Repent, All Ye Sinners, The End Is NIGH!!!!!!!!

He came back last night late, and started in on the pontifications pretty much right away. I wasn't as nice this time, the patience is wearing thread-bare. He spoke of hallucinogenic drugs as proof that demons rule the earth, I spoke of the processes of the brain, the scientific ways in which cognition happens. There was no in between though, no hope for a meeting of the minds.

He kept saying how human beings are perfect, how we have our senses perfectly aligned in every way. Just enough sight. Just enough ability to hear. And I thought, to a praying mantis we are bumbling idiots who can't see what's right in front of us, let alone hear a predator waiting in the bushes around the corner. You can tell someone where the big dipper is in the night sky, but this is relative to where you are on the earth, in this solar system, etc. Perspective colors every facet of our existence -- how can we pretend to know what is absolute and what is not?

Then he used an example of a bird building a house. "If a bird is building its nest next to a construction site, do you think it has any idea what's happening right next to it? Don't you think it's fully driven by instinct?" How do you argue with someone who hasn't even begun to chew what he so eagerly spits forth?

"Think about the reverse. Do you think those humans on that construction site have any idea that there's a bird right nearby, building a dwelling space as well? Would the humans have the faintest idea of how to build a suitable structure for a bird? (Wood shop 101 notwithstanding, we're talking nests here.) What makes one better than the other? How do you categorically say that an apple is better than an orange without it being purely a matter of opinion?"

He made no comment, only went on to discussion of the "last days" and other such severely dramatic suppositions that I'm sure get people all excited and hot.

This belief in the perfection of the human animal was, for me, the most narcissistic and illogical thing that he has said to date. When he said that Rugby has no soul I went upstairs to look through old photos and let my ears go back to their normal color. The braying downstairs stopped after about fifteen minutes, but the calm in the house has even now not fully restored itself.

There will be no more of this.

1. Religion is often presented to us when we are young and intellectually unable to be skeptical. We trust what we are told and our world view is permanently colored.

2. We expect our belief system of religion to be absolutely true since it comes from an inerrant God. Consequently, we constantly find ways of proving it is true. Conversely, we ignore every evidence contrary to our expectation.

3. Religion carries with it many rituals. Ritual behaviors relieve our tensions and depressions in carrying the notion of "effective action" and getting positive results. (Rabbit's foot, anyone? Perhaps you need a wooden table to knock on.)

4. Prayer and Faith cannot be subject to disproof. We continue praying until we get some "signal" that our prayer is answered. If something bad happens it becomes a case of not displaying "enough faith."

5. Religous beliefs are reinforced by the social pressures of the group we belong to. Many groups are completely exclusive. Thus, all possibility of disproof is unavailable for observation.

6. The confidence, absolute certainty, positive attitude and determination that comes from believing you are RIGHT propel the "faithful" person into confident behavioral demonstrations. The faithful convinces himself and others as a result.

7. A True Believer has their ego and their future completely tied up in a package deal that must be reinforced and strengthened constantly to remain effective. As a consequence ever more active participation must be engaged in or the real world intrudes and extreme depression results.

ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY is often demonstrated by the true believer in the form of putting their life and their fortune in peril. Only in this way can the believer continue to feed themselves on the "reality" of their superstitious world view.

Is it any wonder that Jehovah's Governing Body constantly plays the trump card of brinksmanship in predicting world events that can instantly disconfirm their very belief system? They dare themselves and their fellow believers and even God himself to refute the certainty by demonstrating it is all a fantasy tissue of lies. Absolute confidence!

This seemingly reckless course of action is the only sort of self-proof a true believer can permit themselves to experience. When the events predicted do not occur what happens? NOTHING! It is a spur to invest even more faith into the ritual behavior. The rain dance continues as it must. Eventually, the dancers believe, the rain will come and wash away any who doubt the absolute certainty they display.

Religious belief and the laws of science have one thing in common. Those who truly have convinced themselves will not budge as the wrecking ball comes hurtling toward their face! They both will stand firm to the eventful moment of truth.

Such is the nature of belief.