Death of a God

Bit of a change of tack today. I often have thoughts about things a little bit beyond the normal tone of general conversation. It's pretty difficult to crowbar Sartre into idle chit chat, unless you're at a MENSA meeting. Since that's only once a month, I thought I'd express some thoughts here.

What the fuck is the point of a God? I'm pretty sure that the idea of a deity is the most ingenius and yet destructive idea ever. A higher power seemed like a pretty good idea for early civilisations desperate to instill order upon groups that would otherwise be anarchical. But, in an age of politics, globalisation and intelligence, Neitzsche's claim that God is Dead is an apt and less shocking statement. There is no purpose for a God, it gives people false hope, a false foundation for ideologies and rids people of real responsibility. If God did not exist, then everything would be permitted. In this case, everyone makes their own decisions, and there's no justification or excuse for our actions. The buck stops with us. It's not human nature; it's you. If you're a failure, you're a failure because you haven't made something of your life. This isn't by any means a pessimistic outlook, but precisely the antithesis. God is the origin for all underachievement.

I don't really have to go into all of the disputes that the notion of a God has caused, between sets of people without a difference between them, apart from their notion of a man with a beard in the clouds is slightly different to another group. It's ludicrous that wars can be fought over an imaginary friend. If anyone wants to challenge that then be my guest. I'm not denying a first cause is a pretty special thing, but the notion of a personifed being, with similar characterisics to that of a man is ridiculous. Read some Hume if you want to know why.

The point to God, well the only one that I can think of, is the notion of faith. The notion that there is not an end to life. Unfortunately though, this is also absolute bollocks. We're physical beings, with nothing separating ourselves from plants or other animals or even thermostats. The idea of the mental can be equated to only physical processes. Our distinction is that we have more mental processes than anything else. That is our only distinction; not consciousness, not spirit, not a soul.

A lot of these assertions are commonly held, even if the logical conclusions are not always reached. The thing that baffles me is why God is still such an important part of modern life? Surely we've evolved to a point that the notion is redundant? Fortunately, the apathetic are as plentiful as the atheistic, and with any luck the theists are a dying breed.