by sandy82 » July 19th, 2005, 2:45 am
I throw out a theory, for what it's worth. As it happens, the notion includes a few elements from many of the preceding posts. The Deism of Lord_Mizaru, for example, and fred_now's question about what happens to the "observer."
Let's start with the Deism of Lord_Mizaru and Thomas Jefferson. God, in effect, winds up the clock of creation and then, for the most part, lets it tick away. Whether by initial intervention but certainly by subsequent evolution, Man develops from his predecessors. He gradually becomes self-aware, conscious of himself as an individual, conscious that he can make decisions. The observer has arrived and knows "me-ness." Next, Man's individuality and sense of time (and ego) make it impossible for him to believe that his being is finite. The energy of thought, of emotion, of pleasure and pain--these must be immortal because Man cannot fathom a point of termination.
Once Man arrives at that stage of awareness and thought, he has promoted himself to eternal existence, at least prospectively. Explanatory myths (neither necessarily true nor false) supply destinations for the observer, the awareness, the "me"....the soul....after the body has withered and decayed.
Just as Adam Smith was the economic genius who showed that individual competition could lead to social good, the behavioral genius long before was the shaman, witch doctor, priest who gradually discerned/devised the ethical notions of good and evil, represented spatially as heaven and hell.
Adam Smith could never hold a candle to the sheer inventiveness and audacity of these self-described intermediaries. Suddenly, Man knew hope, fear, guilt, reward, and--by chance, you understand--reliance on the shaman/priest for guidance. Suddenly, Man had a purpose that fit perfectly with his ego-induced sense of immortality: the purpose of life was...how to get to the good place. Rules were born, Cecil B. DeMille devised commandments for Charlton Heston to carry, and fear inspired good conduct just as effectively as did faith. Man needed a reward in return for behaving, just as Adam Smith knew he needed a reward for working. Faith in a hereafter, born of human self-awareness and pride, evoked improved social interaction in the here-and-now. The earth and mankind reaped the benefits of belief...and illusion.
In the end, humans die and are buried. No heaven, no hell, no reward, no punishment. No self-awareness, no ego, no soul. No nothing. By then it is too late to be bad.
Every so often Thomas Jefferson's Deity rewinds his clock.