Phatboy,
quote:
Why is it human nature to always explain away things that make us uncomfortable?
That's exactly what atheists want to know. It's ironic that you would criticize non-believers as seeking comfort in unrealistic beliefs. I'd say the burden is on the believer to demonstrate that his mythology is based on something more substantial than the wish to see intent in the chaos of nature.
Isn't it conceivable that it's
human nature to explain the bizarre, baffling workings of our universe as the activity of a Being who loves us all? After all, a belief that there is moral significance in the way things happen on Earth essentially has to include the out-clause about God working in mysterious ways. This allows the believer to acknowledge cruel and pointless events and yet cling to the position that everything happens by the grace of God. As a result, it's impossible to falsify the assertion that
everything happens through God's will, because the only disconfirming evidence would be an event that hasn't happened.
The believer explains away the anomalies of reality by making reference to a Being whose strategies are inscrutable to us mere mortals. It's much less comforting to believe that we're at the mercy of a universe which has no morality or grand intent. In that case, everything is reduced to probability, the innocent suffer, and the wicked prosper for no other reason than the roll of the dice. I submit that this is what makes the suffering of the innocent tragic in the first place: the lack of any grand purpose or reward for their pain.
regards,
Esteban Hambre
™ Version 4.2
