Why Are We Here and How Did We Get Here?

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Category: Religion

Published: Sunday, 27 January 2013 00:23

Not long ago, I commented on a blog titled, “Why Are Humans Here?” There was much discussion as to why we are here. The comments came from all angles and all manner of people, atheist, nonbelievers, Christians, agnostics, laymen and scientists.

Someone wrote, ‘There is no real reason that we are here but to live here until we die, and that is the end of it all.’

 ‘Maybe we are here to be the comic relief for a superior being,’ someone else commented.

The discussion evolved from ‘Why are we here?’ into ‘How Did We Get Here?’ The conversation became more serious and pointed as the bloggers laid their beliefs on the line for everyone to ridicule. There were more than 80 comments several of which I listed here.

One Atheist wrote: I personally believe a meteor hit this planet billions of years ago and it landed in water and life started. Mind you, this was billions of years ago.

Is there a Grand Architect? I like to believe so but I don’t think a magic wand was waved and life happened. I believe the Grand Architect is ENERGY.

 One lady surmised that the universe, the galaxy and all life is generated by random activity. Here is a compilation of what she said: ‘…there are certain laws of physics, thermodynamics, etc that the universe has adhered to from the start.’ Random combinations occur all the time. However, they won’t be successful outside of these scientific laws. Also, according to evolution, there are many transitions that occur that are not beneficial. Those are the ones that usually die off. See, there is a combination of randomness and laws that occur…’

I am still trying to decipher exactly what she meant by that.

One philosopher wrote – At the most basic level, we are here to survive just like the Killer Whale or the Earth Worm are here to survive. Because of superior ability to use reason and logic, we have more of a personal responsibility to protect the Earth from us.

 Perhaps we’re here to not only ask that very question (“Why am I here? / What is my purpose?”), but to discover the answers ourselves.

Another comment was: “What’s my purpose?,” injects individuality and seems to imply that there’s a grand architect who’s plan “you” will ultimately help to fulfill. This is purely spiritual. Thus, anyone who is an atheist cannot ask this question. If they believe there is no God (or grand architect), then outside of whatever it is we do (or used to do) to sustain Earth’s ecosystem, there’s no other purpose for an individual in the grand scheme of things.

One blogger asked, “What is the purpose of God?” To which someone else answered,

 God is a human concoction tasked with helping us delude ourselves

 Another said; I don’t know about everybody else, but I’m here to bring joy and laughter to those that need it, and to wreak havoc on those that deserve it

Someone said, ‘Our purpose is to procreate and survive. We are mere animals.’

 ‘But if that’s true,’ another said, ‘then what motivation is there for us to love, respect, help, look after and do right by one another? Would we be right in eliminating concepts like marriage and monogamy, and simply procreate at will – the bigger badder man gets to mate. If so, it just becomes survival of the fittest- if the weak and unfortunate are trampled over, so be it. They’re just prey and “food” for the strong and well-to-do.

That’s the kind of world “mere animals” live in. I’d like to think our true purpose is higher than that.

 A philosopher in the group said, ‘Evolution, and its proponents are responsible in a large way for removing moral frameworks. Government becomes God and dispenses or denies rights. Man no longer has natural rights given by God, it has only that which the state grants. And if the state decides you are no longer an asset, too bad. Nothing stopping god/state from revoking your right to life or liberty.’

 Most of these comments centered on the Big Bang Theory and Darwin’s Theory of Evolution if they were not God centered. The others centered on the omnipresence of a Supreme Being and Intelligent Design.

 This is a very interesting question for which I have thought about and generalized hundreds if not thousands of times. I never really analyzed it for myself. This time I did. I decided to do some research as best that I could and comment on this blog within the confines of the existing conversation.

I noticed that everyone who supported the big bang theory and the evolution theory, believed these two documents to be totally factual. Even though, none had actually read the documents, much less analyzed them. The definition of ‘theory’ itself proves that these documents are not factual, but rather a grouping of observations and assumptions. I wondered, ‘how could anyone believe these documents are facts?’

 Of course, on the other hand, how many people have actually read the bible and analyzed it. I have my favorite books of the bible that I tend to read over and over again but I’ll admit that I have never read the bible cover to cover.

 Obviously, no one can prove beyond a shadow of doubt, the 100 percent factual nature of any of these documents using today’s tools. However, there is no shortage of logically thought or fine tuned opinions, observation and assumptions coming from all sides.

But I wanted to do the research myself and put to rest in my own mind the answers to these questions so that I am satisfied. I wanted to be able to argue the point from all sides should I engage myself in another blog-fest. My religion is a private matter for me and I seldom discuss my beliefs. I allow my life to show what I believe.

 These questions, ‘Where did we come from’, and ‘Why are we here’ have been asked by humans since the beginning of time. I wanted my comfortable answer.

 I figured the best way to attack this project is to first find some agreement or some starting point. So I started with some definitions that related to the discussion. I decided to go to Webster’s dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary and other sources that I believed would be mutually agreeable, to get generally approved definitions. I needed a starting point. I wanted to know the definition of some terms as they relate to the discussion. Here is a short list of some of the definition which I reviewed.

Big Bang Theory; The Big Bang was the event which led to the formation of the universe, according to the prevailing cosmological theory of the universe’s early development. (Also known as the Big Bang theory or Big Bang model).

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution; Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Darwin’s book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection.

 Fact: The word fact can refer to verified information about past or present circumstances or events which are presented as objective reality. In science, it means a provable concept.

 Logic: Is the analysis and appraisal of arguments.

 Random: Having no definite aim or purpose; not sent or guided in a particular direction; made, done, occurring, etc., without method or conscious choice; haphazard.

 Theory: When used by scientists, refers to an explanation of reality that has been thoroughly tested so that most scientists agree on it. It can be changed if new information is found.

 Hypothesis: Is a theory that hasn’t been fully tested; that is, a hypothesis is an unproven theory.

 Assumption: In logic an assumption is a proposition that is taken for granted, as if it were true based upon presupposition without preponderance of the facts.

Okay, now that we have agreed on the definitions, let us move forward to test how this relates to How We Got Here? And Why Are We Here?

 I studied the different religions in college but my bachelor’s degree in biology and general science. One thing I know for sure is that I am not self created. A higher power bought me into existence on this earth plane. I consider myself very spiritual and I respect all religions. I do believe that we are all spiritual beings having a physical experience. We are all on a journey and life here on earth is temporary. Spirit is energy and the beautiful thing is, energy never dies, it just changes to another form.

Many of the bloggers comments are based on the Big Bang Theory and Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. These are theories, not factual documents. The laws of mathematics and physics don’t allow for the big bang theory. In my humble opinion, this theory is flawed. It is full of assumptions and its conclusions are based on even more hypothesis and presumptions.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is the study of how less complex organisms develop into more complex ones over time. It does not address the question of how the first organisms came to exist. Therefore it should not be a part of this discussion at all.

These laws and theories are based on observation and elimination and assumptions. For decades, we observed Pluto. After elimination all else, we figured Pluto is a planet. Several months ago, more observation and elimination suggested Pluto is not a planet. Now, just a few weeks ago, the scientist, after more observations and more elimination, have determined that they don’t know what Pluto is. Did the laws of physics change? We look at Pluto at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy today, and we don’t have a clue as to what it is. Yet, we have the egotistical gall to say that we know what happen 13.7 billion years ago at a location millions of galaxies away. It just does not make logical sense to me.

If a person believes that life came from random coincidence, then that person also believes that all studies of mathematics and physics have been a lie. The study of randomizing for instance, shows that with each flip of the coin, one would have a 50% chance of it falling on either side, heads or tails. Even if you flipped the coin nine times and have nine heads and no tails, at the 10th flip, the odds are still 50/50, just as they were with the first toss.

This planet is, for the most part, ordered and predictable. Every time a child is born, you expect a human child coming from the womb and not a rabbit. You don’t expect a raccoon to be born from a spider. These are ordered results not random and you expect these kinds of results each and every time. According to my studies of mathematics and physics, you can’t evolve into ordered results from random beginnings. The mathematics does not work.

 Is there a purpose for humans to be here?

 If we have no purpose then we have no worth as far as the vitality of this planet is concerned. If that’s the case, why would the forces that created us have bothered to do so?

 If whomever or whatever saw fit to give purpose to the lowliest of creatures, then why not a purpose for such highly intelligent and physically sophisticated beings?

 If a person believes that his existence is merely the culmination of purely random events, then he truly does not have a purpose.

With all that said, we humans can’t prove anything. This entire discussion was based on logical assumptions, based on factual observation and based on theoretical elimination’s. You can’t add those three elements together and end up with fact. That is equivalent to saying that you can add apples, oranges, and chickens together and get whales. In this case adding some facts, some assumptions, and eliminating some elements, what you will get is ‘Theory,’ not fact. The Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and The Big Bang Theory are theories, NOT FACT. At this stage in our human history, neither can be proven.

 “Just because there is an absence of evidence

 Doesn’t mean there’s evidence of absence”

 “Simply because you don’t know something

exists doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent”

 “There are known knowns and there are

 Known unknowns but there are also unknown

 Unknowns: things we don’t know that we

 Don’t know.

My observation and investigation leads me to this conclusion.

The planet and the universe were planned and designed by someone or something smarter than me. I feel that there is no human on this planet smarter than I am. Many are more educated than I am, but none are smarter. Therefore, I believe a being, not of this world, is my creator. I may not know the specific reason why I am here. I may not know what events lead up to how I got here. There are some things that I do know. In the middle of the night, my subconscious mind guides me into things that I would never do if left to my own devices. My subconscious mind tells me things and I still wonder where these thoughts come from. I feel that as long as I listen to my subconscious mind, and as long as I am on one accord with it, I feel that I am following the will of my creator. That is why I am here, to follow the will of my creator.

There, you have my thoughts and opinions about the subject. What’s yours? I would really like to know. Please leave a comment