Notions of Religion Will Die When Earth's Time is Done



If humans do not destroy earth before the sun explodes it ultimately will be toast. It is now possible to measure the small but steady changes in the universe. The sun becomes slightly smaller as it burns up. The earth's rotation alters slightly as magnetic forces change.

While there are some lame arguments against climate change and the impact on our lives that lie ahead, I've heard of no arguments against the eventual death of the sun. I've not even heard an argument from any priest/preacher that God can alter this inevitable end. Why, then, do billions continue to believe in some better-than-dead nonsense?

I'm not aware of any argument, except religious ones, that different from this history. For billions of years there was no life on this planet. After life came along eventually there were humans. This was not billions of years ago but a few hundred thousand. Human life, and perhaps any life, on mother earth has a shelf life.

What I'm writing about is not pessimistic. It is realistic. Perhaps the ultimate optimist will say, "God will come and save his people from the exploding sun." That may be optimistic but not realistic. We have not seen any evidence of the God that is supposed to do this.

The narrative in this country has always been, "We are hear for some bigger purpose." A best selling Christian book was entitled, "The Purpose Driven Life." Within Christianity that purpose has always been to serve the super natural deity. This "Purpose" is to be rewarded by the deity with a wonderful afterlife. It seems to me the title should have been, "I am the Purpose of my Life."

With the reality of no after life and ultimately a no-human earth, what purpose can we humans have in our lives? The field of economics has a possible answer. We start with the goal of maximizing happiness. After a few assumptions I will not go into here, we can see the way to maximize happiness is to redistribute wealth from those with a lot to those with little.

Happiness can be maximized by leaving notions of religion behind and recognizing the finite life of the earth.

Comments

  1. little helperJanuary 2, 2020 at 4:11 PM

    Strange; Everything I have read re. the future of Earth, is the Sun will expand as far out as the orbit of the Earth, making it a crispy critter before a contraction and the ultimate boom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. little helperJanuary 2, 2020 at 4:17 PM

    At that stage, it is called a giant red star. Crispy critters all around.

    ReplyDelete
  3. tsmJanuary 2, 2020 at 7:45 PM

    sounds like Jeremy Bentham and his hard utilitarian progeny. that aside, why be concerned about the sun burning out. aren't the global warming alarmists telling us that we will all be cooked and/or drowned in 50 years or so?

    ReplyDelete
  4. little helperJanuary 3, 2020 at 7:55 AM

    In the meantime, just for humanists and freethinkers, there is non-religious spiritual tourism. Just a few subjects; --sound healing, motion meditation, awakening the elements within, chats with chickens.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jon LindgrenJanuary 3, 2020 at 8:28 AM

    helper "Just a few subjects" Maybe yoga qualifies--my wife used to attend one where the leader said those in the class would get in touch with themselves going HMMMM. Then there is Transcendational Meditation. Whatever works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. little helperJanuary 3, 2020 at 11:59 AM

      Sure, there's that. How about taking a charter bus tour to Iowa and listen to the corn grow on a hot humid night.-------with a chicken.

      Delete
  6. tsmJanuary 5, 2020 at 2:21 PM

    Jon has forcefully stated his views about the end of the world and the future of humankind. Such is his "truth". Hopefully it gives him solace or a sense of being smarter than those religious boobs out there. But as he repeatedly says, every body has his own "truth" ,a truth which is valid as long as it"works for you". Apparently he doesn't realize that he is playing around with the universal philosophical solvent, a substance that dissolves everything, including of course, Jon's worldview. BTW. the forgoing comments re drugs is mostly a materialist take on determinism. No one s morally responsible for anything: gays are born that way, one is in no way responsible for doing or dealing drugs. Ultimately no one is personally responsible for anything. If there is any fault, it's society's fault. Or simply a matter of chance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jon LindgrenJanuary 5, 2020 at 3:46 PM

      Mark -- "playing around with the universal philosophical solvent...that dissolves everything.."

      That is your narrative. Rather dated, but stay with it.

      Delete

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