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Thank you. You make my same point. Books and people are fallible, translations are fallible. Hard to put faith in the telephone game when you stretch it across hundreds of years, different languages and lost then found reinterpreted scribblings etc. I myself would prefer not to kill/murder anything that may in the very distant future become sentient; how would dolphins feel about our treatment of their ancestors, or cats/dogs/twinkies etc. I’m not a vegetarian or vegan. I do ashamedly admit to having consumed on several occasions pasta and yes even spaghetti. Forgive me oh great noodleness. CJ

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Personally, if someone offers to pray for me only because I’m not religious, that does feel a little insulting simply because it’s a lack of respect towards my own philosophy. But if that person is praying for me because I’m going through a tough time in my life, and they are praying for my situation to improve, then I usually appreciate it, because I feel like any positive energy counts, whether it directly causes a change or merely shows love. Of course, this is just my opinion. You may feel differently, whoever is reading this. =)

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TEACH BOTH!

Teach that evolution is scientifically based and backed.

Teach that ID is a load of creationist codswallop.

Codswallop. I love that word.

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And you?

RAmen
ET

P.S.
If you had bothered to read the “about” tab, you’d be aware that the purpose of Pastafarianism is to keep (un)intelligent design out of science classrooms. Nothing about the “question of why we are here”. Ciao.

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To the ladies and gents aforementioned, you have managed to hoist yourself by your own petard by comparing the inarticulate, spectacularly deluded Cody to a vulnerable section of society, who cause no harm and are in that position through no fault of their own.

Well done. In doing so you have upheld the traditions of so many religions who foster a sense of individual superiority amongst their followers by characterising another group, with whom they feel no common bond, as sub-human.

You have taken the first small step on the path that leads to the delightful full persecution of the mentally and physically disabled, and who knows, if you’re lucky, with the right charismatic nutcase leading the charge, could end up in a full blown holocaust. But that’s okay, because they’re ’special’, they’re not really ‘human’ like us, right?

Thank you for proving that religious do not have a sole monopoly on the ability to behave like jerks.

RAmen

Dan

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Ah, this correspondent is wonderfully close to the truth of the matter. Alas he tragically appears not to value his own insights, that he may pursue them further.

You see once we realize that there is no creator to give one’s life some inherent purpose, it logically follows that nobody else has such a purpose, that any purpose given them by their deity is in fact self-assigned by belief and social interactions.

I will not extensively discuss relative value of these life purposes, or the hijacking of such for the benefit of immoral religious leaders who, via their appearance of divine authority, are subject to few limitations of taxation, accountability and transparency.

Instead we shall deal with certain assumptions of the good Sir Richard on the nature of one’s life purpose – it’s utility in driving us forward and shielding us from the vagaries of reality – and specifically the requirements for its existence. For if an all powerful being is not the requirement, but instead sincere belief and conviction, then does it not follow that an individual who cannot believe, given a vacuity of reliable evidence, also cannot have purpose?

I submit that it does not follow. For belief is best reinforced by evidence and is indeed an artifact of evidence. Imposing a requirement of quality on that evidence only serves to strengthen the belief incurred, therefore strengthening one’s purpose.

Having dealt with our avid reader’s underlying assumption – that a life without belief in the divine is necessarily a life without purpose – we can begin to answer his overarching concern. What purpose does one now pursue?

Perhaps this question can best be answered by those who some refer to as the deconverted. Those beleaguered souls who, upon losing their faith in the divine have unwillingly been forced to confront this question in a very personal and urgent manner. In the vast majority of such cases that I have witnessed, these brave individuals have overcome this challenge and been enriched of life and purpose as a result.

It is perhaps uncouth of me to assume to speak on their behalf however so instead I shall submit some few examples of purpose that can be derived from irreligious belief. A simple specimen may be the belief that the world is round, which inspires a desire to move in one direction alone and paradoxically return to one’s place of origin. Many have made such an odyssey and tales of their exploits exist within history as a defining moment, literature as an immortal classic and modern day culture as inspirational achievements and entertainment for the masses.

Alas I anticipate an objection to this offering, perhaps this is a mere goal or endeavor, and not a true life’s purpose. That may be so. Although still a grand achievement this is not the work of a lifetime that it might once have been. The line which separates lesser goals from so grand a concept as one’s life purpose is perhaps ill-defined and I would be better to leave that delineation to my intellectual betters.

A grander example then. Perhaps the belief that life is wonderfully intricate and ingenious. That it has achieved feats of engineering and utility that stagger the imagination. That we, as beings which value engineering, utility, aesthetic beauty and even mere creation for creativity’s sake can learn much from the very structures and processes which created and sustain us. Can this belief in the value of these most minute of natural processes drive a person to commit their life to their study? I imagine that many thousands of devoted biologists would assert that it can. That this is indeed their life’s purpose and a worthy one at that, for billions of people have benefited from their devotion.

Again I hear objection, for is this not merely a career. A life’s work it may be but is it not mere work? And as mere human works it cannot compare to a life spent enhancing the glory of an all-powerful being that one might bask in that glory for eternity!

I disagree.

Still, disagreements aside we can attempt to tackle even this assertion. For what is the glory of god built upon but tales of his deeds and power. Those ancient tales of calamity and justice, alongside modern tales of salvation and solace.

This god was envisaged by those we can only call primitives. People who knew nothing about the abstract reality we have since become aware of, or the power that that knowledge has bequeathed. Today we can rain fire, plagues and suffering on our foes, heal the sick, cure the blind, and send out mindless angels of death to strike at our enemies from afar. I am not the first to point out, that surely we would appear as gods to those who first envisaged that being. Knowing this, is it so unthinkable that one might devote one’s life to enhancing the glory of man?

The mind instinctively shudders away from this thought, for surely it invites injustice and the destruction of mankind through sheer hubris. Yet this is not necessarily so, for there is no glory in pain, suffering, famine or oppression. War may seem glorious, yet the reality never is and our love of knowledge ensures that we can no longer escape or ignore those realities.

To summarize, I submit that any purpose inspired by belief in God can as easily be inspired by belief in mankind and the latter may be fulfilled in a more practical and positive manner then the former. Furthermore that the pursuit of knowledge and understanding gives rise to a multitude of possible pursuits with which we can give our lives meaning.

I hope, Sir Richard, that you might take the time to read my unworthy reply to your letter. Mayhap you may better appreciate the meaning and purpose that sustains those of us who choose to restrict our beliefs to only that which is knowable.

….

Notes: Soz about the wall’o'text, I was just having a bit of fun and got carried away. ^^
Since Richard superficially accepted that our lives are inherently meaningless, I’ve assumed throughout that this is correct and humans don’t have a god-given purpose.
The first point in my summary isn’t as well supported as I’d like bit I got tired of typing, and this is fun, not a thesis :p
I haven’t really gone into it, but there are a couple points that can be seen as a conflict between post modernism and the New Sincerity. The connection’s a bit tenuous but it was fun to think about while typing all this garbage.

Fare well and take care all.

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Yeah, I’m up for a drink! Maybe over a Long Island Iced Tea or two, I can explain why I don’t feel the need to justify the meaningfulness of my existence by believing in a deity. I prefer to think “well, since I’m here I may as well try to do something useful.”

Rather than worrying about why we are here and the meaning of existence, let’s just be the best damn people we can be, and while we’re at it, it’s your round.

May the Sauce be with you.

RAmen

Wren.

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