The Delusion Spectrum

And if everything is permitted in a world with God, what does that say about a world as perverted as ours?

Faith, by definition, is holding a strong belief leaving no space for need of proof. Proof which could remotely challenge said belief.

Why is it that when we speak of religion/god/higher powers, the first terms to be thrown around are faith/belief/conviction? I was raised in a religious household, faithfully reading the epics describing our gods, stories of grandeur and miracles. And to be honest, I did take a liking to it as well, children are quite impressionable after all. The turning point came when I was told to believe, that one mustn’t question god, that faith is a strong catalyst dissolving all doubts.

But when I started to skip on prayers, purely out of laziness, it dawned on me, if my procrastination could so easily overpower my faith, did I have any to begin with? If there truly was a higher power, how could liddul ol’ me just choose to ignore it?

Atheism seemed right (not better), simply the only other option at the time. Additionally, a great rebellious step for an angsty teen. My driving argument - disproving the existence of god, a god who chose to give children cancer, a god who supposedly showers us with suffering to aid in our growth, a god who is either all-powerful, or all good. Don’t they say Humans were made in the image of god? Must surely be a flawed image to begin with.

Atheism is largely backed by science, science which is yet to disprove the existence of our supposed creator. Like I mentioned before, Atheism seemed right for lack of a better option. Multiple discussions with (religious) friends always end with the same line (read: question); what happens once you die? I’m largely okay with the absolute nothingness that follows death, though it seems a major concern among those with faith. Most faiths have a concept of the afterlife (heaven/hell/becoming one with god) that is dictated by the sum total of your deeds while on this plane, which in turn drives a crucial counter point: what stops you from going on a sinful spree, rampaging as you please if there is no afterlife that judges you for your actions in this one? I never do entertain that question however, out of respect for the sheer negligence of morality it assumes.

Atheism is simply the other end of this spectrum though, putting way too much belief in humanism. We might have a higher level of awareness than other species, but to go so far as to proclaiming the universe operates on randomized chaos which was somehow brought into existence from nothing seems a tiny bit of a stretch.

Religions too optimistic, the rest far too nihilist. But all of them just another way to find some purpose when there might be none. Seems a bit delusional.

Delusion, by definition, is holding a strong belief leaving no space for need of proof.