As an agnostic, this excerpt here rang with the simple truth by which I have tried to live my life: "Do unto others...". I don't agree with much else that he states in the rest of the excerpt that isn't quoted, and I haven't read his book, but do wonder sometimes, as he did, as to why we humans have felt such an almost universal urge to have faith in something bigger than us. And to use that as a justification for our moral and ethical actions, when something so simple as "Do unto others..." should be enough, especially with all the evidence of the benefits of altruistic behaviors, and the evidence of the negative long-term consequences of non-altruistic behaviors...Anyway, I thought I'd share and see if anyone had any thoughts to add!
If we must have religion, the seminal test as to the value and merit of any religion worth its salt has to be not what you believe, but what you do -- that is, how you treat your fellow man.
I can say with relative confidence (because what I'm saying, at least it would seem, has to be true) that there is only one necessary religion that has any merit to the people who inhabit this earth, and that's the Golden Rule: "Whosoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (from the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:12). To treat others as you would want them to treat you (the only obvious exception being when acting in any kind of self defense) is the highest, most noble form of human behavior and the basis of all morality. No matter what some papal encyclical says; no matter what some bishops conference says; no matter how many sacraments of the Catholic church there are or chapters and verses in the bible or thick and complex books by theologians or Sunday school classes and sermons by pastors; no matter how many heated arguments there are about God, Jesus, and religion; no matter how many pilgrimages there are to Mecca, Jerusalem, and other holy places; no matter how many thousands of hours Jewish scholars struggle over the meaning of the Torah; no matter how many multimillion-dollar churches and synagogues and grand cathedrals to Christ are constructed, nothing can ever change that simple reality.
Is the conclusion of agnosticism no more than an intellectual exercise? Can it have any value to the human condition? Perhaps. I believe there is an ethical dimension to agnosticism that has the potential, to the degree it is embraced, to make man more honest.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
