One of my many reasons for disbelief is the historical fact that humans have been making up spiritual and divine fictions since antiquity. The polytheistic beliefs of ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks, et al., up to the modern Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, etc. - all with wildly different claims and strong assertions – do not prove that any of these deities ever existed, but rather that humans have a strong propensity for inventing rich mythologies. What’s more, examining the multitude of sects within any religion, whether it’s Catholics, Protestants, or Mormons within Christianity, to the Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi Muslims within Islam, you find even for those who have faith that a monotheistic God actually exists and reveals his true nature to ardent believers, few can agree as to exactly what God's divine message is or the finer points of his “true nature."
We currently have front row seats to the birth of a new religion which, as ridiculous as it seems to many, is every bit as substantive to its believers as any of the Abrahamic religions are to its followers; namely… Scientology. This opiate of choice for the likes of Tom Cruise and John Travolta fairly recently became officially recognized by the U.S. Government, granting the Church of Scientology tax exempt status, placing it on equal footing with every other religious organization in America. Examining its roots gives us insight as to how absurd fictions can spread under the umbrella of religion, and how many people are willing to "believe" ridiculous claims for the chance to fit in, to belong, to feel important.
Any devout individual advocating for their “one true religion” must rationally defend against all other claims - claims made by individuals who are equally zealous of their own religion’s tenets. If all the world’s faithful could get on the same page - especially Jews, Christians, and Muslims (who supposedly worship the same deity but ironically have all engaged in numerous religious wars throughout history in the name of the same deity), or even agreement amongst modern Young Earth Creationists versus Christian Evolutionists – then there might be a case to be made for theism versus atheism. But at this point, with the ridiculous disparity of beliefs circulating since recorded history through present day, I’m afraid the odds betting for any one religion ala Pascal’s Wager are so ridiculously slim, even the lowliest sharks in Vegas would be embarrassed to offer such an infinitesimal chance of success.
We currently have front row seats to the birth of a new religion which, as ridiculous as it seems to many, is every bit as substantive to its believers as any of the Abrahamic religions are to its followers; namely… Scientology. This opiate of choice for the likes of Tom Cruise and John Travolta fairly recently became officially recognized by the U.S. Government, granting the Church of Scientology tax exempt status, placing it on equal footing with every other religious organization in America. Examining its roots gives us insight as to how absurd fictions can spread under the umbrella of religion, and how many people are willing to "believe" ridiculous claims for the chance to fit in, to belong, to feel important.
Any devout individual advocating for their “one true religion” must rationally defend against all other claims - claims made by individuals who are equally zealous of their own religion’s tenets. If all the world’s faithful could get on the same page - especially Jews, Christians, and Muslims (who supposedly worship the same deity but ironically have all engaged in numerous religious wars throughout history in the name of the same deity), or even agreement amongst modern Young Earth Creationists versus Christian Evolutionists – then there might be a case to be made for theism versus atheism. But at this point, with the ridiculous disparity of beliefs circulating since recorded history through present day, I’m afraid the odds betting for any one religion ala Pascal’s Wager are so ridiculously slim, even the lowliest sharks in Vegas would be embarrassed to offer such an infinitesimal chance of success.
