Answer

Introduction

This is a six-year-old piece from Seven Days In about the meaning of life and everything, which I gleaned from a few books. I prefer the answers from Douglas Adams and Kilgore Trout.

While this has three books that are in my collection, and I would heartily recommend them to anyone, it is also about my thoughts on why we are here, which I most recently touched on in this article:

This is my Seven Days In blog where this article sprang from:

Answer

I am enjoying, if that's the right word, "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, but it seems to be more against organised controlling religion and by extension the monotheist "god" which is the focus of most religion. I'm a tenth of the way through the book and think that at some point he will take aim and my own belief that evolution won't waste our consciousness but I have no evidence or reason to believe that, but you can never satisfactorily prove the non-existence of something, and also the fact that we cannot explain something means we have not found the answer. I couldn't really explain how a plane flies, but it's not supernatural, magic or the will of god.

Also, I wonder if Richard Dawkins would have a problem with people who worship the Earth and believe that when they die become one with the Earth. He couldn't really argue with the basic premise.

Often, religion is a search for "the answer," and two books spring to mind that provide the solution.

The first being Douglas Adams' "Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" which gives that answer as 42, but the tells us you need to know what the question was.

The next is "Venus on the Half Shell" written by Philip Jose Farmer under the pseudonym Kilgore Trout, a creation of the amazing Kurt Vonnegut. Basically, the protagonist is searching for God to ask, in his opinion, the ultimate question:

Why are we born to suffer and die?

Through many adventures, he eventually comes face to face with God and asks his question, and God answers:

Why Not?

A great ending to the book.

And just a thought, why doesn't the Christian God have a proper name? It's like calling your dog Dog (ironically a palindrome of God), and what the heck is the Holy Ghost?

So what to go with this morning, maybe "Converted" by The Alabama 3 from "Exile on Coldharbour Lane" which my friend Tom glared at me as they broke into the chorus "Let's Go Back To Church" but, by the end of the gig, even he was converted.

Conclusion

In all my time on Earth, I have seen no confirming evidence that there is a god. I have seen lots of examples of religion causing harm, and I have been subjected to it myself.

The thing is, if god showed itself, there would be no need for faith and religion because the truth would be in front of us.

I am fine with people finding comfort in religion and faith, but I don't. I find mine in friendship and caring for others.

We should take as much pleasure in life as we can, we should smile as much as we can, and try to care for others and bring happiness to them. That is one of the reasons that I have shared the Douglas Adams and Kilgore Trout books here with you, because they will put a smile on your face religious or not.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you have found something in here to enjoy.