I appreciate anyone who is clever enough to wobble my faith, even for a moment. Which is exactly what this guy did in his TED talk (I LOVE these lectures!) about the scientific roots of human belief. He makes some great points, even making God scientifically unnecessary. The implication is that that's all there need be. But for me it approaches the supernatural question from the wrong end– by ignoring the supernatural.
Even if God were "proven" not to exist that doesn't account for what happens on the human side. Faith, much as it drives senseless wars, has also been the cause of most of human progress. Little of great and lasting value has been created outside of faith– in art, science, social movement– anywhere. In fact, if all there is to transcendence is a kind of altruism caused by a selected propensity to keep our species alive, what is the reason for sharing anything but with the absolutely destitute? (Which, ironically, is the work of the faithful!) In fact wouldn't it hurt human survival chances to make things easier for anyone else? Where does inspiration come from then?– a fortunate fantasy that improves the world by mistake?
If the only reason to share is because it's practical in some way, what about the suffering of the mystics that inspires so many? If it's mere illusion and all this progress is built on a fantasy, doesn't that make it in fact practical and therefor its source an image of divinity? Unless that is ignored how can atheism make any sense? If an atheist can construct a universe where he is all alone, doesn't that just remove from eternal damnation any alternative? Ugh.
Tim Holmes Studio
- Tim Holmes
- Helena, MT, United States
- My inspiration has migrated from traditional materials to working with the field of the psyche as if it were a theater. Many of my recent ideas and inspirations have to do with relationships and how we inhabit the earth and our unique slot in the story of evolution. I wish to use art– or whatever it is I do now– to move the evolution of humanity forward into an increasingly responsive, inclusive and sustainable culture. As globalization flattens peoples into capitalist monoculture I hope to use my art to celebrate historical cultural differences and imagine how we can co-create a rich future together.
1 comment:
G-d has never been scientifically necessary. Science is a necessary, but reductionist, model of how things fit together. Science is not about how we should behave, it is about the means and limitations of our behavior. G-d is about our "attitude" toward life. Is life a mystery and a wonder or something less?
Saying the brain explains G-d is like saying the score is a musical experience. There was music before the score and there was G-d before there was the human brain.
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