Category : Blogs
Sub Category : Spirituality
[Caution: Christians May Be Offended.]
Why do people still believe in the archaic, disproven idea of an almighty, religious god that insists woman was made out of a rib bone? I know it brings happiness to some, and that is fine with me. What I don't want is someone preaching the bible in a recovery meeting or bringing up Jesus or any other character in a friendly argument/discussion.
One instance being: in an AA meeting, where it's vital and mandatory to belief in a power greater to yourself, there was a kid who looked like he had been in college, but had likely been kicked out or expelled from drinking or drug use. He called his higher power "God." Now, I don't know if he meant the religious, almighty smiter in the bible or what, but he went on with his speech…? (This is not verbatim.)
"Yesterday, I was given something truly amazing. A miracle. God gave me a job…" he said, and continued going on about how it was God who gave him a job.
I sat in my chair grinding my teeth and pressing my lips together, trying to keep from shouting. I wanted so bad to tell him "No! C'mon man, give yourself some credit!"
God did not give him a job and I if I believed in miracles, I certainly wouldn't consider this as one. Did god take the bus to the place that was hiring? Did god fill out an application? Was it god who had all that past experience written down? Was it god's personality that had won over the manager?
No, it wasn't. If he continued to live his life this way and gave all the credit from his own achievements to nothing—a mere word—I am almost positive he would relapse.
I tried The Whole AA program and tried believing in a God, but I always would find myself with a needle back in my arm. It wasn't until I said, "F*** God!" that I started to grow. Today, I've been off drugs for almost three years (1078 days) and haven't had a sip of alcohol for over a year (496 days). I did this without god, but believing in myself, in a humble way though.
The existence of a miracle would pose many logical problems for belief in a god which can supposedly see the future and had began the universe with a set of predefined laws. Even if a ‘miracle’ could be demonstrated it wouldn't imply the existence of a god, much less any particular one, with other unknown natural processes or agents being at work simultaneously.
Most alleged miracles can be explained as "statistically unlikely occurrences. For example, one child surviving a plane crash that kills two hundred others is not a miracle. Much like one person winning the lottery is not.
On another note, the Bible, the word of "God," is nothing but another one of the ancient works of literature. It is historically inaccurate, factually incorrect, inconsistent, and very contradictory. It was created by a group of old men and has been poorly translated, heavily altered, and interpreted differently by each who reads it. Also, many sections of the text have been redacted over time.
On a final note, the belief that people who believe in god are happier, is not true. The claim that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of their gullible ignorance is a cheap and dangerous quality.
Studies on happiness outside of predominantly religious countries, such as the United States, find little to no correlation between happiness and religious belief. This goes along with evidence that shows social and community bonding, rather than spiritual engagement, and explains why religious people report greater satisfaction with life. In a belief that atheists are unhappy people, in comparison, may also simply be unhappy with the level of distrust and persecution we receive from their compatriots. And that is what pisses me off.
