Yes, I know I’ve not posted for a long time. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve sat down to WordPress determined to write something, only to remember I had something important I must attend to instead.
In just one week I become an Octogenarian. I find it hard to believe, or accept. Mentally, I still don’t feel a day over forty. Physically, there are days I could barely pass for ninety.
There are few advantages to old age, but there is one: the ability to look back down the decades at eighty years of history. Things become a lot clearer once time allows one to back away and analyze the big picture of one’s life, one’s place in the world.
If there’s one thing that stands out for me as I look back down the years it’s how my relationship with religion and the religious has slowly but steadily eroded to the point of utter disbelief, if not a smattering of contempt.
I know I may well offend a lot of people with what I’m about to write, but at the milestone of eighty years on this planet, I believe I have a right to speak my mind. I learned a lot about the various world religions at different stages in my life. Suffice to say, I realised over time there was no ‘God’, no ‘Allah’ nor any deity that human beings could relate to.
At this moment we are witnessing more proof of the non-existence of the gods possibly than ever before. According to the Washington Post:
“The Trump administration is hosting an all-day prayer festival on the National Mall on Sunday that organizers say will reflect the country’s Christian origins and, they hope, spark “a movement of renewal” in America.“
Will they be taking a day off from dragging innocent people into concentration camps simply because of the colour of their skin? Will they stop shredding families, leaving children helpless, mothers without means of support?
The National Mall on Sunday will be a gathering of fools, led by a political motivation to improve the poll ratings of the one person who will be leading it. He’s lost quite a few of his MAGA religious right after a series of egotistical blunders that only proved how deranged the mind can become when besotted with power.
The “Christian” hard right are the ones who own the most weaponry in the country and will be happy to use it, if necessary, in the belief their ‘god’ is on their side. Such is the human race’s ability to transform the combination of power and ego to justify any horror in the name of their imaginary deity.
Look to the state of Israel, a nation so egotistical, “the chosen of Jehovah,” it can commit genocide and justify it, at least to themselves. Oh, and don’t bother to cry, “Antisemitism.” That’s the excuse of Israeli politicians for any criticism of their bad deeds. There are millions of Jews around the world equally abhorrent of the ghastly situation in Gaza. Are they too, antisemitic? No, they are anti their corrupt government.
The origin of species is no longer a theory expounded by Charles Darwin. Evolution is a proven fact. We are animals and our nearest relatives are the apes. Chimpanzees share 98%-99% of their DNA with humans. It’s not hard to understand. Human beings share much of their characteristics with chimpanzees, including their aggressive tendencies. The only difference; we have honed our aggressiveness to the level of murder, torture, rape, mass killing and genocide. Chimpanzees do kill their fellows, but have not attained the human level of sheer mass brutality. Perhaps when they evolve to the point of inventing a god they may have their excuse to do so.
None of us know how long we have on this planet. My father died at the ripe old age of 107. I don’t expect to rival him, but when the time comes I’ll not be seeking any Heavenly paradise to spend eternity. Frankly, the very idea of being part of a large group of egocentric, moralistic religiots would be enough to send me scurrying downstairs to join the irreligious in the fiery hell the churches invented for people like me who dare to criticise them.
No, I am happy to know I will simply cease to exist. It’s said that human beings generally love their beds and their sleep time. I certainly do, and always have. When I go I’ll look forward to an eternal sleep, a non-being, no more stressing about my future, the state of the world, or if I’ve been good enough to get a favoured tick from Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.
Rest in Peace? That’ll do me.