Right on, Mr. Sagan!

I found this quote in an interoffice memo. I'm sure some of you have seen it, but it's new to me.

“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”
- Carl Sagan

This is a powerful position statement for atheists in general, I think. The truth is that we reside in a mind-bogglingly big universe that doesn't know we exist and wouldn't care a whit for us if it did. It's more violent than any of us have experienced or could imagine, violence made worse by its random and emotionless nature. We could be vaporized in an instant by some unseen cosmic cataclysm, and the big U would keep on truckin' without a notice for our absence. This can be troubling sometimes, even for the stoutest minds among us. It can be tempting to infuse the chaos with a little human compassion. Throw a little meaning and control into the mix.

But it's not necessary or desirable. Any meaning or character we impose on nature is a lie, a personification of our own desires and fears. When Christians call on god to help them, they aren't accomplishing anything. But they've experienced compassion from other people, and imagine that the universe functions according to the same principles. It doesn't, and assuming that it does can stop them from taking action on their own that might ultimately alleviate their situation.

And the interesting thing is that we atheists, by nature of being human, can be just as guilty of manipulating existence to fit our "story." The description of the universe I painted two paragraphs ago is just as much a lie as anything the religious might conjecture. The universe isn't mind-boggling, or big, or violent, or any other adjective we might use to describe it. The universe just is. Before we came on the scene and tried to describe it the universe just was.

There is no need to anthropomorphize the universe in positive or negative terms. This frees us from fear and allows us to seek existence on it's own terms. To hypothesize, theorize, test and reject if necessary. It is best to seek the world as it is, free of delusion and self-deception. Doing that is the tricky part. Stay tuned for part two...why Christians are dangerous because they believe they are doing everything I just detailed above.