Malevolent Design?
Found an interesting online resource todayThe Revealer is concerned with news of the religious.From our perspective, mostly.
‘Us’ being people who think that, frankly, the religious nutjobs are in danger of ending it for all humanity.
the possibility of an Evil Designer
The Designer who so Intelligently Designed our world, in theory, could be malevolent or capricious just as easily as he could be all good. He might have designed us intelligently, but for the purpose of watching us tear each others' throats out. He might have designed us intelligently, but on a whim, and then forgotten all about us. In theological terms, ID suggests forces operating upon the world from without, but it does not say whether that those forces are good or evil. You could hypothesize, for example, that a Satanist could step forward to support ID. Yes, the world shows evidence of an intelligent designer, but one with a sick sense of humor. Therefore, the Satanist might conclude, Intelligent Design is correct, and we should worship the Devil, since the world seems more like his handiwork than the Other Guy's.
…..Or that of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, it is needless to add on this blog.
Frankly, I’m rather found of Cthulhu,as, unlike the Christian God, one knows where one stands with this one. Going insane and being eaten, that is.
With Yaweh, you just never do know.
4 Comments:
Hi Aquila
My take on this, is that we give way too much credit to "outside" of ourselves influences. We could say good or bad. However without two opposites we would not recognise either one as good or bad. My take is that is just is. ID definitely. But the rest is left up to us. I read the Randburg Sun yesterday. Read the article on cruelty to animals. The bad resides in us, or the good resides in us. We choose which one we prefer.
We choose our dominant personality, depending on our desire for power and control. We choose a method we think will work. Ultimately the ego reigns supreme.
Regards to you and Warren.
Poppet aka Mo
Hi MO,
Can't read the Randburg Sun-our doggies got to it first and it was lying all over our yard when we got home, in shreds.
I have a little different take on the actual choices people have.
Most humans grow up in a religion, and, being hard-wired by evo to put a huge amount of trust in our elders(more than most other animals do),we tend to accept the religious convictions of our trustees.
This is true even of those who eventually break out of their early conditioning- one of the hardest things for most people to do is to renounce the customs and beliefs of their society.
What I'm saying is we often don't have too much of a choice as to what we take on board as 'good' or 'evil'.We have been preprogrammed.
Atheists, and many many Pagans too have made the break, not without cost, and can be said to be formulating their own concepts of ethics.
But the religiously-bound, that is most of us, have a huge strike against us from the start.
Good grief, it's hard enough to be people as it is, without bucking the societal morals of the milieu!
I agree in principle with you, however-we are all ultimately responsible.
Pity not enough of us choose to realise that authority!
Hi Again
I agree with your statements. On a personal level, I've been lucky in that my early conditioning showed me that whom most people choose as the good guy aka "God" is used as a scapegoat to perpetrate atrocities. Hence my view on a socially acceptable view of good is not necessarily so. We (I) have to find the good and the bad for ourselves. However having been exposed through my Mum's second marriage to the "bad" aka "satanists" I realised that there is no difference to the human condition. We choose which "icon" we relate to. Those whom choose God to commit atrocities, see themselves as purging the world of wickedness through their own, yet see this as justified. Satanists turn to their "God" because they are bold enough to recognise their own weaknesses and preferences to commit atrocities for self empowerment.
Thus for some it is incredibly easy to let go of social prejudice and conditioning, as this has not served us in any way other than to cause fear.
As "god" fearing people generally judge you regardless of your religion, it is easy to be pagan, for we are used to this judgement and accept it as other's fear of rejection. I do not need social acceptance for being myself. We walk alone so often through this life, that I prefer to do it true to myself. I chose paganism because it reveres all forms of life. Yet every other religion swears dominance over all and sundry.
Which is why religion is about power and control.
I choose no religion, I choose a lifestyle. I worship nothing other than "namasté". Which is the divine in me honours the divine in you.
I choose to forge a path of honouring everyone, as different as we are. For I believe that on an energy level we are all made of the same stuff. If I had to choose a "religion" I would choose "quantum physics" as my religion. For it is the only thing which I've found to make any sense.
I understand your article, and your statements. But I still think that by choosing a religion we choose disempowerment. Thus why should we choose one over the other. Let us instead embrace both as we embody both. Religion was a great concept with which to rule the masses. These books we choose to revere still place the power in "Yahwe" or "Satan's" hands.
I choose to own my own power and be fully responsible for my own choices. It is too easy to say "God made me do it" or "Satan made me do it".
It is not the books of reference which leave you wondering where you stand with either "deity". It is the "unholy" men whom represent these books. They are dictators whom make it up often as they go along.
I say let us not encourage this mindset of "victimisation" by endorsing either one. Instead let us show how easy it is to let go of the past, the methods of which are outdated. You'll find this interesting. A black man I worked with told me that most African Black people are now choosing christianity as their religion because it is the only religion which they have found which forgives them for ALL sins, including rape and murder.
See how easy it was to make that choice? I can do what I wish because my god will forgive me?
I endorse full responsibility for all actions by oneself. Either of the two God's we have to choose from give us excuses for atrocities.
Let's change the mindset of "with us or against us", by not encouraging devotion to any god. Instead let's endorse courage to find the divine in oneself and having the courage to recognise our own weaknesses and desire for control.
Namasté Aquila
Poppet
Hi Aquila
Just another thought. Have you noticed how many people whom have managed to "turn against" or away from their traditional religious influences still need soemthing to blame. Now it's called "Blame the parents", the appalling "childhood" which then is the excuse for never having to take full responsibility for one's own life and choices.
It is the human condition to not take responsibility. We have always needed a reason outside of ourselves to blame when we cock up. It was religion, but many "atheists" now blame their parents.
Just food for thought.
Mo
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