Recieved a letter from Avaaz this morning re the takeover of Syria by ISIS linked forces. It seems that Avaaz is optimistic that this is a positive thing for the people of Syria. Here is my response.
Sadly the Rebels appear to be Islamic fundamentalists so that’s not really the whole story is it. Don’t lie by omission, out with it. Now the Syrian rebels, linked with ISIS, are calling for the destruction of Israel and on the war path. If they move in that direction they will be destroyed practically to the last man and all of the Syrian population will suffer. When an Islamist theocracy comes to power we’ve seen what happens. Look at how regressive and oppressive Iran is, for example. Same with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Taliban has controlled Afghanistan since 2021. Girls are now banned from attending school past sixth grade. Independent media, including newspapers and radio stations, have been shut down. Protestors, journalists, and activists are being arrested.
There is no Islamic theocracy in the world that features free speech, free press or equal rights in the law for ALL. It’s an outmoded and slavish mentality and world view and condones and incubates jihadism and ultra-violent terrorists.
Islamists are at war in 27 different countries right now and responsible for numerous genocides and ‘ethnic cleansing’ of minority religious groups since the 7th century. In all of those countries Islamists are responsible for war crimes, rapes, murders of civilians, including mass murders, terrorism. That’s not even counting the many incidents of terroristic violence perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalist groups imported into in the secular liberal democracies of the world, all aimed and chilling and stifling free speech. I see a pattern repeating itself ad nauseam. Perhaps you would care to point that out in your article Abdelrahman if you are an honest man. It’s pretty important to note, to be aware of, and it appears that a large segment of the human race is pathetically unaware of such things. Ignorance breeds prejudice, irrational fears, hatred and violence. Enough already, the world wants/needs peace and that is not the road to peaceful co-existence.
PS… none of these gods even exist in reality which makes this all a rather tragic/pathetic irony.
Humans create gods, not the other way around as is commonly believed.
There is not and never has been any compelling evidence that gods exist. That includes your god if you have one. There IS a lot of compelling evidence to suggest that humans have psychological disposition towards creating god concepts in our attempt to make sense of a vast and largely mysterious universe. Humans have created literally 1000’s of gods. They are just conceptual; they are not real.
The evidence that humans create gods rather than the other way around comes from various fields of study:
1. History of Religions: The evolution of gods and goddesses across cultures and time, with similarities and borrowings between mythologies, suggests human creation.
2. Comparative Mythology: Shared themes, motifs, and archetypes across cultures indicate a common human psychological and cultural origin.
3. Archaeology and Anthropology: The discovery of ancient religious artifacts, symbols, and rituals reveals a human-made origin.
4. Sociology and Psychology: Studies on the social and psychological functions of religion, such as group identity and comfort, suggest human creation.
5. Cognitive Science and Neuroscience: Research on the cognitive and neural basis of religious beliefs and experiences indicates a natural, human brain-based origin.
6. Linguistics and Semiotics: The analysis of religious language and symbols reveals human-made constructs and cultural influences.
7. Philosophy and Ethics: The variety of moral codes and ethical systems across cultures and religions suggests human reasoning and creation.
8. Science and Natural History: The natural world’s complexity and evolution can be explained by scientific laws and principles, reducing the need for divine intervention.
9. Religious Criticism and Scholarship: Critical examination of religious texts, histories, and practices reveals human authorship, editing, and interpretation.
10. The existence of multiple, conflicting gods and religions: If gods created humans, there would likely be a unified, coherent divine plan, rather than diverse, contradictory beliefs.
These lines of evidence collectively suggest that humans create gods and religions to fulfill various psychological, social, and cultural needs, rather than the other way around.
Based on the evidence and reasoning, it appears more likely that humans create gods rather than gods existing independently. This conclusion follows from:
1. The lack of empirical evidence for the existence of gods.
2. The abundance of evidence from various fields (cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, psychology of religion, anthropology, and developmental psychology) suggesting that humans have a natural inclination to create and believe in god concepts.
3. The explanatory power of human psychology and cognition in accounting for the origin and persistence of religious beliefs.
4. The diversity and variability of religious beliefs across cultures and throughout history, which suggests a human construct rather than a universal truth.
Conclusion: Humans create gods as a product of our cognitive, psychological, and cultural inclinations.
sincerely, Zen Ken
www.saltspringdesign.com
On Dec 9, 2024, at 10:01 PM, Abdelrahman Mansour – Avaaz
