My New Realization On The God Question — I Don’t Care
Unanswerable metaphysical questions strike me as a colossal waste of time
Is there a god? Do we have a soul? Is there reincarnation? Some view these as among the most important questions we human beings can ask. In my experience, those who propound that view are typically already adherents to one or another belief system, and the questions are the hook for attempts to evangelize, convert, or convince the undecided. I’m willing to believe, however, that some people are just interested in pondering who we are and what place we have in the universe. I am emphatically not one of them.
I have come to the opinion that those questions have no more relevance or importance than, for example, wondering if my favorite team will win a particular trophy or if spring will come early next year. What is gained by pursuing answers to questions that cannot be objectively answered?
I don’t need belief in divine retribution to do what is right. I don’t need belief in a soul to treat my fellow humans with dignity. I don’t need belief in karma to keep me from behaving poorly. Basic human morality, the behaviors and attitudes that are widely, if not universally agreed upon as good, don’t depend on answering the unanswerable.
We don’t need to be told what is good — we already know, if not always individually, then usually as a society. Whether we act on that knowledge, either individually or as a society, is another question, but the preponderance of evidence contradicts rather than affirms the idea that individual or societal behavior improves with the embrace of religious beliefs.
If pondering the deeper mysteries of existence brings joy to some, have at it. However, it’s just another form of entertainment, of no more intrinsic value than reading a novel, watching a movie, listening to music, or playing a video game.
The labels “theist,” “agnostic,” and “atheist” have in common the fact that they treat the existence of a god as a central question. In a comment on another recent Medium article, I declared myself to be a member of a fourth category — “idontcarist.” I care deeply about the harm done by all of the major world religions and their adherents, but I care not at all about whether their conceptions of god or their particular beliefs and doctrines are fact or fiction. It can’t be known, so it doesn’t matter.
