Belief versus unbelief

Looking at the two pictures I posted at the beginning of this article, you recognize a special kind of advertising. It is not selling you illusions, but truth, as we can observe it. You may find your sense of life or be happy if you are a believer, but there is no guarantee. The same is true for atheism.

Nearly all people in the western world nowadays accept evolution and science, only few small groups of society deny it. Some religious groups try to use god as the power or person who planned and guides the process of evolution. But fortunately we have come to a point where religion and science exist side by side and respect each other. For a long time it seemed, they both can exist next to each other without major contradictions. But the more science evolves, and especially when it comes to the question of truth, more and more people doubt it’s attitude. Many philosophers have come to the conclusion of atheism, many scientist do the same. It seemed that what was going on in the mind of a believer was a myth, something science could no explain.

But modern psychology can explain how religion arises, what makes people belief (Of course it is can only partially explain what can be observed. Using the scientific method of verification and falsification onto the supernatural, the only solid conclusion is, that cannot be proofed that it exists. “So, but why should we use the scientific method?”, one may ask. Isn’t it arrogant to say this is the only method to find truth (as far as human beings can come to “truth” of course)? All the success of society, from medicine, to engineering, aircraft, computer, car, internet etc. and the better understanding of the universe, have come from using the scientific method. There was no other, we owe our advanced life 100percently to science. Since the beginning of enlightenment and successively declining influence of religion on society, life has become better and better. This method is working and it is the only one which is working properly. All other attempts to see reality base on evidence-less accepting, because of laziness of thinking, tradition or authority. The scientific method does not care for tradition or authorities, it gives science the power to self-correct itself, which is what religions never does – it sticks to the same ideas over centuries, whether they are right or not. The dogma is more important than truth, power is more seductive than knowledge. Right and wrong can be found by human reason, not by old scriptures of which authors and origins are very doubtful (not to say considering the political and social reasons, why they exist). So why does the observation of the world lead to other results than the scriptures describe?

Religious ideas are to some degree by-products of cognitive processes, of thinking. It comes from our ability to imagine worlds and people, which is an important ability for planning our lives. We can build up whole universes in our mind, but that does not make them real. The world does absolutely not care, for what we think is true or not. Looking at little children you see many of them have imaginative friends. God becomes such an imaginative friend (often a father-figure) for adults. Humans make compromises between, what they expect and what is interesting. Wishing for god very easily leads to believing in god, especially when you get social support. In some way whole societies stay children in there mind and they criticize the ones who become adults, what means being mature in mind, and think it is abnormal. Humans, as mammals, have a strong attachment-system, they sick to other group-members, not only when they are in trouble. And being part of a group is more important than truth. Therefore it is so hard to leave a group, you feel lonely and quickly start doubting your decisions. But there is good news nowadays. Society is fragmented that much, that everybody can leave majority and find his or her group. It may be as small group, but you do not have to be lonely. The majority of people is not thinking rationally, but to find people who think outside of the box is possible, everywhere.

But what about moral? Isn’t atheism immoral? The killer argument of the religious is that Hitler and Stalin, Mao and other dictator where atheist. Stalin and Mao where Atheist, Hitler a modern pagan, but there is no connection between Atheism and there deeds. They would have done there genocides, violations of human rights, crimes and inhumanity even if they had been religious people. Crime is a result of character, not of religion or unbelief. It is very often religion which deforms the (natural) moral feelings of people into obedience to a dogma or authority. Moral feelings are natural to humans, apart from religion and very often they are far better than religious dogma. Human beings are mature enough to know what is right and wrong, they do not need an “instruction manual”.

But this is where we come to another assumption of the religious. They think moral comes from religion. Without religion, they say, the result will be anarchy. So even if god does not exist and even if there is no supernatural, we could still use religion as a moral and ethical code. This argument is nonsense (and by the way a weak point of view, if you give up the claim for the supernatural and leave it to a simple code of behaviour). Moral means doing what is right, no matter what dogma says. Religions means to do what the dogma says no matter it is right or not.

Religions present supernatural, as “truth”, but that is often, a way to delude people. Religion is a social issue. It is about human societies and groups and belonging to a religion, especially to the dominating religion in a certain country, fulfils social needs, not the need for truth, or what is really going on in the universe, how was is created an the like. More intelligent people have always known for this. Many of the religious leaders are nonbelievers, they just use the faith of people for their own power – and as history shows it has always been working and it is still working. And that is a shame!
Some people say that religion has helped them. In most cases it is not religion which helped them but the social connection with other people. If it was the dogma it is the delusion, which fulfils personal wishes, which recognizes data, which confirm an opinion and closes the eyes before contradiction and opposite data. Religion may help, as alcohol helps a depressed person to feel better, the emptiness inside gets filled with an idea. Of course that may feel better and some may even get “happy” about that, but it is a happiness far away from truth. There are better ways of getting a happy and clear mind and that is a worldview based on reason and observation, a sceptical approach towards everything and true belief (make sure whatever I say about religion is about the human institution not the true and honest belief or the supernatural!). Skepticism is nothing negative, it is not pessimism, don’t mix that up, it means you test, what your are told, what you read – even be sceptical toward your own thoughts and especially feelings. Feelings make human beings vulnerable and they are very often nothing by lies. A life based on trusting feelings is not a life of success and high worth.

But what about the sense of life and happiness? Yes there are surveys which come to the conclusion that religious people are happier and the conclusion is that religion and belief are the reasons therefore. But that may be an illusion. In fact people are happier, when they are socially more integrated and in a society where religion, or in most cases a certain religion, is predominant, most people feel more happy when they join this religion, but of social reasons, not because religions has something to do with truth or the supernatural. We humans suffer from over-interpretation about many things in the universe. We think things are there with a certain goal; as egotists we often think all things where created for us. For example the naïve belief (of children) that the stars are there to lighten up a dark night. We have problems with random processes and rather think of an intention. We will not have any future using superstition instead of reason.

The goal and the way

Viktor E. Frankly (1905–1997), the great Austrian psychiatrist and founder of the Logo-Therapy, once said that there are two kinds of people in the world. On the one hand, there are the ones who think that reaching a goal, justify any means, which are necessary therefore. On the other hand, there are the ones who believe, that the way of reaching a goal is equally important than reaching the goal itself. But how do we decide? How do we make valuable decisions? How do we really come to a judgement which has its roots in moral and ethics?

Many people in our times think that what counts in the end is what feels good for them. I have written about the feel-good society in a previous post (If it feels good, do it!). The lack of moral standards has become a disease of our times. People have become very suspicious when it comes to the decision of right and wrong. We have seen throughout history that a legion of different systems claimed to have the absolute truth. In different countries and times, right and wrong was what authority claimed to be right or wrong. That has led, in the course of liberation of men, to a position of uncertainty, a kind of moral vacuum which could not be filled. And whoever claimed to be able to fill this vacuum, did not get the support of the majority of the people. What stays left, are a moral relativism and a huge amount of cynicism, which is always the result of uncertainty and anxiety underneath. People crave for clear standards, but it seems that nobody can provide such standards and declare its usefulness. Scientists expand the relativity of their own business onto ethics and moral. In the end right and wrong are subjective and depend on circumstances, persons, society, politics and a lot more. Nobody is completely satisfied, but we are told, it is the best we can get. The hunger for sense und direction stays, but we have to hold it out and stay unsatisfied. At least the human ego can celebrate itself as a modern hero, who goes through a senseless life but shoulders the heavy burden with pride. After centuries of being guided and controlled by someone else, human beings crave for freedom, freedom of men, freedom of systems, freedom of ideology and indoctrination. But in many cases the pendulum has swung too much into the other direction. More and more people see, that freedom can never mean living without rules. As well is it can never mean to deny all rules coming from outside.

But true freedom is a process which always puts the ego into the second row and let something greater than human rule the life. It takes humbleness to accept such a rule of “the father”, as Christian, for example, would call. The reign of “the father” makes free, but the reign of human beings puts you into bondage. This paradoxical fact is everything else than easy to be understood and it takes emotional, intellectual and spiritual maturity to reach at such an insight. And it can never come solely from outside. Nobody can be made to act morally, the light of insight must shine from within and the ignition is always a kind of grace, nothing human being could completely reach by himself.

We definitely live in more complex times, than any generation, who lived before us. Moral questions have never been more difficult to be answered. What is lacking is a solid rock in the stormy sea, the one thing we can rely on. It is easy to see, that nobody can make complete and wise decision who has not found himself. A person, without complete knowledge of his or her own values, is unable to stay “on course” during hardship and turmoil. Emotional balance is crucial to decision making. The power to make decisions is one of the characteristics of a complete mature person. Opportunism is immaturity as well as anybody is not a complete person who uses other human beings as tools for his own fulfilment and joy or reaching his goals. For a wise person it is never true that sweet fruits come out of evil deeds – never! Nobody does a crime and gets away with it – never! Also many people nowadays believe that being smart hides the evil intention and action. An immature person will believe so, but the wise one knows: The reaction will come, sooner or later, with certainty! Look at all the white collar crime. For many years people are heroes of the masses, the media, but in the end they fall deep, deeper than anyone could have imagined. Nothing stays hidden forever; everything gets disclosed in the end.

That brings us back to the beginning of this article: The way is equally important, than the goal, the end! The end depends on the beginning. In our times, where society is split up into more groups than ever before, the potential for conflict is even bigger than ever before. Many groups try to wipe out others and deny their right to exist. The “majority” is ever changing and people will learn than in most cases they will be part of a minority. Being a member of the minority becomes completely normal! That is a situation most people are no used to. And the consequences are enormous. The security of the group is gone and individuals will be confronted more and more with a strong wind blowing into his face. Without personal values and boundaries, one will be blown through life like a leaf in the wind. The permanent self-betrayal will lead to depression, senselessness and tragedy in life. The world will not help you, for nobody is interested in your good but yourself (and your creator of course). Mature people will conclude that the only way to guarantee peace in modern society is by having a few basic principles on which a people is built. We need a real respect for the other ones as human beings. If respect depends on a certain worldview, political opinion, religion or the like, an understanding is impossible. Imagine an atheist and an evangelical preacher. Without accepting each other as human beings, one side will always believe in superiority. Superiority and inferiority thinking poisons every social climate and by the way are never justified at all!

Never before, ethical and moral values have had a bigger impact on politics, whether it is national or international, economy and society as a whole. After the times of crises there is always a time of new clarity. After this time of common relativism we will see a time of new orientation and clarity. When people of good heart stand as a moral example and act by it, how much resistance they may every face, people will start trusting and learn that trust is better than mistrust. Without a basic optimism, no society can exist for long. If human beings do not trust east other, if society is divided it must be doomed to fall. If a house fights against itself the result will be ruin. If the devil fights against himself, he cannot prevail. Lucky is who possesses a strong moral code of ethics, by which his feet are guided. America is rooted in Christendom. The founding fathers always prayed and quoted the bible more often than any other works of philosophers and thinkers. Also Europe can find its eternal moral values in its history if it is ready to reconcile with its history and origin. As for the individual the task is the reconciliation with the source – so salvation, moral action and wise decision will be the prosperous harvest!