We are homo sapiens, "wise men," a species seemingly singled
out to walk upright, to speak, to think and reason. We've got a big brainpan. We're
special. Made in the image of God, according to some. Godlike.
That doesn't make much sense when we think about how creepy and klutzy we are as humans, how low-down and scheming and self-serving. It doesn't make much sense when we think about how fragile we are in these bodies, how many ways there are for them to break down and die before their time. And even when allotted the full biblical share of "threescore and ten" (not much by modern standards of longevity), eventually the body and mind fail and we are left a pathetic shell of what we once were. All in less than a hundred years. That's Godlike? Surely He could have come up with something better than that, right?
And what about all those bodily functions that are smelly and disgusting? Those are Godlike? And sex. What about that? Heavy and sweaty bodies gasping for breath and clutching each other like animals in heat, explosive orgasms--that's Godlike? Fornication seems pretty dirty to be Godlike, doesn't it? No, if the fragile, appetite-driven, animal-like human body is Godlike, we've got to wonder what kind of God He is. Why couldn't He have done any better? What was He thinking? It doesn't add up.
That doesn't make much sense when we think about how creepy and klutzy we are as humans, how low-down and scheming and self-serving. It doesn't make much sense when we think about how fragile we are in these bodies, how many ways there are for them to break down and die before their time. And even when allotted the full biblical share of "threescore and ten" (not much by modern standards of longevity), eventually the body and mind fail and we are left a pathetic shell of what we once were. All in less than a hundred years. That's Godlike? Surely He could have come up with something better than that, right?
And what about all those bodily functions that are smelly and disgusting? Those are Godlike? And sex. What about that? Heavy and sweaty bodies gasping for breath and clutching each other like animals in heat, explosive orgasms--that's Godlike? Fornication seems pretty dirty to be Godlike, doesn't it? No, if the fragile, appetite-driven, animal-like human body is Godlike, we've got to wonder what kind of God He is. Why couldn't He have done any better? What was He thinking? It doesn't add up.
It is argued, of course, that all this "made in God's image" stuff shouldn’t
be taken too literally. After all, we do
think and reason, that must be how we are made in God’s image. And it is true
that we have thought and reasoned our way to greatness throughout the entire
catalog of human inquiry. That must surely be Godlike.
We
understand, for example, evolution's role in the origin of the species,
although that understanding meant we had to give up the Adam and Eve
myth. We understand cosmology too, or great chunks of it, including the
age of the universe, many of the physical laws that govern it, and even its
origin, although this knowledge has come to us at the expense of the creation
myth in Genesis. And we also understand quantum mechanics, including the
subatomic structures that have explained such mysteries as the formation of
matter in the universe, but that unfortunately didn’t leave God with anything to
create.
So now we have a new mystery. How is it that God gave us reason and intelligence enough to conclude that He has no role in anything--not in the formation of the heavens and the earth, not in the creation of mankind, and not in the basic formation of matter. The only conclusion that makes sense is that there is no God.
Which is strangely consoling. If we are in fact made in God's image, then we have to ask if the evil side of human nature is a mirror image of an evil side of God, which is an unthinkable concept for those who believe He exists. But if God doesn't exist, then everything makes sense again, for we can readily explain evil simply by looking within ourselves, or by accepting horrific natural disasters as the work of an indifferent universe instead of a vengeful God. When nature causes human suffering, it isn't personal.
And if there is no God, we don't have to worry about the Bible either, which is clearly a work of fiction--now bloodthirsty, now lustful--flights of fantasy co-existing with horrible tests of faith. It's a good read, a wonderful romp through the ancient world, violent and grotesque at times, lyrical and gentle at other times. If God doesn't exist, then the Bible can be read as the good book it is, not the Good Book believers cling to in place of reason and common sense.
The glory of the human experience is that we are on a solitary journey through time and space and that we have discovered the truths of the universe all on our own. And while we haven't yet unlocked all the secrets of the universe, we have probed deeply, asked the right questions, and persisted in our work, and one day homo sapiens will figure it all out. In time. All of us should be proud to be part of this problem-solving species. We are merciful and forgiving and infinitely curious about the Big Questions that we have been picking away at for a few thousand years, hardly any time at all when we recall the universe is about fourteen billion years old. We are remarkable all on our own.
Cheers to the godless. Without you we'd still be stuck interpreting tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions as God's displeasure with His chosen people, wondering just where we went wrong and why we needed to be punished.
Thank God we've grown past all that.
So now we have a new mystery. How is it that God gave us reason and intelligence enough to conclude that He has no role in anything--not in the formation of the heavens and the earth, not in the creation of mankind, and not in the basic formation of matter. The only conclusion that makes sense is that there is no God.
Which is strangely consoling. If we are in fact made in God's image, then we have to ask if the evil side of human nature is a mirror image of an evil side of God, which is an unthinkable concept for those who believe He exists. But if God doesn't exist, then everything makes sense again, for we can readily explain evil simply by looking within ourselves, or by accepting horrific natural disasters as the work of an indifferent universe instead of a vengeful God. When nature causes human suffering, it isn't personal.
And if there is no God, we don't have to worry about the Bible either, which is clearly a work of fiction--now bloodthirsty, now lustful--flights of fantasy co-existing with horrible tests of faith. It's a good read, a wonderful romp through the ancient world, violent and grotesque at times, lyrical and gentle at other times. If God doesn't exist, then the Bible can be read as the good book it is, not the Good Book believers cling to in place of reason and common sense.
The glory of the human experience is that we are on a solitary journey through time and space and that we have discovered the truths of the universe all on our own. And while we haven't yet unlocked all the secrets of the universe, we have probed deeply, asked the right questions, and persisted in our work, and one day homo sapiens will figure it all out. In time. All of us should be proud to be part of this problem-solving species. We are merciful and forgiving and infinitely curious about the Big Questions that we have been picking away at for a few thousand years, hardly any time at all when we recall the universe is about fourteen billion years old. We are remarkable all on our own.
Cheers to the godless. Without you we'd still be stuck interpreting tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions as God's displeasure with His chosen people, wondering just where we went wrong and why we needed to be punished.
Thank God we've grown past all that.
