning
Morality
Destiny
These are The Big Ones: How, Why, What, & When.
They are questions of matter, purpose, law, & time.
HOW did i (and everybody else) get here?
WHY are we here? Is there a purpose to our existence?
WHAT do we do? Are there rules for our existence?
WHEN we die, what happens? Is there a soul?
The conclusions drawn, from either assumption, are completely different:
IF.. the God made assumption is true, THEN:
How? - Goddidit
Why? - There may be a reason or purpose that God has made us.
What? - There may be rules, or standards of morality, for our behavior.
When? - We might have a soul, and face an eternal destiny.
Now, IF.. we assume a godless universe, the answers are logically different.
How? - Nuthindidit. Natural processes, without intelligent intervention
Why? - No purpose or meaning is possible. We are a random accident in a meaningless, purposeless universe
What? - No absolute morality is possible. Good, evil, virtue, and morality are human constructs made up to manipulate people
When? - No soul, no existence beyond the physical.
These are the logical possibilities, and the conclusions, from either assumption.
Why do so many people believe in a standard of morality, or a sense of significance and purpose, or a feeling of spirit/soul within them?
2 possibilities:
- Those things are real, inherent to our existence
- those things are delusions
The dilemma we humans have, is figuring which assumption to believe. Is the universe purposeful, directed, with eternal significance and consequence? Or is it a random accident of nature, with no direction, significance, or consequence?
Delusion is common, in the human experience. How does one arrive at an objective, empirical conclusion, on this most basic question of humanity?
How would one distinguish from a genuine 'experience' of God, vs a sentimental feeling, or angst driven psychosis?
What if this 'feeling' of longing, remorse, and emptiness is just a chemical reaction in the brain, with no spiritual significance? What if 'religious experience', is just a delusion, as many skeptics claim?
It seems that if you reject these 'callings' from God, or at least the feelings of Something More, eventually they go away, and you become settled and convinced they are all contrived.. from fear, wishful thinking, or manipulation.
The problem i have with this conclusion, is the exclusion of themselves, by the skeptics, of the psychological motivations.
IF.. belief in God is a delusion.. wishful thinking to pretend significance and eternal purpose in a meaningless, insignificant universe, how do they exclude themselves? If there is such a major propensity in humanity to believe in a delusion, might the skeptic also be deluded, by pretending there is no God, no accountability, no sin, and no eternal consequence for their words, thoughts, and actions? What if constant denial and 'hardening the heart', toward spiritual matters only dulls or deadens the spiritual perceptors in every human? That possibility is equally valid.
If it an easy projection on the majority to assume, 'delusion!', for believing in God, i submit that the reverse is an equally valid assumption. The skeptic is merely responding from fear and wishful thinking, pretending there is no God, so as to avoid the responsibility and accountability he might have, toward his Creator.
If delusion is as widespread as it appears, then what else can you conclude, but widespread delusion, regarding the mysteries of life?
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