You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
Lennon/McCartney
Like it or not we homo sapiens are riding the crest of a tsunamic wave of c
hange that is part of the Information Revolution. Like the Agricultural, Copernican or Industrial Revolutions this progression is causing an upheaval in the world of mankind.Not since the acceptance of the fact that the Earth revolves around the Sun, have so many of our conceited, anchaic, worldviews been bombarded with such overwhelming scientific evidence that we need to rethink and revise who and what we actually are. I don't have to point out that the answer to this debate affects every aspect of our lives..or do I?
HA! I know that for many people this debate about our origins is pointless, annoying or ridiculous.
Some human beings could care less either way. However the vast majority of Earthlings operate their lives on the notion that a supreme deity(s) has devised, executed and maintained a plan for each and every individual..on a practical level we need to ask the
right questions instead of assuming that our forefathers knew the answer. The fact that in the 21st Century we still cling to deities that our ancestors either subconsciously or deliberately developed with such obvious and pathetic anthropomorphic qualities is troubling to many. Queries such as these are unwelcome and in many instances such 'attacks' on the status quo automatically ensure fierce retaliations..even murderous so-called justifiable revenge!
I explored the Monotheistic worldview for over a decade during the 80s. I abandoned it as the decade concluded and have never looked back. Believe it or not, I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to examine this issue from both sides.
Aside from all of the obvious inconsistencies and predictable s
hortcomings of meshing human nature with ancient mythological guilt-ridden unprovable ideologies (developed to explain a pre-scientific, unexplored world I might add)...my cerebral struggle to salvage anything applicable from the literal interpretations of the book of Genesis, were eventually obliterated...and Amen to that.
That absolute here is the answer before you ask the question method of philosophical conflict resolution became untenable for me. Apparently only a select few are privy to understanding the answers to the really, really big questions. To each his own.
As far as I am concerned there has never been a more exciting time to b
e alive. To actually watch the universe unfold as it should is beyond my wildest expectations. The inevitable succession of Science and Reason over Myth and Superstition will be hardfought, but like past confrontations, Science will eventually win the battle..but probably not in my lifetime. The freedom and sharing of information is dismantling the power from the various Estates that have enslaved the common man for centuries..
Knowledge is Power.
This knowledge Genie is out of the bottle and thanks to catalysts like the Internet, it cannot be put back.
Sadly, we still witness the effects of the extremist elements of our dominant religions colliding and wrestling for supremecy. Every single day you will find evidence of this in the media.
Unfortunately little has changed for thousands of years, with the exception of how much more efficient we are at killing each other...we have nearly perfected it.
The opportunity to put this argument to rest is at hand.
We must continue to keep the avenues of exploration and discussion wide open! As we explore the human genome, connect the dots with every other species on the planet, we will detail and formulate a rational explanation of
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW
we humans became what we are.
The WHY is outside of our present capabilities..but first we have to break some eggs to make that omelette.
The Evolution Revolution is not going to
disappear even if you ignore it. It is presently building steam and the volcanic blast of humans accepting their place in the great scheme of things is about to erupt. A bona fide paradigm shift..One Giant Leap..after so many baby steps.
It won't be an easy transition. There are many individuals and institutions that have everything to lose and they will fight this to the death..literally.
You need to ask yourself ,
Why wouldn't you want to know as much as possible about who you are?
Shouldn't the truth have nothing to fear from even the harshest examination?
Does any of this matter to YOU?
Evolution is an appropriate word for what I am currently going through in my approach to the spiritual realm and acceptance of science. My time in the bible thumping arena was a little longer than yours, and so I feel that there are quite a few more issues for me to work through. And then there's the whole guilt thing to deal with (thanks to the organization). This grand change of which you predict will take a very, very long time, as you mentioned. I wonder how many lifetimes it will be...if ever complete.
ReplyDeleteAnd if we're all wrong, there'll be a whole hell of a lot of dinosaurs to fry in the GREAT underground BBQ.
brian,
ReplyDeleteI guess that we will have to make YABBA DABBA DOO with what we know!
It's hard to let go because we have been hardwired since the Caveman to believe in something outside of us controls our fates. It's easier to place the really bad stuff in someone elses hands. And though I'm more off than on with god I will still, in reflex more than belief, drop a small prayer for someone in distress.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to recognize that the anti-science Invisible Friend in Jesus followers are constantly pushing aside mountains of evidence that proves Science is what explains our world. Personally I can understand the desire to have something larger than ourselves (like a giant chocolate bar but that is sadly just a dream), but I have to just shake my head at the way these people force themselves to stay in an under-educated state of denial just so they can cling to the idea of going to Heaven.
ReplyDeletelaura elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to imagine that there isn't a supernatural explanation for random unforseeable events. It is actually downright scary to imagine that we're sitting on a huge glob spinning around the sun at 60,000 miles per hour. Miles beneath our feet churns a huge molten iron cauldron of unimaginable heat and energy. The fact that the whole planet doesn't spin off of it's axis and drift off into a frozen death is a miracle in itself!
And how do they get the caramel inside those caramilk bars?
I know exactly where you are coming from..we have a program deep inside that is some sort of deity browser that can't seem to be completely shut off.
tidalgrrrl,
I think that it is natural to fear taking a leap of faith away from faith. We love the ooh aah spectacle of being somehow connected to the Prime Mover of the Universe...who little old me?...heady stuff indeed.
Now that we have had a couple centuries of Science pushing us forward it is getting harder to ignore that it is providing more answers than anything else is...which is why we are getting close to that moment in front of the mirror when we are going to be forced to honestly confront our conundrum..gulp.
"And how do they get the caramel inside those caramilk bars?"
ReplyDeleteI KNOW THIS ONE!
But I'm not telling!
bwwaahhhhaaaa
Someone came up with the god gene a few years ago, didn't they?
laura elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteRight you are..molecular biologist Dean Hamer, chief of gene structure at the US National Cancer Institute....chief of gene structure, great title!
The God Gene describes a gene that codes for the production of the neurotransmitters that regulate our moods...he also claims that spirituality is an adaptive trait and the result of an occasional shot of intoxicating brain chemicals.
"we're a bunch of chemicals reactions running around in a bag!"
Hey...
ReplyDeleteIsn't this exactly what we talked about last night? I should have put a copyright on it or an embargo.
Brilliant and bang on.
Except in the context of some very intelligent comments by Brian, LE and TidalGrrrrl, you introduced the phrase, Yabba Dabba Doo.
Where's Anonymous Blogger or Reyspoutine when you need them?
I go back and forth on this and am very confused about what to believe. I'm just a sitting duck for recruitment by some cult leader's minions.
ReplyDeletewiddin widdout,
ReplyDeleteWhen did we talk about this? Come to think about it I talk about this to my five year old...
what's wrong with quoting the Flintstones?
anna,
Well you are certainly not alone...most people if they think about it at all..like to somehow blend the two and try to make it work somehow.
Cults are having a tougher time recruiting these days because our society has become so jaded and skeptical thanks in part to the crash and burn antics of all the so-called mainline church leaders who are getting caught with their pants down.
It reminds me of the conversation between Abraham and God..If you can find 50 good men God said that he would He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah..eventually they negotiate down to 40, 30, finally OK 10 good men and I will spare the city!
No can do..too late POOF...
pass the pillar of salt please!
laura elizabeth and HE: i have to disagree with you. we are NOT hard-wired to believe in a deity. if we were, there wouldn't be millions of people who are able to reject the notion as a result of some rudimentary education. No, theistic worldviews are software, and software can be uninstalled (though the re-boot is sometimes painful).
ReplyDeleteregarding education, i wouldn't mind creationism being taught in schools (in religious studies classes) if they taught multiple creation myths. only teaching one creation myth (christian) lends it way too much authority. if students could see that every culture has an ancient explanation for how the world came to be, they would see easily that they are all just stories. i think this would be far more effective than trying to stamp out creationism entirely.
aidan,
ReplyDeleteHA! My Genes/Jeans are too tight too!
I realise that all of the hominid fossils that have EVER been collected can fit into the trunk of a small car...not exactly overwhelming evidence..but it's what we have to work with.
Your scheduled deathbed repentence, the so-called fire insurance conversion, is a popular program and no doubt millions of people are counting on that to escape the fiery depths of
H E double hockey sticks!
I am impressed that other Creation stories are taught in Australian schools..they are all very interesting and powerful Myths.
The Biblical Flood was an obvious borrowing from the Babylonians that the Hebrews were exposed to during their captivity. Unfortunately many people cannot separate providence from evidence..but what are ya gonna do?
chaucer's bitch,
I didn't say that I accept the God Gene as gospel..our big brains are yet to be fully mapped and understood.
I always take into account the fact that humans have been chewing and smoking funny leaves for millenia..there have been plenty of opportunities to experience what must have seemed like mystical revelations.
Let's face it, everyday Life was scary for scrawny hairless hominids. Every day could easily be their last.
There was a definite NEED to find some sort of rationale for living such a precarious existence. It isn't much of a stretch to imagine early people inventing a cosmology of deities to appease their curiosity...we still can't figure it out!
"H E Double Hockey Sticks" Hah So Canadian!
ReplyDeleteOf course it matters. I wish I could watch the entire thing unfold.
"Imagine!"
hey christine,
ReplyDeleteHow are you doing???
I AM CANADIAN!
I can waste hours watching PBS and NOVA specials on Evolution. There are so many excellent programs...one that even followed the Kansas School Board and their attempts to secure Intelligent Design into the Science Curriculum.
I know that most people don't give a rat's ass about the whole thing but I think that it is important to go back to the beginning and examine what we know about ourselves...it explains quite a lot about why we act and do all of these crazy dumbass things to each other.
I can't believe there are still people who refuse to believe in evolution. I mean, is it possible for some people to be this stupid? I guess so.
ReplyDeleteThere will be a time when (almost) everyone agrees in evolution. It will happen. It's just a matter of when.
Although I think it is reasonable to think that spirituality is a SYMPTOM of stupidity, it's not the REASON for spirituality, because we know many brilliant scientists and philosophers who are believers. As far as the GOD gene is concerned, that may be a possible influence, but I think it's alot simpler than that. Man is a social animal very similar to wolves and other pack animals, with an ingrained tendency to submit to the Alpha Male (or Female in some circumstances, although rare in humans), with the natural desire to either seek favor with the Alpha or overthrow him. Since human Alphas rarely could explain everything to everybodies satisfaction, the ultimate Alpha, GOD, was a natural evolution of the search for the Top Dog. Of course, this gave rise to a new category of Alpha, or perhaps Beta, which was the Shaman, or Priest, and that resulted in the complications we deal with to this very day. The rabid and overwealming desire to believe in an afterlife is simply a result of awareness of mortality and the fear that induces in a species with self-awareness. I know all this because Bob told me.
ReplyDeleteYou mean the earth wasn't created in six days?
ReplyDelete"The Emperor is naked." -Hans Christian Anderson
ReplyDeleteThe story tells you everything you need to know about human nature, coercion, and conformity. We are hard-wired to some extent to react to all the grandiose triggers of religious ceremony. This was accomplished through unnatural selection ("Heretic! Stone him!") and co-opting sexual endorphin triggers. Have you ever wondered why human sexuality is repressed by most religious doctrines and mystic disciplines?
"The Rotskin Motskin stays mainly on the Plotskin" - Fred Flintstone, "Prince and the Pauper" lift episode. Nope, nothing wrong with quoting 'ol Fred. Now that phrase can stick in your head for 40 years.
No, Ed, it was SEVEN days, actually. Tim needed day one to prepare the trailor.........
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, I see. The Teamsters were involved.
ReplyDeleteIt's all coming to me - genesis, the circle of life, unified field theory . . . the Teamsters are the missing link! EUREKA!!!!!!
amphibiousblogger,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the 's' word is appropriate because most people have never had the opportunity to actually sit down and study the theory. For whatever reason, fear being the main one that comes to mind, people don't want their apple cart overturned and cannot risk revamping their worldview.
People have so much to deal with on a daily basis and they prefer to apply 'band-aid' solutions to the symptoms and let the root causes fester.
THE michael,
Right you are. Like canines we are a pack animal that is tailor made for herd mentality...otherwise we would have killed each other off at the getgo!
There are fewer Tigers (solitary) than there are Lions who live in Prides. Canines flourished and outnumbered the felines because of their predilection for living in packs..they even adopted Humans because of it and tagged along for the ride.
Now would be the perfect time to apply the dyslexic philosopher's plea...
is there a dog?
fronty,
I didn't say that because I can't afford to do the time in Purgatory.
breakerslion,
Yabba Dabba Doo! Thanks for extending th shelf life of this Flinstonian meme. So that's why we say Oh god!
In days of olde the decision to get onboard with whatever religious group was the government du jour rather than being tortured and burned at the stake was more a matter of self preservation. That still exists in the Middle East where dissent is very unpopular.
THE michael,
The trailor?
Fronty,
If you guys are trying to get me going on Unions you have greatly over estimated my chutzpah. Takin' a swing at the creator of the universe is one thing but pokin' your finger in the eye of Teamsterism is beyond the pale!
I refuse to be your Huckleberry on that baby! Only fools rush in where angels fear to tread...although I cannot imagine anything more inflationary than unions...DOH!
No economic/theoretic reference intended.
ReplyDeleteHow many Teamsters does it take to unload a tractor-trailer? And why in hell do you want to know, bud?
How can you tell when a Teamster's dead? The doughnut drops out of his hand.
How can you tell the Teamster kids at the playground? They're sitting in lawn chairs and eating doughnuts.
By the way, I answered your challenge/request/offer - Bad Song Redux is up at my blog.
And to get it all out of my system . . .
ReplyDeleteTwo Teamsters are standing around talking. One keeps looking down at a snail near his feet. The other Teamster notices this but doesn't say anything about it.
After about five minutes, the first Teamster stomps the snail in a fit of rage, reducing it to a spot of slime and shell fragments.
"Whydja do that?" the second Teamster yells. "That snail wasn't hurtin' anyone!"
"Wanna bet?" the first Teamster says. "That snail's been shadowin' me all morning!"
Aw jeez, I gotta get trid of this one too . . .
ReplyDeleteEugene Debs and Emma Goldman meet up one night after an IWW rally and decide to show a little union comradeship at the boarding house.
The next morning, a union member sees Goldman sneaking out of Debs' room. He knocks on the door and Debs answers.
"Gene, are you alright," the union guy asks.
"Never better," Debs replies. "Why do you ask?"
"Well," the union guy says . . . . .
"I see you were gettin' a little Wobbly."
Look it up.
they say with great powers comes great responsibility...we say with great knowledge comes great responsibility. When we seek(ed) out science and uncovered the stones we paid little attention to the ways of educating people. The mass are swayed by calls of miracle rather than meticulous classifications and mundane bones. So the past scientists did not bother to disseminate regularly and strategically. Hence with the slow growing science literate people came a much faster populi of the ones who doest understand and doesnt care to understand. And now we have today the great battles to vindicate miracle makers rather than causal forces.
ReplyDeleteThe title of GOD vs evolution is dumb enough to say that we are going againts a higher life changing entity. It means that the majority of people has already made their mind. We are loosing this battle, because even so far when there is a small number of countries adressing this issue in the general system, in the near future there will be more n more countries trying to play the trumpet.
I just hope with the internet, and the general system that we have now, the true calling for us as the discoverers and observers will be answered.
fronty,
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to get a lunch date with Jimmy Hoffa?
Ha..I loved the film with Jack did you? It just proves that any organisation that gets access to other people's money gets into trouble...it is the main problem with government..Hey it's not our money!
That snail has been shadowing me all day!!! I can hear Barry Goldwater laughing from the great beyond!
nekked,
It is a scary thought to think that this is it
the night of nights
no more rehearsing and nursing a part
on with the show THIS IS IT!
fronty,
OK I am a little slow on this one..a feminist and Nobel nominated Union leader pacifist..I can't connect the dots fronty..
hap me, hap me!
ghosty!!
Wow, what a greeat speech.
Interesting points...research is a big competition and it is a war between myth and science not God.
We need to focus on what we CAN know if we are to survive as a species.
While we watch the extremists in every major religion gain ground for their final assault on each other we wonder how are we going to stay out of that mess.
Knowledge is power but information is not being fairly distributed around the globe. A lot of psychotic fanatics are too busy teaching kids to hate.
tick tock.