Chapter Eight

I had a really interesting chat today with my boss, Ferhana.

The subject of faith and religion came up, and rather than the usual shock reaction nonsense I get when people find out I am an atheist (Ferhana is a Muslim), we had a great science vs religion debate at the end of which I challenged her to come up with five questions that could challenge me to re-evaluate my view points.

I may post them later...

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Later

1. Why are you here/what is the reason for your life?
2. What happens to your body when you die?
3. How do you cope in times of desperate need/how do you comfort the bereaved?
4. Do you have a soul?
5. You say there is no proof of god's existence; prove he doesn't exist.

Like I said at the top, it was really interesting just to talk about this sort of thing in a country where views such as mine can get you in if not trouble, then a state of strange disassociation.

Overall, I have no real definite way of articulating my thoughts. In general however, I cling to the idea that the things we understand about our world, through the advance of science, would be completely alien concepts to primitive man. That is to say, that at the time of primitive man, just because some answers were not known, did not mean they were not waiting to be discovered.

By the same token, in 10,000 years from now, there will be more answers, provided by scientific research, that would be completely alien to us right now. It is this gap that religion fills, but for me, the realiasation that some answers will come is enough, even if I'm not around to hear them.

Not everyone believes in a higher being, unless you count Darwin as one.

1. To live.
2. It decomposes and becomes part of the earth.
3. I seek comfort, love, friendship, advice from people close to me/ I offer comfort, love, friendship, advice to people close to me.
4. No, but I have consciousness and awareness.
5. Erm...