Humankind on Trial
by Paul Taylor
Green Valley News, Green Valley, Arizona,
Published as Commentary on August 7, 2007
Reflect on the titles of these recent popular books:
The End of Faith - Harris
The God Delusion - Dawkins
God: The Failed Hypothesis - Stenger
Atheism: The Case Against God - Smith
Sense & Goodness Without God - Carrier
Breaking the Spell - Dennett
god is not GREAT - Hitchens
The content as well as the titles lead one to think that Religion and God are on trial, but while that is quite true, the more important perspective is to realize that Humankind is on trial as the two worldviews of Theism and Secular Humanism clash, while generating violence, war, and hatred sponsored by intolerance.
Our collective worldview will determine the nature of our future. So it is important that our diverse perspectives converge on a suitably sound worldview. The challenge is great and possibly overwhelming, but we must make an effort.
Those of the Secular Humanist worldview argue that humans ascended by way of evolution from the primeval sludge to become that of human intelligence and consciousness. Those of the Religious worldview argue that humans descended form a Creator who dispenses intelligence subservient to the said Creator who requires worship and allegiance, and who controls through a policy of reward and punishment or the pull and push of Heaven and Hell. These two belief systems are quite incompatible. As these two paradigms clash they engender intolerance that generates violence, war, and hate on a planetary scale.
While Religion's applications of the ascendancy theory of humans to the real world have long been questioned as a source of reliable knowledge, today the modern disciplines of science and philosophy have undermined much of the prominent claims of religion.
Yet, on trial are not only theism, secular humanism, or atheism, but that of Humankind, which faces its greatest trial here and now. Of what is humankind charged? Humankind is charged with infidelity to the rational process. There are rational infidels among us that must be challenged. At stake, no less, is the survival of our species within all of life on a cosmic scale.
Modern analytical tools of the rational process as in science and philosophy, make it possible to challenge the supernatural hypothesis of God as a testable, verifiable and falsifiable entity. This challenge has been undertaken within the many books noted earlier. From the readings, the message is quite clear that a thorough understanding of evolution, mixed with a worthy measure of modern physics, and applications of scientific naturalism, leaves one not only with the reality of atheism, but the conclusion that the claimed supernatural can not exist. This leads naturally to the paradigm of Secular Humanism within which humankind must become individually and collectively responsible for determining the meaning and purpose of life. It follows that this goal would become more hopeful as we would be free of the mind-enslaving, yet very powerful, metaphysical appeal of a controlling supernatural Creator who promises much, but whose delivery is seriously flawed.
While it is devastating to the adherents of the religious worldview to understand that the Age of Religion is over, according to these books, nonetheless, there seems to be no supportable need for God, nor is there any support for a belief system that includes such concepts as divine authority, a hereafter, or a biblical apocalypse. On the other hand there is the truly exciting adventure to build a rationally-based future where violence, wars and hate subsides, and Humankind survives its challenges, under new management of our collective rights, if you please, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We must bring the rational process to the fore. It is this process that optimizes the mix of evidenced-based reason and the strong analytical powers of science, all within the openness of free inquiry, as it is applied in all areas of human endeavor. In this promising emergent worldview, there would be no sacred positions exempt from critical examination. Within this new paradigm, conflicts would be resolved through competitive analysis and not through competitive proclamations of unyielding dogma. This posturing of dogma leads to the antithesis of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, namely, intolerance, violence, war, and hate.
The challenge may be too unbearable to face since it seems to be deep within our genes and culture to "fight" each other. The "fight" has been long and bitter and invites war as is being experienced today. It is quite probable that humankind can not harmonize its clashing worlviews. It just may be too much to expect at this stage of human evolution. Perhaps extinction of our warring species will become the reality with the hope that a more adaptive intelligent species may arise to replace homo sapiens.
Yes, the rational religious infidels will likely exert a great effort in combatting, what, in their view, are the false tenets of the renewed paradigm of Secular Humanism. Nonetheless, humankind faces civilization-ending challenges, if not species-extinction possibilities, as we collectively must face such strong world-wide challenges as Global Climate Change, population control, and determining the meaning and purpose of life.
There is the light of hope, but it is burning dimly. Will you join this new and exciting venture of building this new Enlightenment movement of Secular Humanism soon enough to brighten the light of hope? This is no time to wait on the sidelines.
Paul Taylor
Retired Wisconsin University Educator
12-year resident of Green Valley, AZ 85614
