Wednesday 19 January 2011

Atheists, Deists and Theists.

In debates between atheists and the religious, the latter often cite the existence of scientists who are said to have religious beliefs as some sort of rebuttal of atheism and justification of religion. Particular names are mentioned and statements made suggesting that a significant proportion of scientists adhere to one or another religious faith. I think this approach misses the point.
Atheists, and I note Richard Dawkins as an example, are often careful to state that they cannot prove the non-existence of a god, or gods, partly because proving a negative is practically impossible in itself and partly because they recognize that at the start of time conditions were so extreme that science has been unable to gather sufficient evidence about what took place.
Religious believers can broadly be considered under two headings – deists and theists. The former believe, or are prepared to believe, that a Creator set the universe in motion, but then left it to run on its own, the natural processes of cosmological, planetary and biological evolution leading to the universe as we know it today. The latter believe that after initiating the Creation their god continued to exercise an influence on the processes, intervening when thought necessary. Theists believe (or assert they believe) that to this day their god can be induced to change the course of events in response to prayer or other representation.
Innumerable sects of theists exist, each maintaining that only their own sect has ‘the truth’, each collecting financial or other contributions from its adherents and each seeking control over the lives of its own faithful.
Deists can understand, though they lament, the occurrence of natural disasters (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and hurricanes). Theists are forced to make awful excuses about why a divinity who is capable of changing the course of events should allow such catastrophes to happen.  
When the existence of a god or gods is under discussion, it seems to me that the real division is not between the religious and atheists, but between theists and those who simply do not believe in the existence of a spirit that intervenes in the natural order of events, be they atheists or deists.

Sunday 16 January 2011

Where on earth?

We like to think that who we are and what we have depend pretty much on ourselves. To an extent that’s probably true. A complex mix of Nature and Nurture goes a long way to explaining each of us. But sometimes things happen that make us see life in a broader context. It matters quite a lot where a person is born. Life chances are going to be very different for someone born in England or Brazil, or in Haiti.
We English tend to be pretty smug about our country and think we’re clever. After all we’ve contributed a great deal to Western art, politics, technology, economics, and so on. We’ve given a lot and it’s easy to feel a bit superior. It’s true that a lot of good stuff has come out of England but I’m not sure we should be taking much credit for it. We’ve actually inherited all those good things free, gratis and for nothing and we have a responsibility to be good custodians of them and pass them on intact to future generations. Plus we will enjoy our lives more if we are able to add to them as we go.
If you were born in Haiti, or some god-forsaken hellhole in Africa, you’re not as lucky as the English. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how hard you work, you’re not likely to enjoy such a comfortable life – and if you do get ahead by working hard there’s a good chance that someone will come along and either steal from you or kill you, out of jealousy or avarice.
I’m not about to go down the Socialist road of saying that we lucky people from the West must give to the less well-off around the world to even things up – I think there are better ways to help than compulsion. But there are a few things I think we should try always to be aware of. First, we are lucky – often more lucky than clever. Second, the discoveries that make our lives comfortable and rewarding are boons that, once made, are available to all humankind. Third, social stability is a blessing that comes from willing cooperation among moral individuals. Fourth, it takes time to make anything worthwhile. Fifth, once civilizing progress has been achieved it is our duty to value it and never let it slip away.
Where on earth we are born matters hugely. Let’s not be complacent about our luck.