God

The answer to whether or not God exists and what exactly is His nature and connection to us has been attempted by philosophers, poets, and priests since man walked the earth. However, in the face of no empirical evidence whatsoever that demonstrates proof of this external being, I have always been an existentialist who believes that God is part myth, part human psyche projection and the tool of many a leader (whether political or religious) for opiating the masses. In fact, this view of God is one that often left me feeling despondent and hopeless, because, without an eternal God, as Alper (4) argues, then there is little reason to live another moment when all of them become equally absolutely pointless in the scheme of things, “Without God, there is no spirit, no vital transcendental force or power. Instead, I am abandoned to the spiritless forces of a coldly mechanistic universe, an expendable cog in a soul-less machine-here today, gone tomorrow-a random accident in an arbitrary and purposeless abyss, no more or less significant than a grain of sand, a spec of cosmic dust. In essence, without God, life has no inherent meaning.” Being scientifically grounded, in light of no empirical evidence for such an external and universal entity as God, I often felt that the only meaning in life is the one an individual invests it with (thus, those who are able to believe in an afterlife easily come b

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religious fanaticism, as opposed to one who is raised in a culture that believes religion is a myth, “Like all behavioral traits, the strength of one’s spiritual convictions and beliefs exists as the result of a combination of one’s innate (genetic) potential combined with the influence of one’s life experiences” (Alper 142). This line of reasoning is also flawed because it takes no account of the many individuals raised according to one religion who change to another or reject organized religion outright. Morality and guilt are social conventions Alper believes also developed and were necessary before consciousness became well developed because it checked the self-destructive or selfish impulses of human nature. Morality helps us keep tabs on the selfish impulses of others and guilt helps us keep our own in check. However, these are genetically programmed responses and universal among the human species, claims Alper, just as the reflex actions of the nervous system are. Thus, many of the impulses that prompt us to seek external answers to the mystery of life are ones that developed when we could not handle the pain of the reality of the supreme truth. Yet, Alper argues it is high time we push past this point. Basically
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3610
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page)