Animal Farm

A Christian recently suggested that I try this prayer, as if we should follow God merely for existing.  That is the worst form of spiritual promiscuity, the willingness to throw ourselves at the feet of mere power.

God would be important if he existed.  There is no good reason to think anything worthy of the word ‘God’ exists, but if it did, it would be important.  But it doesn’t follow that we should worship it.  That would depend on our other values.  I value fairness, so I wouldn’t serve any God just for existing.  He must also be good, fair, just and loving. 

Imagine we discovered that Earth is a farm planet.  Life had been created by advanced aliens to make a special ointment for their queen.  They have billions of such planets raising hominids like we are.  When the population reaches 10 billion, they will harvest humanity to make an ounce of ointment that their queen adores.

What should we do?  Try to please them and get on their good side?  Perhaps they might keep some of us alive as museum pieces.  It would be tough doing business with farmers like that, but hey, they gave us life, so they can’t be all bad. 

Or, we could organize the resistance. 

OR, we could review the data that lead us to believe earth is a farm planet.  If THAT was discovered to not be true, it would be huge relief, right?

That is our situation with God.  If he exists, we’re screwed.  The best we can hope for is to get on his good side and try to forget about our loved ones who suffer here or won’t make it to paradise.  And we can’t be comforted that they had their chance.  Why should a good Hindu woman have to abandon the religion of her parents to go to Heaven?  Should Christians have to give up Christianity for a seat in Muslim paradise? 

Universalists say everyone goes to heaven, but this doesn’t help.  It’s too late, since hell is right here on earth for millions.  Nothing can undo the horrendous, unnecessary suffering of countless children who have died in agony, often abandoned and alone.  There can be no necessary purpose for all of this for an omnipotent God. 

It is possible to believe in God and resist him.  Such believers are called maltheists (belief in an evil God) or misotheists (those who hate God).  I am neither.  I am an atheist.  I lack belief in any God, but my mind could be changed with sufficient evidence.  I’d say I’m an agnostic, but I’m agnostic about God the way I’m agnostic about flying pigs.  It might not be impossible for them to exist, I just don’t believe they do.

At minimum, any world with a God would be deeply unfair.  It would mean all the horrors of this world were optional.  It would be a frightening, totalitarian North Korea complete with death camps, here and hereafter.  It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to find out that God is a paper tiger.  We can leave his ghastly realm any time we wish, without penalty, and join the great majority of unbelieving Nature.  And all the things we once got from belief in this vicious God we can still have.  It never made sense that love, community, awe, meaning and purpose required belief in a God who plays favorites.