THE END OF RELIGION

This does not come as recent news. Books have been published on the subject : “The End of Faith” by Sam Harris; “Why Christianity Must Change or Die” by Bishop John Shelby Spong; “God is not Great” by Christopher Hitchens are examples.

The foundations of the hitherto unassailable bastions of faith are crumbling. The gifts of comprehension and reasoning, so highly developed in humans, now have the benefit of mountains of knowledge, as well as rapidly developing information regarding the nature of the universe and how belief dictates human behavior, with tolerance at one extreme and tyranny at the other. Moreover, mechanisms of information dissemination have taken astonishing leaps forward. No longer need humans be heavily dependent on texts developed long ago by male supremacists for whom treatment of women like chattel, the obligation of slaves to obey their masters, high esteem for persons of great wealth, torture, vengeance and wars were acceptable. Claims of conversation and direction from God as the source of their directives notwithstanding, there has never been a verifiable direct conversation with God. Humans have presumptively assumed that the Creator reasons as humans do, although there is no clear idea why this should be so. There is no basis for such an assumption other than human projection. Quite plausibly, a Creator is as likely to deal in absolutes.

Just as the maintenance manual for a Model-T Ford won’t do for a modern automobile, the Bible, Quran and even modern texts whose origin was a time when Earth was the center of the universe are unfulfilling, and are arguably often the source of anguish and pileups on the human scene. The wisdom of the ages pales before the avalanche of information and knowledge that is emerging in contemporary times. Soon the Holy Bible, the Quran, The Book of Mormon and all other religious tomes will take their places on the bookshelves by Chaucer, Beowulf, Paradise Lost, The Iliad, Shakespeare’s Plays....... all stories, entertaining and shaping humanity as only stories can.

Hubble and Spitzer telescopes have revealed a universe that is incredibly vast and beautiful, quite beyond an individual’s ability to grasp.....but it sure is fun to try. Physicists and mathematicians have quite convincingly determined that everything began with the big bang (soundless, as it turns out), and are more or less content to cede that territory to creationists, as for the time being the presence of a creator at the beginning is as satisfactory an explanation as any. Those who live strictly by “The Book” must somehow resolve the conundrum of instantaneous creation as opposed to a leisurely six days. But there are many questions; Did the Creator start with a plan? Or was the beginning simply something like: I wonder what will happen if I push this button.....KABLOOEY!

Most likely, religions will be replaced with community spirit and humility, given the new awareness of humans’ microscopic presence in a universe or universes so vast that comprehension is impossible. The fact that humanoid presence for a seemingly awesome four million years or thereabouts represents only .000003% of the age of the universe is cause enough for humility and wonder. In the grand scheme of things, is it conceivable that the Creator, after 13 billion years’ had in mind that tiny slot as the culmination of all it intended to achieve? It would be quite amazing...... an experiment that could fail, as the reins were clearly loosened when the human species achieved dominance.

What is sound, reasonable, has scientific basis and is verifiable is at play now to an extent that has never occurred before. Astrophysicists are now able to extrapolate from a few discoveries of planets circling other stars that there are likely hundreds of millions of Earth-similar planets “out there.” With this realization the immediate question might be: Where do we fit in?

Suppose we accept that the Creator really is intelligent, does reason and operates somewhere within the scope of what rational humans deem acceptable. Nearly a hundred years ago Albert Einstein, convinced that Earth occupied a unique position in the fabric of the universe, argued convincingly that “God does not play Dice.” Just months ago Stephen Hawking, equipped with vastly more knowledge about the universe than Einstein had, argued convincingly that God indeed does play dice.” In fact, both conclusions may be true for us lesser intellects who still choose to exercise their powers of reason to the limits of our capability. We need not submit to views and pronouncements of superior or authoritative intellects. Anyone can play this game.

A comfortable position is that there was a plan. The Creator did plan and did reason. The universe would be very big. There wouldn’t be one Earth, but many. It would be too risky to “put all eggs in one basket.” The universe is necessarily made enormous in order to separate the millions of planets by distances so great that one cannot communicate effectively with another, contaminate another, or (God forbid) go to war with another.

Finally, it’s now a fair assumption that human populated Earth is of small consequence in the grand scheme of things. Earth will go on, minus a species. The extinction of passenger pigeons, for example, hasn’t changed things perceptibly. Thus far, religions, and conflicts between religions have arguably been one of the impediments to ensuring species longevity. Comprehension and reasoning must eventually put them aside for something better. Failing that, the future for humans on this planet could be bleak indeed.