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Choose Life by Jeff Langr
Many
other religions promote spirituality over worldly goods. An example from
the Qur'an: “Fair
in the eyes of men is the love of things they covet . . . . Such are the
possessions of this world's life; but in nearness to Allah is the best of
the goals.” (Surah
Ali-'Imran: 14) “He
that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” “For
what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his
life?” The
Bible presents the Garden of Eden, a heaven on earth of bliss and
ignorance. But Eve ruined it for mankind, and destroyed the Garden by
seeking knowledge. Followers
of these religions believe that the pursuit of material goods is
ultimately destructive. We don't get to take these items to the afterlife,
after all. The endless pursuit of creature comforts, in the eyes of
billions around the world, is fruitless and will send you straight to
hell. There
is no question that manic obsession with greed and obtaining goods is
rarely a satisfactory path through life. Such a single-minded existence
means you are closing your eyes to everything else in life. But without
goals, we are destined to be cows. Spewed out into the pasture at birth,
to graze mindlessly in the weeds, and finally to be herded calmly into the
stables of death. States
derive many of their laws from religious teachings, since so many of its
subjects adhere to them. Citizens often wield the power of the state to
force their beliefs on others. Through the wonders of democracy, a
majority of Christians have succeeded in sustaining blue laws around the In
the absence of organized religion, another large number of homo sapiens
have fostered slave-based systems to enforce their ascetic beliefs:
socialism, communism, and democracy. One way or another, through religion,
political force, or both, the majority of people on this earth have gotten
it into their head that (a) they need to suffer and (b) others need to
suffer similarly. Leftists continue to succeed in removing choices they
deem unhealthy (e.g. cigarette smoking). Rightists continue to succeed in
banning what falls under their narrow definitions of immoral behavior
(e.g. sodomy). Centuries
of growth and human success have countered the fundamental preachings of
these religions. The Capitalism,
based on the evil desire for profit, has been the main cause of invention
and innovation. Countless items you take for granted came about as
products of desire: to sleep in a comfortable temperature range, to not be
in excruciating pain when you visit the dentist, to live a full and
reasonably painless life, to educate yourself, to read in the evening
after the sun has set. Without desire, we would have no furnaces,
high-speed drills, medicines, Internet, or light bulbs. Yet
these creature comforts, these worldly goods, are all evil, according to
the fundamental preachings of Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims. God gave
us an earth with temperatures we can usually survive, and the light of day
should be good enough for us to read the Bible in. The pain is only
temporary--you'll be dead soon enough and in an afterlife of bliss. Stop
complaining. To
be human is to desire. Without desire, we would live in a hellhole. Fecal
matter strewn about our streets; foul water; a mindless existence
constrained to a tiny rural locality. All capped off by early, painful
death. Without desire for something better, we won't survive. The
fundamental form of desire, derided as lust, is what propels the species. Desire
propels invention, invention improves human existence. To deny this fact
is either to shut your mind off to reality, or to live as a hypocrite. I
happen to believe in a creator. What I don't believe in is a creator that
would screw with his creations. Revelation comes from our existence, not
from the preachings of a manipulator. To make a world this beautiful, to
make a world that can reveal fantastic, intricate beauty through
exploration and education, to create a means of procreation that is so
enjoyable, yet then to reveal the sadistic secret: “Sorry, I want you to
be miserable.” I
don't buy it. The Bible gives things away early on, in God's list of
commandments: “I am a jealous God.” A few Roman numerals later, in the
same commandments, God insists that you not covet your neighbor's ass.
Like a Congress that passes laws it does not have to follow, one should be
very concerned about a God that violates His own commandments. The
secular religions are just as bad. The mindset of the extreme
environmentalist is that you are a plague upon the planet, and the less of
you the better. Their God is the environment, and the spokesman for that
God is the environmentalist. The environmentalist abhors cars and houses
that are too big. Q. What's the definition of “too big?” A. Anything
larger than the environmentalist's. Environmentalists use the force of law
to restrict your choices, and when they can't do that, they try to make
you feel like you are evil. (I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that read
“Osama loves your SUV.”) The
modern environmentalist practices a religion known as Luddism. The
original Luddites destroyed the machines of the Industrial Revolution that
threatened their jobs, back in the early 1800's. Modern Luddites destroy
things that they think threaten the environment. Luddites have destroyed
advances in medicine and ski resorts, figuratively and literally. Modern
Luddite heroes such as the socialist Pol Pot succeeded in destroying
hundreds of thousands of evil humans who dared seek the evils of knowledge and
progress. Unfortunately,
believers in the secular and non-secular religions dominate and wield
large amounts of power. Both groups promote the idea that things are
better off when you're dead. Non-secular religion proponents believe your
life here is only a trial for ensuring you can bask in a glorious
afterlife. Secular religion proponents believe your existence on earth is
a part of the problem. You can choose to believe that other humans have the right to make you suffer, or you can choose life. Governments and religions provide the best sources for suffering. The best source for life is personal freedom and desire.
discuss this column in the forum Jeff
Langr is the owner of a software consulting and training firm, Langr
Software Solutions. He is the author of a book on Java programming,
and is working on a second book due out in fall 2004. Langr resides in
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Most
religions preach asceticism. The core of Buddhism, as an example, is
centered around the idea that human suffering is to be expected. We
generate our own pain because we crave things. It suggests that the way we
eliminate this suffering is by learning how to eliminate these desires
(including carnal ones).
