Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Atheism vs Religion?

It seems today that one has to be either an atheist or a religious fanatic, and whether a member of either on it seems necessary for the people involved to try their utmost to force their beliefs on one another. Why is this? Don't you think people believe what they choose, what makes them happiest?

I see a lot of arguments these days that are viciously anti-religion, but why? Those who believe in a creator base their beliefs as much on faith as do the atheists. The big bang has to come from somewhere just as well as God has to come from somewhere. It can't have sprang out of "nothing" as some purveyors of this argument suggest, and it cannot be that time only began when the big bang happened, and there simply was no "before".

This is not to say that either corner is necessarily wrong or right, but merely to say there is equal evidence for each. The very nature of reigion and faith ensure that it cannot be proven by science, and while this may seem convenient it is also convenient to say the big bang came out of "nothing". Even the theory that our universe is in a constant state of expansion followed by contraction followed by expansion again, has the same weakness.

When one considers the predicament, the only "logical" conclusion I can come to is that there is in fact no answer to the question, or at least not one our brains are capable of processing.

To sum up: no matter what your beliefs on the creation of the universe, the question will always remain. Where did that come from?

That is why I say that people choose their beliefs based on what they want to be true, rather than what is. Because we do not know what is. Thus, it doesn't make sense to try to force one's beliefs on another, when one's beliefs are inevitably as based on faith as the next person's.

Atheists in particular seem to enjoy making religious followers out to be foolish believers in myths and supernatural legend, indeed the attacks on them become more and more ridiculous every day. Why? Hatred for those whose beliefs differ from our own? That hardly strikes me as the modus of modern civilization, and we are a lot further behind than I thought if that is the case.

Ciao for now, I hope someone can shed some light on this...

The first

This is my first post on my first attempt at a Blog. It is aimed at any and all people who have a vested interest in the future of South Africa. Given the unique nature of this country and the political climate in which we find ourselves, the usage and mentioning of race will be unavoidable.

However, before I continue I would have it known that racism of any kind is not welcome here, and this Blog is a place for structured and reasonable debate. My view of this country is that there are people of all races here that are capable of helping us to a great future for all, but there are also people of all races who would see it destroyed. The latter is not welcome here.

Let us begin.

I see many articles on the Web by white authors describing the fear and state of terror in which white people are "forced to live", due to the supposed uprising of the black nation to slaughter us all. Now, my knowledge on the validity of these claims is severely limited, but from my personal experience of this country I would say they are largely unfounded. Granted, the rate of crime in this country is high, but it affects all of its citizens and not just the whites. For every white woman raped and killed there are undoubtedly four or more black women to which the same is done. Criminals are merely criminals, and their activities should not be used as a scale on which to judge an entire race group.

From what I have seen (which I won't go into just yet), it is true that if one looks at the situation from a fearful position then it is clear whites in general have a lot to fear. But my experience of black people (the ones I have known personally), is that they are friendly, quick to offer help, and far quicker to accept a "foreigner" such as myself into their midst than their white counterparts.

What I would like at the end of this, is some commentary from my fellow South Africans in general. What do you think is going to happen here over the next few years? Do not fear to mention race (for the good people of this country who would see it move forward have nothing to fear) but remember: no racism or hate speech in either direction.