The following article, which appeared in yesterday's USA Today, is adapted from my new book What's So Great About Christianity:
We seem to be witnessing an aggressive attempt by leading atheists to portray religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as the bane of civilization. Finding the idea of God incompatible with science and reason, these atheists also fault Christianity with fostering a breed of fanaticism comparable to Islamic radicalism. The proposed solution: a completely secular society, liberated from Christian symbols and beliefs.
This critique, which comes from best-selling atheist books, academic tracts and a sophisticated network of atheist organizations and media, can be disputed on its own terms. What it misses, however, is the larger story of how Christianity has shaped the core institutions and values of the USA and the West. Christianity is responsible even for secular institutions such as democracy and science. It has fostered in our civilization values such as respect for human dignity, human rights and human equality that even secular people cherish.
Consider science. Although there have been many civilizations in history, modern science developed in only one: Western civilization. And why? Because science is based on an assumption that is, at root, faith-based and theological. That is the assumption that the universe is rational and follows laws that are discoverable through human reason.
Science is based on what James Trefil calls the principle of universality. "It says that the laws of nature we discover here and now in our laboratories are true everywhere in the universe and have been in force for all time." Moreover, the laws that govern the universe seem to be written in the language of mathematics. Physicist Richard Feynman found this to be "a kind of miracle."
Why? Because the universe doesn't have to be this way. There's no particular reason the laws of nature that we find on Earth should also govern a star billions of light years away. There's no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone mathematical ones. So where did Western man get this idea of a lawfully ordered universe? From Christianity.
Christians were the first ones who envisioned the universe as following laws that reflected the rationality of God the creator. These laws were believed to be accessible to man because man is created in the image of God and shares a spark of the divine reason. No wonder, then, that the first universities and observatories were sponsored by the church and run by priests.
No wonder also that the greatest scientists of the West - Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Boyle, Newton, Leibniz, Gassendi, Pascal, Mersenne, Cuvier, Harvey, Dalton, Faraday, Joule, Lyell, Lavoisier, Priestley, Kelvin, Ampere, Steno, Pasteur, Maxwell, Planck, Mendel, and Lemaitre - were Christians. Gassendi, Mersenne and Lamaitre were priests. Several of them viewed their research as demonstrating God's creative genius as manifested in his creation.
If modern science has Christian roots, so do our most basic political institutions and values. Consider Thomas Jefferson's famous assertion in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." He claimed this was "self-evident," but one only has to look to history and to other cultures to see that it is not evident at all. Everywhere we see dramatic evidence of human inequality. Jefferson's point, however, was that human beings are moral equals. Every life has a worth no greater and no less than any other.
The preciousness and equal worth of every human life is a Christian idea. We are equal because we have been created equal in the eyes of God. This is an idea with momentous consequences. In ancient Greece and Rome, human life had very little value. The Spartans, for example, left weak children to die on the hillside. Greek and Roman culture was built on slavery.
Christianity banned infanticide and the killing of the weak and "dispensable," and even today Christian values are responsible for the moral horror we feel when we hear of such practices. Christianity initially tolerated slavery- a universal institution at the time - but gradually mobilized the moral and political resources to end it. From the beginning, Christianity discouraged the enslavement of fellow Christians. Slavery, the foundation of Greek and Roman civilization, withered and largely disappeared throughout medieval Christendom in the Middle Ages.
The first movements to abolish slavery completely occurred only in the West, and were led by Christians. In the modern era, first the Quakers and then the evangelical Christians demanded that since we are all equal in God's eyes, no man has the right to rule another man without his consent. This religious doctrine not only supplies the moral justification for anti-slavery but also for democracy. Yes, the idea of self-government is also rooted in the Christian assumption of human equality. One reason the atheist philosopher Nietzsche hated democracy is because he understood its religious foundation.
Consider finally modern notions of human rights - the right to freedom of conscience, or to property, or to marry and form a family, or to be treated equally before the law - as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The universalism of this declaration is based on the particular teachings of Christianity. The premise is that all human lives have equal dignity and worth, but this is not the teaching of all the world's cultures and religions. Even so, it's appropriate that a doctrine Christian in origin should be universal in application. Christianity from the start promulgated its message as one for the whole world.
There are some atheists and even some Christians who admit that theism and Christianity have shaped the core institutions and values of America and the West. But now that we have these values, they say, why do we still need God and Christianity? Oddly enough, the answer is supplied by Nietzsche.
Nietzsche argued that since the Christian God is the foundation of Western values, the death of God must necessarily mean the erosion and ultimate collapse of those values. Remove the base and the whole building will slowly crumble. For a while, Nietzsche conceded, people would out of custom or habit continue to respect human life and treat people with equal dignity, but eventually there would be ferocious assaults on these values, and practices once unthinkable such as the killing of people deemed inferior or undesirable would once again occur. This is precisely what we have seen in our time, and Nietzsche predicted that it will only get worse.
If we cherish the distinctive ideals of Western civilization, and believe as I do that they have enormously benefited our civilization and our world, then whatever our religious convictions, we will not rashly try to hack at the religious roots from which they spring. On the contrary, we will not hesitate to acknowledge, not only privately but also publicly, the central role that Christianity has played and still plays in the things that matter most to us.
What's So Great About Christianity, Regnery, 2007
Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 15)
46. you should read my friends book...An Atheist, who tried to debunk religon, who ended up finding religon in the process...
you can check out the website www.becominggod.org.... Read the book and let me know what you think...Very postitive message for someone looking for answers; finding your own spirtitual path...All the best JG
john giuliano at 2:04PM on Oct 23rd 2007
47. I obviously am a lover of science, and so I'm particularly upset at the current administration and the Religious Right, but I suppose this isn't the format for me venting about it. So, I'll refrain from some irate speech, and just say that I hope that people someday realize that all science really is is another name for rational thought. It is humanity's name for the best system of rational thought (as it applies to physical, non-spiritual things) that we the collective human race has ever devised. We worked hard to amass our scientific knowledge, and we are constantly improving it. Observing and testing. Being logical, observant, and open-minded. Proving things.
If you disapprove of or disbelieve in THAT due to your religion, you're really saying that you prefer to cling to blind faith than to learn to more accurately judge your surroundings and see how things work for yourself. And you're saying it loudly and strongly. Fine. That is your prerogative. If someone wants to hold their fingers in their ears and sing "la la la" to reality it's fine by me. I understand. The real world is scary to those unfamiliar with it. It is, however, more beautiful and interesting and yes, even spiritual, the more that you know about it.
My deeper objection to these attitudes arises here: It's not as if religious folk don't USE science themselves, rely on it even, every single minute of every single day. This seems, for lack of a more delicate term, hypocritical.
Practically everything we as a species have and are materially, over and above our mere physical bodies, is due to our science. The man that first picked up a bone and tried using it as a club was a scientist. The wheel, guns, tanks, bombs, body armor, cameras, running water, modern clothing, modern shoes, newspapers, houses, churches, banks, skyscrapers, indoor plumbing, neighborhoods, medicines, vaccines, insecticides, modern agriculture, electricity, computers, movies, recorded music, musical instruments, television, weather reports forewarning hurricanes, paved roads, cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, all this and almost infinitely more, would never have been without the boogeyman science. These things are all products of scientific thought, experimentation, and the scientific method, in one form or another. I don't see Religious Creationists or Intelligent Design advocates or Biblical Literalists going without any of this great stuff in protest. Why not? To openly dislike science and yet to still continue to reap the benefits thereof is patently hypocritical, and yet they still insist on wearing clothes and shoes and using their microwave ovens to heat up their TV dinners. Oh, and having health insurance. Why bother when you don't believe in medicine?
And then they go and wonder why others, especially those that understand what science really is, cannot take their ideas seriously. It's hard not to laugh at those that call themselves illogical out loud, and seem proud of the fact.
Faith is a virtue, except where blind. And who among them can say that they have eyes to see? If God made everything, including us, then He also made our minds. To suggest that He wished us not to use them in the best way possible for the improvement of all is blasphemy. It is tantamount to calling God evil. And how does learning the best, most efficient way of judging the physical world preclude the existence of a God in the spiritual one?
Personally, I don't wish to go back to the days of mud huts.
Oh, I just realized that even the proper construction of a mud hut was something that had been improved through generations of experimentation amongst our primitive ancestors, and thus was also a product of science. You just can't get away from it, can you?
Brian at 2:08PM on Oct 23rd 2007
48. Christians seem to have real problems putting themselves in other's places. And without that, no real empathy is possible. Some jesus-followers you guys are!
For instance, let's take the issue of gay marriage, or gays in general.
Here's how to look at it:
When christians want (for instance) a gay man to seek redemption and give up his "sin" they cannot put themselves in the other person's place due to a gut level of revulsion that is of course conditioned into them. But I think I have a valid way of illustrating the difficulty with all that in spite of it.
Imagine that you're straight (if you really are, lol) and wake up one day in an alternate reality where all children born are test tube babies, and being straight is considered a perversion. The elders tell you that you must stop this abomination of wanting to have sex with women, and learn to love men...
Are you still with me here? It's a perfectly valid comparison, if a bit outlandish. Could you do it?
Didn't think so... THEN STOP ASKING GAYS TO!!!
Brian at 2:14PM on Oct 23rd 2007
49. Diaz: I've read the bible(s) and taken religion courses, been to churches. It's still mythology. Like other books it has its good points and bad points. Nothing much changed after all that for me.
Linda at 2:22PM on Oct 23rd 2007
50. "Because science is based on an assumption that is, at root, faith-based and theological. That is the assumption that the universe is rational and follows laws that are discoverable through human reason." What the...?
shughadaddy at 2:27PM on Oct 23rd 2007
51. 43. you should read my friends book...An Atheist, who tried to debunk religon, who ended up finding religon in the process...
you can check out the website www.becominggod.org.... Read the book and let me know what you think...Very postitive message for someone looking for answers; finding your own spirtitual path...All the best JG
john giuliano at 2:04PM on Oct 23rd 2007
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Exactly! This site is expressing exactly what I have been trying to! It was clever of you to put it up as if an atheist found god, as in the judeao-christian version of god, when he really just found his own divinity, which of course was there all along.
I'll re-print this from an earlier post to this blog:
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What would be the simplest explanation for this universe? That would account for the maximum number of observations that we've made of it? I used to ask myself this all the time. I knew it couldn't be something that we'd thought of before, since all of those theories have huge holes in them, even science in a way, though science is the best single one of all so far. But still science sees infinities in time and distance, and quantum paradoxes galore, along with things like the wave-particle duality and entanglement, which are hard to explain. SO I thought and thought, and studied a lot of different sources, and this is what I came up with...
Simplest Explanation for this Universe:
It's all a vast mind, or very similar to one. Now I KNOW that's a hard one for a christian, or most anybody, to ever believe. But give me a chance to explain. Oh, and if you can't follow this, it doesn't mean that it's not true, so perhaps some study would be in order, at least before you dismiss it. Not that you won't.
Imagine it as if we're all complex thought patterns in a vast mind of some sort. We think of ourselves as matter, and the universe as matter and energy and space and time, but if it were all more like a mind, it negates the problems of the infinite. The universe would be as large as we think it is, and as old as we think it is... The more we looked, the more we'd find, but in a mind this is all interplay of consciousness and not the real traversing of space, so infinity is not a problem... We feel as solid matter and a rock feels hard and heavy, but they're consciousness or thoughts too, but since WE are as well, the rock feels heavy and we feel solid to ourselves. As we've developed over the years we've formed this vast mind by our subconscious expectations of it, since it IS us, and all other things as well. Thus it conforms to our expectations of it, follows logical rules, etc. We are individuals, yes, but only at the conscious and near-conscious levels. At the deep subconscious level we all share the same identity, as does everything else, since we're all made of the one thing, mind, in a world of the same. So, the person looking out of your eyes and calling yourself "Me" is, at the deepest level, IDENTICAL with the person that looks out of MY eyes and says the same. God, or the Universe, is ONE, and we're all a part of it, connected at every point. There's only ONE "sense-of-identity" in the universe. That's what that means. We just all have it and think it unique to us as individuals, and it's not. Now if in this vast mind you manage to convince yourself that it's all due to an anthropomorphic God, this reality/mind will accomodate you and give you "signs" that you're on the right track, EVEN THOUGH YOU AREN'T!!! It will give you exactly what you expect it to in your deep subconscious. If I meditate strongly enough, I get the same types of signs, and I'm not a believer in any God, really. Strange coincidences, synchronicities, and actual events taking place that related to my meditation... Even at times, wish-fulfillment... You can produce this with prayers, if you REALLY believe deeply. It won't matter that what you REALLY believe in isn't TRUE, either. You can pray to a big Shoe in the sky, and if you have enough belief, real-world phenomena can and will occurr that seem to be an answer to your "prayers" with no god needed other than this universe, which in it's entirety, can be called God but more accurately is just the mind that we all call home. It's not a human mind, but it's composed of all minds and all things.
Seems simple enough, if you have an imagination. Now tell me why it can't be true. You can't. In fact, it explains EVERYTHING. Not one thing left out. It's the only theory that can even come close to doing that. All scientific problems, the mind-body problem, the placebo effect, miracles, faith-healings, synchronicities, deja-vu, "signs," ESP, clairvoyance, all psychic phenomena including hauntings, and even your belief in your god.
It can’t be proven yet, but it looks like it might be provable in the near future, if it’s true, of course. The beginnings of proof are already there. Look at the quantum realm, with all its strangeness and problems, which vanish if we assume that the universe is all consciousness. But as of right now, it can’t be proven. Neither can your God, or anyone else’s, but since it explains not only your god but all others, and science, and scientific fallacies and paradoxes, and indeed ALL mysteries, and has hopes of being proven in time by science, it’s far superior to any other faith or religion.
Brian at 2:26PM on Oct 23rd 2007
52. Jefferson had some contempt toward institutional Christianity. It was evident in his writings. During the Colonial era, the Anglican church (one can call it a British style sort of Catholicism minus the Pope and a few things)was more or less powerful depending on where it was in America and had sway in the southern colonies before Baptists became a major force later on. The Anglican church, it seems, has roots in Roman Catholicism and even Anglican churchmen often wear red skullcaps similar to Catholic archbishops and cardinals. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church is not following Scripture in many ways. One example is unmarried clerics when Titus 1:6 requires clerics to be married men. One can think of Desmond Tutu, one of Africa's most promient Anglican churchmen who has been pictured wearing such skullcaps as well being one of the most famous dissidents against apartheid. I believe he is a married man. True, the Anglicans in America after Independence became the Episcopal Church. Today? It is seen as part more or less with the Anglican Communion. I confess I am an Independent Baptist but not affliated with the Southern Baptists and I am grieved that some Baptists speak and support the idea that America could be a near theocracy. Have any of them forgotten the spirit, for lack of a better word, of the Danbury Baptists? The Danbury Baptists are famous for their letter to President Jefferson concerning freedom of religion and his reply to them is among the most famous replies of American leaders concerning the hot issues of their day. Atheists are simply declared fools by the Bible, that is true. But that nonwithstanding, it would be much worse if the country turned into a theocracy which would get much sorer judgement from God. Witness the good Lord's many rebukes of the Jewish religious leaders of His day for their hypocrisy and over adherence to traditions. One famous rebuke to them to this effect: "Ye are like the whited graves of men but rotten like dead men's bones..." Over the years the Jews developed traditions and doctrines that deviated from what the Lord (Jesus was a Jew from the tribe of Judah, line of King David)judged was correct Judaism. One can deduce, I admit, that the Jewish leaders got their traditions from more or less from the Talmud. Jesus even told them of a particular verse from the book of Isaiah that goes like this, "Their lips speak close but their hearts are far from me." A similar indictment can be said of today's certain Christian church leaders and their followers, though. Jesus was not the only one who instigated the Jewish leaders. His cousin, John the Baptist, once told a group of them they were like vipers when they came to be baptized of him. The freedom of religion in this country does include the religion of no belief in any deity. I have the sentiment that some Christians need to be reminded that the Treaty of Tripoli of 1796 (some say 1797 and I am not sure which is the proper year for this treaty) had a comment inside that the United States was not founded in any way upon the Christian religion. That is confirmed in one of many examples, it seems, that a few Presidents were not seen as true Christians. John Adams and John Quincy Adams (2nd and 6th Presidents respectively) were of the Unitarians which is seen as not a true Christian sect. There are many other ways to prove America was not founded on Christianity. Jesus' reply to the question asked by Pontius Pilate whether he was a king should help these same Christians. It is one thing if a town is, let's say, 75% Christian and it could outlaw abortions and forbid bars there BUT it is another if certain Christians try to do the same on the federal level. I am no supporter of abortion but a theocracy in the federal level seems more worse than mere abortion. I do not advocate violence though. That is all for now. Thank you.
Michael Trippiedi at 4:02PM on Nov 8th 2007
53. Thank God for the one-trick pony named Dinesh, for he makes the Christian metaphysics sheep appear foolish and tedious, thus greasing the wheels of our EEEVILLL atheistic conquest of this planet and beyond! MUAHAHAHAHA!
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
- Winston Churchill
Oh, wait. Dinesh is just trying to sell his book? Well, that's different. Kudos, D, on your unbridled capitalism. For a second there I thought you were actually trying to be a mouthpiece for the Christian Taliban.
::sigh:: Looks like our evil conquest of this planet will have to wait another week or two.
Bob at 2:47PM on Oct 23rd 2007
54. shiningstarxport "Id like to see some of you help someone in their time of need like when someone has lost a child or a spouse, or how about give hope to someone who is in deep depression."
_________________
What hubris to imply that people can only comfort others through religion!! I've been a nurse for more than 33 years, and an athiest much longer. I've comforted many, many People in their time of need. I am respectful of people's religions, but I do not need that filter to give comfort myself.
Linda at 2:33PM on Oct 23rd 2007
55. Bravo, Mr. D’SOUZA. An interesting and valid point of view.
I was very amused by the variable types of comments. How sad that the majority just don't "get it". Which in itself is a sad comment on the public school systems.
Your argument is not of absolutes, yet the substance of the comments are hackneyed.
The negative responses tend to follow the failed communist/socialist hack information put out so many years ago that just by he age of it, it has seemingly gained validity.
So sad that so many lack the true capabilities of the rational mind.
mirelmvita at 5:00PM on Oct 23rd 2007
56. How in the world can you view this as irrational or baseless thought? From what everyone says, no one has given proper evidence supporting their opposing viewpoints. You might as well erase your comments because there's no substance to them.
Christianity IS what spawned our current society. All the supporting evidenced needed to show this is in your history books dating back from Pre-Grecian times until now where Christianity has taken a major role in almost every major event known to modern man. You know even Paganist beliefs, which predate "Christianity", has shared ideology and symbolism with Christianity. Also, people who consider themselves wise because they stand against Christian ideals and choose to have a "free" mind are actually enslaved by their limited scope of thought and understanding.
You who claims there is no possibility that God exists and thus claims atheistic views are contradicting yourself.
Atheistic views state that God doesn't exist because you say He doesn't exist. How in the world can you go against people who say He does exist because they say He exists? You are taking one side of the coin and trying to debase the other side of the coin say, "bah, the other side doesn't exist".
The oh-so-self-righteously-wise who say God doesn't exist have no better argument against those who have Faith. In fact the argument is much worse because God's existence actually explains (perhaps without their brand of evidence) a lot more than how atheists try and prove things. Fact is, math and science actually support and show proof of God's existence, if not in the mere fact that such complex organization being "accidental" has the probability of about 0.000000001% on a scientific scale of measurement.
So, atheists ride on the 0.000000001% chance they are correct while those who are not so closed minded (and yes atheists you are close minded) are dealing with a huge percentage of certainty.
Also, is there any reason why you wouldn't acknowledge God? Oh, because of all the horrible things that's happened in human history?
Have you any idea the concept of RESPONSIBILITY? Try this on self-righteous one, are not the HUMANS the ones RESPONSIBLE for the millions of acts of atrocity committed BY HUMANS upon HUMANS? So where does the "THIS IS GOD'S FAULT" concept come into play? We are terrorizing and violating EACH OTHER, yet when it comes time to blame it's all God's fault, for either causing it or not stopping it. Um, I've met 5 y/o's who are much more in tune with maturity and responsibility.
If you want I can be your daddy. Because you have yet to have grown, just like the thousands of years that people like Isrealite tribes and other groups have fallen away from a higher understanding of life.
The same people who question God are the same people who are lacking purpose and direction in their lives. A majority live the rat race and feel that the crumbs are what life is about. The others who have positions of importance feel abject emptiness when NOT DOING THEIR JOBS. Then they are the same to complain (once they've immersed themselves into their work) for never having free time.
God provides purpose: helping one another, teaching morality, living life in truth and understanding, being a humble person (instead of a blind self-righteous person of nothing), working to bring peace on this earth and a host of other loving goals. Faith helps stabilize life, can encourage others to do what is right and give those faithful wisdom to guide those in need. All the terrible acts done in God's name is an outright despicable sin and is NOT in correlation with God's law of being JUST and LOVING.
What does atheism give you? The ability to sneer at faithful people? I will agree that many "Christians" are not truly faithful, but more putting on the show. This hurts the truly good followers who strive to love and help a neighbor.
Having true faith only encourages GOOD BEHAVIOR, that is a social benefit and an emotional benefit. Also, there is a spiritually wholesome appeal that comes with being a loving person of God. Not only is this all true, but one can learn correct measures of fairness.
What does atheism give you? Christians/Muslims/Jews can all study and appreciate math/science/arts just like any other, so that is not an exclusive item to "atheists".
Does atheism give you freedom (as mentioned before), no, it gives you a constant search for the meaning of all things. You will always be considering how/what/when/where/why without ever getting a truly solid answer (I heard your sneer just now).
Those who don't consider life purpose and worth are either archaic remnants of when we were more animal than man, or are so ingrained with the pursuit of emptiness (yes a play on happiness anti-thetically) with each day looking alot like the hamster wheel.
And I am not scared of anything. Not only am I very capable of talking with anyone on the level, I don't even need to defend my position. It defends itself in logic and truth.
I have no need to fear the tiniest or largest object on this earth. Ultimately there's death and I have no problem with dying. Fear nothing.
You find joy in hobbies? Sports? Dancing? Love life? The faithful do to (again, no exclusivity to atheists here). Question would be, what happens when you're finished with these activities and not sleeping or working. Oh... here comes that void again.
mincpa at 3:04PM on Oct 23rd 2007
57. I know, Linda. Hubris and pride and ego. Aren't they ugly when they act like that? And, when do they not? :-)
Self-righteousness isn't a synonym for righteousness, christians, even though it sounds similar.
It's the thing that makes you laughing stocks and frauds. Self-righteous self-centered HYPOCHRISTS. Your egos are so unbelievably HUGE, and you're so PROUD that you can no longer be reached by reason. You've become besotted with yourselves, and drunk on your own self-love. To even think that we could not help others without believing in your silly ego-god is beyond an insult.
What can I say? "Forgive them, oh Universe, for they are far too ignorant to know what they do..."
Brian at 2:53PM on Oct 23rd 2007
58. There you go again DD. Wrapped up in your little tribal (Jesus-God). I believe in a universal God DD. I just don't believe in your little tribal 2000 year old dead guy who lives in outer space.
Larry at 2:57PM on Oct 23rd 2007
59. Honestly,
Atheists have no proof that God doesn't exist. There is MUCH evidence pointing to God existing. Also, I've met God and have stood next to him (out comes the sneering and vegetable throwing - THE SAME ACTIONS THAT ATHEIST CONDEMN AGAINST RELIGION, BASED ON THE STIFLING OF OUTSIDE IDEAS).
The universe is way too organized to be accidental mishap. You are small inconsequential people who have somehow earned the love of God yet you scorn Him when He tries to encourage love and happiness in our lives. All the negative things you blame on Him, all the good things you either take for granted or marginalize by saying "oh that's life, how nice" and forgetting it happened other than a photo and a memory. How empty lives can be. I want you all to just feel good, rather than full of mistrust and hate!
Why can't we just live happy lives? You realize if we all trusted in God and obeyed his very simple and beneficial laws, we'd be at peace! Love thy neighbor, do not hurt anyone, help a stranger, be humble/sincere/honest, love all things good, stay away from shitty behavior. How can this be bad? Any answers?
Any answers besides bringing up the many men and women who MISUSE their position to ABUSE the people? Those people are not of God's fold and do not obey God's will (check the law above). So they are outside of the scope of what I just described, but unfortunately exist.
mincpa at 3:04PM on Oct 23rd 2007
60. Also,
It strikes me odd that so many people can be so full of themselves. Hey, look at us, we put ourselves here and we are breathing air WE created eating things WE made. Sweet! I know this isn't exactly your thinking process, but it actually is the form of thought you are using. How can you ignore higher existence?
Let the evil in the world continue. Be a protector of immorality and violence. God's law specifically goes against immorality and violence, if you can't appreciate that then you are truly twisted.
mincpa at 3:08PM on Oct 23rd 2007