Degrees of Evil

If it were not so absurd, I’d be weeping. If it were not so universally tragic, I’d be laughing.

Defining evil as that which reduces significantly the possibility of Mankind’s survival, I’ve been thinking on the spectrum of evil which is represented in our religions.

The Raving Atheist may object to religious devotion on the grounds that it “Trivialilizes American Law and Politics”, but personally I have a far greater fear:that faith may trivialize us all out of existence, and that right soon.

Yes, I have been re-reading Sam Harris-the book deserves more than one ingestion-by me, anyway, as I’m frequently slow in absorbing the point.

The thing is, we are looking at a rise in fundamentalism which directly threatens our lives. If this were a rise in fundamental Jainism I wouldn’t be worried. If fundamentalist Pagans were starting to be heard in the corridors of power, I’d be laughing. Even fundamentalist Buddhism would be more something to celebrate than fear.

Fundamental Islam, Christianityor Judaism is the problem which may wipe us off the face of the Earth before we’ve really entered the realms of the Solar system. When the basis of your faith is reverence for the Earth, or for all living beings, or even for ‘enlightenment’, whatever that may be, you’ll find yourself almost unable to conduct wholesale slaughter of men, women and children , as you will either have no very good reason for it, and survivalist hard-wiring will obstruct this, or your fundamentalist beliefs may explicitly prohibit such behaviour.

If , however, you believe such very strange things about the universe as:.

The Creator of it is worried about the length of women’s attire and flies into rages at the sight of a female ankle.

The Creator of it is ‘jealous’ to the point that the punishment for even looking at another god is death.

The Creator of it spends a good deal of his time ‘preparing’ places of eternal torment for those who choose not to believe his flamboyant claims..

The Creator of it will reward you with virgins (or white raisins, if you will), silken raiment and rivers of wine for eternity if you will unmake yourself and take as many ‘infidels’ as possible with you.

The Creator of it really made this whole shebang a mere 6000 years ago, but planted pre-aged dinosaur bones, and set light on its way to us, all so you would be tested in your faith, and if you fail this whacky test, why you will be burning in a place of torment for..etc etc etc

Then, my man, you are a danger to the rest of us, a danger to our race, and possibly to any other races out there, should they stumble upon us before you’ve managed to anihalate us.

You are also wasting the resources of Mankind in terms of time, money and compassion. Wasting it all on your notion of a psychopath in the sky.