OrphieBaby, baby pandabun! đź’™ on Nostr: I mean, I guess I could explain what I mean and be less vague. Here's what I believe, ...
I mean, I guess I could explain what I mean and be less vague.
Here's what I believe, Part 1
The universe is awesome. And I think I see evidence in intelligent design, and I find it laughable for a number of reasons that some things would come about by chance. You don't go from a creature with scales to a bunch of random, directionless mutations until it has functioning air sacs and feathers so it can fly. Evolution— including of features such as feathers— doesn't have a set direction, we all know this. Nothing in the environment pushed generation after generation to develop flight using random mutations that accidentally carried through via survival. Nor did any other given organ work that way. It's that very principle of evolution that makes intermediary feature-development laughable.
But let's say that something like that is not a reason why you would believe in the possibility of a creator, but you hypothetically did anyway— that's fine too. Let's continue from there.
What do we know about such a creator? Well, they're smart. And they appreciate beautiful, functional things. Hell, nihilistic people love nihilistic art, and they distort things to make them ugly. But where in nature do you see things that are ugly like that? I guess in the ocean, but even then rarely. The universe is beautiful, and it survives and lives and functions. Animals are sentient and have emotions. Animals and plants and people and science— all these things are functioning (jokes aside) and wonderful. Even chemistry is so well-balanced from my perspective. So I believe that the creator is smart and wise and good, because only that kind of being would create a universe like the one I live in.
And humans? We are like gods. We're smart and emotional and we create.
So I believe the creator created everything because it was awesome, and people because they're awesome, and the creator wants to see what people can do and be excited for them. The creator did it for the same reasons that humans would do it.
So why doesn't the creator step in? Well, maybe the creator does, and we don't know. The problem with people is that we are kinda lazy-brained and dumb. If we *know* there's a creator, we create bullshit rules in the name of them. And if the creator gives rules themself, we'd mindlessly follow them. We'd twist them, too. Nothing would matter except for how you could twist the creator's rules— after all, we already do that with our religious texts. People would be dumber and easier to corrupt than they already are.
I believe that what is good (by any definition) and what is ethical aren't defined by some being. They are self-supporting principles. The principle is: we all want to live, we all want to survive, and be happy, and appreciate life and the things in it. All ethical principles support that fact— that we are ALL here to enjoy life, and that it's not self-sustaining to try to cheat other people out of enjoyment to increase your own. We don't need a creator or authority to tell us that.
And you know, yeah, it sucks that life is terrible for a lot of people all the time. But the few alternatives we have aren't super great either. Taking away free is one alternative, and that's a pretty shitty solution.
And you know, I do believe there will be something better after, a place where we can all pursue our dreams in peace. And that does help me deal with the shittiness of life on Earth.
And one last thing: I'm writing a science fantasy novel that shares most of these concepts. It takes place in a space-age afterlife where people indeed still have free will. And the space angels do maintain a world order of separating people; but they let everyone live with dignity and pursue their goals. And it gets way more interesting than that. My blurb can't do it enough justice either:
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THE SOLEMN DREAM
After a tragic life, “Solemn” is reincarnated in the space-age afterlife of Heleia as a young child, hoping to heal and finally find a loving family. But as Solemn explores their childhood role and grapples with trauma, they discover that their new family is far from perfect. Wise and gentle foster mom Lu Montsely hides a terrible past; while cool but callous cousin Jessi Vargas— whom Lu is also mentoring— is a bully even to Solemn.
To make matters worse, many don’t believe such people deserve second chances. With increasing influence and technical might, political activists KAPE threaten to tear Solemn’s family apart— first by doing away with the compassionate demigod overseers known as the seraphs. But as the conflict builds, the child Solemn soon becomes the last remaining seraph, fighting alongside their family not only to become happier, kinder, and greater, but for the fate of the Helian afterlife.
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Here's what I believe, Part 1
The universe is awesome. And I think I see evidence in intelligent design, and I find it laughable for a number of reasons that some things would come about by chance. You don't go from a creature with scales to a bunch of random, directionless mutations until it has functioning air sacs and feathers so it can fly. Evolution— including of features such as feathers— doesn't have a set direction, we all know this. Nothing in the environment pushed generation after generation to develop flight using random mutations that accidentally carried through via survival. Nor did any other given organ work that way. It's that very principle of evolution that makes intermediary feature-development laughable.
But let's say that something like that is not a reason why you would believe in the possibility of a creator, but you hypothetically did anyway— that's fine too. Let's continue from there.
What do we know about such a creator? Well, they're smart. And they appreciate beautiful, functional things. Hell, nihilistic people love nihilistic art, and they distort things to make them ugly. But where in nature do you see things that are ugly like that? I guess in the ocean, but even then rarely. The universe is beautiful, and it survives and lives and functions. Animals are sentient and have emotions. Animals and plants and people and science— all these things are functioning (jokes aside) and wonderful. Even chemistry is so well-balanced from my perspective. So I believe that the creator is smart and wise and good, because only that kind of being would create a universe like the one I live in.
And humans? We are like gods. We're smart and emotional and we create.
So I believe the creator created everything because it was awesome, and people because they're awesome, and the creator wants to see what people can do and be excited for them. The creator did it for the same reasons that humans would do it.
So why doesn't the creator step in? Well, maybe the creator does, and we don't know. The problem with people is that we are kinda lazy-brained and dumb. If we *know* there's a creator, we create bullshit rules in the name of them. And if the creator gives rules themself, we'd mindlessly follow them. We'd twist them, too. Nothing would matter except for how you could twist the creator's rules— after all, we already do that with our religious texts. People would be dumber and easier to corrupt than they already are.
I believe that what is good (by any definition) and what is ethical aren't defined by some being. They are self-supporting principles. The principle is: we all want to live, we all want to survive, and be happy, and appreciate life and the things in it. All ethical principles support that fact— that we are ALL here to enjoy life, and that it's not self-sustaining to try to cheat other people out of enjoyment to increase your own. We don't need a creator or authority to tell us that.
And you know, yeah, it sucks that life is terrible for a lot of people all the time. But the few alternatives we have aren't super great either. Taking away free is one alternative, and that's a pretty shitty solution.
And you know, I do believe there will be something better after, a place where we can all pursue our dreams in peace. And that does help me deal with the shittiness of life on Earth.
And one last thing: I'm writing a science fantasy novel that shares most of these concepts. It takes place in a space-age afterlife where people indeed still have free will. And the space angels do maintain a world order of separating people; but they let everyone live with dignity and pursue their goals. And it gets way more interesting than that. My blurb can't do it enough justice either:
-----
THE SOLEMN DREAM
After a tragic life, “Solemn” is reincarnated in the space-age afterlife of Heleia as a young child, hoping to heal and finally find a loving family. But as Solemn explores their childhood role and grapples with trauma, they discover that their new family is far from perfect. Wise and gentle foster mom Lu Montsely hides a terrible past; while cool but callous cousin Jessi Vargas— whom Lu is also mentoring— is a bully even to Solemn.
To make matters worse, many don’t believe such people deserve second chances. With increasing influence and technical might, political activists KAPE threaten to tear Solemn’s family apart— first by doing away with the compassionate demigod overseers known as the seraphs. But as the conflict builds, the child Solemn soon becomes the last remaining seraph, fighting alongside their family not only to become happier, kinder, and greater, but for the fate of the Helian afterlife.
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