Anyone who knows me is well aware of my feelings in terms of religion: I don't believe in a god of any kind, but if others do then that's up to them. As long as they don't preach at me. Or knock on my door, child in tow (bloody Jehovah's Witnesses). I always thought that was a fair deal.
The thing is I've now come to breaking point - I've had to put up with the Taunton preacher too many times (patronising as well as preaching), had the JWs a'knocking and been spammed constantly on Twitter. Why should I just sit there and take it? I use Newton's Third Law of Motions as an excuse far too many times, but this is how I see it.
Unlike Richard Dawkins, I don't blame religion for everything that's wrong with the world. I do agree with most things he says but he does go a tad far in some of his views for my liking. Plus you really shouldn't blindly agree with everything one person says, or take an old book as the absolute truth unquestioningly. That's all it is. A book.
I was very surprised by the reaction to what Professor Stephen Hawking wrote in his new book. Only as a child have I ever considered that the Universe was created by a divine force - but even then I was far too interested in dinosaurs and space, so I dismissed it very early on. Having to attend three Church of England schools (first, middle and college) wasn't the best, but it probably helped me to form my views on religion. The only thing that I reacted badly to was being forced to sing carols at Christmas, and I mean forced. I had to resort to miming. People would think I was overreacting, but music means something to me - it doesn't sit well with me being made to sing about things you don't believe in.
One of my favourite things at school was learning about Ancient Greece; I was especially interested in all their myths and legends. They made these stories up (including the gods that featured in them) to explain things that happened around them. This makes sense as science was in its early stages at that time -for example, they wouldn't know that sunrise was down to the movement of Earth in space, so they decided it was down to the sun god Helios driving the chariot of the sun across the sky. All very understandable.
That's when it hit me this week. If the Ancient Greeks invented these gods and stories to explain everyday life, then what stopped the early Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. from making up their own stories to explain life? The answer is 'nothing'. That's what their religions are. It's just their stories are written down in holy books so it looks official.
Yes, there are plenty of things that came into existence thanks to religion (the legal system, etc.), but I'd like to think that we could've come up with things like that anyway. Common sense is always helpful. I know some people need a bit of a boost of this, but there are enough people with ample sense to do things like this. Surely?!
The big question is, how have these religions lasted this long when others have died out? Obviously civilisations like the Romans and the Ancient Greeks have come and gone, but since then we've come through the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution with great scientific advances. We're currently living in the 'Digital Age' but there is still religion. It should have lost its primary aim by now, as most things can be explained scientifically, yet there are still some who reject evolution. Despite evidence. Where there's well-documented evidence how can you think it's up to whether you believe it or not?! One of my pet hates is when people say that it's still the 'theory of evolution'. This is merely a technicality; there is enough evidence available for it to be scientific fact - you'll have to do better than that!
One of the few things that makes me glad that religion has existed is related to architecture. You can't beat a lovely English village church, or amazing gothic cathedral. You just can't.
So that's it. I've probably managed to ruffle a few feathers, touch a nerve or two, but for once I don't want to have to talk in riddles. I welcome any comments. What have you got?
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