Thursday, July 26, 2012

Do We Need a God?


Please consider that this is an unfinished article.

Belief in a particular supernatural being or beings is one of the main characteristics of civilizations that existed throughout the human history. From the humble beginning of cave humanoids to the more sophisticated Roman civilization and then to the 21st Century, this system of beliefs has never relieved the grasp it had on human minds. Be it polytheistic or monotheistic, these beliefs still exist in our society. If one were to observe from a distance without any bias to any point of views, he or she may conclude that almost all of these beliefs that exist are results of ignorance, fear, and over-extended need to be special. Yet people continue believe, and find solace in these beliefs, sometimes even going to great lengths to deny the proven facts that contradict his/her system of belief. Each of these prominent beliefs feature an almighty, all-knowing supernatural being, commonly referred to as “God”. In the wake of new atheism, these belief systems are under heavy scrutiny and criticism, with more and more people gathering to question the existence of such a being and the use of having one. One important point I should emphasize before moving forward is that, I will be not arguing about the existence of such a being. One can never prove that such a being does not exist, yet at the same time no one can prove that such a being does exist. Instead I will be focusing more on the topic that do we actually need a “God"?

Most religious people resort to “God” when trying to explain the origin of life and universe. Though the scientists don’t really have the perfect understanding of the beginning of life, or universe, they do have very plausible theories that explain how both began. Consider the beginning of life in planet Earth, contrary to the man was created from clay belief, scientists push forward evolution. Evolution regardless of what some may believe, is a proven scientific fact that is supported by numerous evidences. The part where scientists are still struggling to discover is the absolute origin of life. The biologists believe that life began with a self-replicating molecule. However, neither DNA nor proteins fit the position, as each of them has their own unique qualities that disqualify them from being the candidate. But people who are working on finding the answers, think that RNA might be the key to finding the self-replicating molecule. 

God - The Definition

Please consider that this an unfinished article. 

What or who is “God”? The word God is depicted, defined, and interpreted in many ways. But the common definition for ”God”, according to Abrahamic religions is a being who is omnipotent (one with infinite power), omniscience (one with infinite knowledge), and omnipresent (one who is everywhere, all the time) that exist beyond the space time continuum of human comprehension. This definition, however, fits only the profile of the “God” of Abrahamic religions. Hinduism, a polytheistic religion, has a different definition for “God”, as most of their gods do not the fit the criteria or abilities of the “God” Abrahamic religions. Though the details differ from religion to religion (of Abrahamic religions), the basic belief is that “God” created the universe, and all of the life on Earth. The origin of this creator or father “God” remains conveniently unknown to any of the followers, the only explanation being “it is beyond human understanding”.