Dawkins

Since I was little I asked many questions like why is there any existence, you know life, stars, planets, universe. What is the purpose of existence? Is there even a purpose? And How does it make a difference because there is something, what if there was nothing?

Why do people worship these idols? How come a figure with a human body and an elephant head is a known god in the East and the West has no idea about it, if they are gods then how come they didn’t make themselves known throughout the universe?

When I asked people 'if God made us then what made god', they looked at me as if I was an idiot. They told me that the creator created itself. And I wondered If something can create itself out of nothing then maybe there is a possibility that the universe could have created itself out of nothing, it is its own creator.

In my teenage years, I felt a disconnect with the world. Temples, churches, mosques, god, rituals, religions, prayers... 

I did not understand its necessity. And to be honest with you I felt inferior.  I felt as if I am one of these lowly creatures as I lacked the most important thing that drives the world - faith. 

I lacked faith and I still do. 

While believing strongly, without evidence, is considered a mark of madness or stupidity in any other area of our lives, faith in God still holds immense prestige in our society. 

Religion is the one area of our discourse where it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about.

(before I continue here is the definition of faith - Any belief that is devoid of logic, reason, rational, evidence or witness - is called faith.)

My teenage years were a frustrating phase for me as I was forced to take part in rituals and customs that I didn’t believe in and sadly I had no courage to speak about my lack of faith.

When I was around 19-20 one of my older brother introduced me to books by Richard Dawkins, When I read them it dawned on me that I wasn’t abnormal, but it is quite normal to wonder and ponder over the various aspects of existence and moreover to question the thousands of years old belief system. 

Then there was no looking back for me, I read all his books, and by many other scientists. Even though we learn science in school/ college I feel I started learning science and became interested in science in its true sense when I started reading books by Dawkins. reading books related to science (and not just textbooks) makes one realize the pettiness of religions, gods, wars and all that crap.

Yes, I am an atheist, I have no religion. Did Dawkins turn me into an atheist? No! I always was a non-believer. The only difference is now I admit it openly. And I feel atheism is a person’s default state. 

Every single person is born an atheist, every baby you meet is a non-believer, it has no clue whatsoever about the concept of god, if it is born in Arkansas then it is taught or pressurized to believe in one thing and if it is born in Kabul then it is taught or pressurized to believe in another thing.

Humans are the only animals with imagination, on planet Earth and the godly figures were born thousands of years ago through people’s imagination, through the stories that they told. I do not think that God created man but I believe that it is the man who created God.

So there is a possibility that thousands of years from now people might think that Harry Potter really happened. Maybe they will build temples of Harry Potter and burn Voldemort's effigy once every year like they currently do with Ravana.

I feel in awe of this technologically advanced world. There is so much intelligence around, I feel honored to even have coexisted the Earth with people like Dawkins and Hawking, but then I also see these overzealous, religious people who believe, follow and fight over thousands of years old traditions/scriptures/customs/rituals/gods and superstitions… 

Thousands of years ago humans were so primitive… all they could do was imagine and tell stories. and it really is perplexing for me to see that we still follow the customs/ rituals/ scriptures/ traditions/ superstitions/religions and gods created by these primitive people.

Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for people who are religious and so-called spiritual and in spite of that they are good humans.

I do believe that science will one day conquer all the ignorance in the world. It might not happen in our lifetime but all gods will die off one by one as their relevance outlives our evolving intellect.

I am sure I wasn’t the only kid who went through a frustrating phase, there are many more out there. All I can say is Encourage your kids to ask why, let them follow logic over thousands of years old beliefs, rather than trying to mold them let them just blossom, and make them learn science in its true sense.

And here are some great books by Richard Dawkins that I highly recommend.

The Selfish Gene, The God Delusion, The Blind Watchmaker, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ancestor's Tale and one of my favorite is 'the magic of reality'.