Current Affairs Essay

Renewing this argument on the contemporary scene are members of the scientific community who write books with self-evident titles like Sorry, You Can't Prove the Existence of God! (a concept most of us learned in junior high school, if not sooner), and atheists who tell us how terrible religion is, as Christopher Hitchens does in his new book, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Hitchens, of course, was the darling of the left until he sold out and supported the war in Iraq, so I don't think we should take him too seriously about any subject.

The reality is, today's scientific skeptics and neo-atheists are not saying anything new since Madeline Murray O'Hair. Everyone knows you can't prove the existence of God, and no one would deny that many atrocities have been committed in the name of religion. Of course, the best line on the subject goes to the French writer Stendhal: "The only excuse for God is that he doesn't exist."

In any case, skeptics and atheists are right when they maintain that society would be better off without the close-minded and dogmatic version of religion that has been so divisive and destructive over the centuries. But they are wrong when they jump to the conclusion that it is an either/or proposition and the absence of God in one's life is preferable to the presence of God. This brand of militant atheism leads to nihilism, existential despair, or totalitarianism that existed in places like the former Soviet Union and Cambodia.

This is where pantheism and Buddhism come in. Although not the same, these two belief systems share many of the same aspects. With them, it's all about higher consciousness and coming to grips with one's true nature. In pantheism, the concept of God is not of a supreme being, but a natural life force which we all share. In Buddhism there is no God per se, but there is enlightenment and nirvana, or "highest happiness." Even as dark a soul as Nietzsche admired Buddhism, calling it "the only positivistic religion history has to show us."

Moreover, both these belief systems are about the essence of religion without the ritual and dogma. They're the logical destination for humans who have rejected traditional religion but realize-- unlike atheists-- that spirituality and higher consciousness not only exist, but are just as real as our physical beings. And the recognition of this reality is the starting point for self discovery and truth about oneself and the universe. It is the path that will ultimately lead an individual and a society to harmony and peace and love.

And without sounding melodramatic, if our planet is to survive the next few decades of global warming, corporate fascism, and perpetual war, we'd better discover the truth about ourselves and develop a higher level of consciousness post haste.

In other words, it's time for all of us to follow the example of Siddhartha and become enlightened. If we continue to limit our choices to either religious fundamentalism or militant atheism, we're heading down the River Styx without a paddle. And there ain't no Hercules around to save us!