Does God Matter? (or would we live our lives differently knowing an undebatabely true answer?)

I typed this post up a week ago and lost it on my computer. I realised* half hour ago that it wasn't saved on my computer but to Google Docs. Duuuuuuhhhh.

*yes with an 's' - stupid Google stop trying to make me spell like an american!

God. What is He doing? Is He a He? Is He even real? What is the grand plan? Is there one? Does it matter?



...Does it matter?



I don’t think so. Not one tiny bit.



For pretty much as long as I can remember God and I have had a strange relationship. We don’t really write or call each other. Sometimes we poke each other to see what happens.



When I was really young, I think maybe five or six years old I made a really strange request of God, to test whether or not he was there. Now I know you aren’t meant to test God, but I was 5... or six... and didn’t know any better. You’re all going to laugh when you read this, and I’ve never shared it before so be kind :P



Tiny little five or six year old Brett, all tucked up in bed one night, wondered if God was real. And if he was real, did he listen? Did he grant requests? Would he listen to me? So I put my hands together, closed my eyes and prayed.



I asked God, to give me a sign that he was there and that he was involved in the world. Tiny little five or six year old Brett, all tucked up in bed, hands together praying, asked God to make it so that if he touched the colour orange, said the word orange, ate an orange, that he would need to shit.



Don’t ask me why. Of all the possible signs a person could ask for, my strange five or six year old brain asked to be tortured by the colour orange. And it worked.



For what seems like it was weeks, maybe months after that. If I touched orange, ate oranges, said the word orange, I would very shortly after need to run to the bathroom. So it seemed, God listened. I spent a long time avoiding orange in all it’s forms. Though I think after a while I prayed for God to take 
it away. And it stopped, though I was still wary of orange.



So for a while as a kid I was pretty certain God was around and paying attention and oddly indulgent of a chilld’s silly wishes. As I grew, I became extremely agnostic however, and these days I would chalk up that experience to being self-induced. I’ve spent many hours contemplating the divine. What form it might take. It’s name. How many gods there might be. Which religion might be right.

These days I would describe myself as a devout agnostic.* I want to believe very very much. Sometimes I feel there is definitely something out there watching over us, whether actively taking care or not. Other times I feel staunchly that there is nothing there and that the world is a construct of maths and science.



I am a scientist. I have a degree in biomedical sciences and I believe in evolution and the big bang. I believe the entire world can be explained mathematically. That doesn’t mean I discount the possibility of the existance of a deity, obviously, hence the whole agnostic thing. 

Whether God exists or not is not going to change my basic operating patterns. I'm going to live my life the same way either way, I'll still be a good person and do my best for all around me. If God is watching, hopefully that'll be enough to get me into heaven/nirvana/elysium.


I could spend hours writing and discussing the arguments for or against the existance of God. But why bother? What would be the point?



If God exists, then there’s a grand plan right?** And if there’s a grand plan we’re all doing exactly what we need to be doing. And if not, then who cares? Whatever the hell we decide to do is fine. To paraphrase Robin Ince in his TED: if there’s no God, we all get to decide what the point of our lives is. So we follow the grand plan and our lives are meaningful, or we do what we like to make our lives meaningful. Either way we’re all cool. Sweet.





*Don’t argue. I get to choose what I call myself.

**Which would link in nicely to my thoughts on free will vs determinism, but that's too much for this post.


Definitely want to hear what people think on this one. Let me know :)

Societies Are Alive (or beginning the discussion of the responsibilities of individuals to society)

Sometimes I think that societies are alive. They grow, they respond and adapt, they consume and, in a fashion, they reproduce. As for people, we are societies’* cells and messengers. Their basic components.

Being human means being a part of something larger than yourself, whether you like it or not. Individuals, while invaluable in and of themselves, are also vital pieces of the greater organism that is society, which is constantly shedding and replacing them concerned with the welfare of the whole. Humans are born into situations that they may not choose for themselves, and have to make the best with whatever their lot in life is. The big question is: how to make the best of your life?

Many believe that we are here to serve a divine purpose, and that whatever hardships we endure in this life are to teach us lessons that will nourish our souls and prepare us for the hereafter. Others believe that this life is all we have and that the circumstances we are born into are random and meaningless and as such we ought to be ruthless in acquiring the best of everything for ourselves and in the pursuit of happiness in this life.** Personally I am uncertain, but have come to a conclusion that will hopefully enable me to make the best of my life, which I will explain in another post.

The aim of Basic Humanity is to document my journey toward building a life that balances my own needs with my sense of social responsibility. It will explore why I've decided to build towards a life homesteading and my experiences with that, Hopefully it will also foster discussion about the responsibilities, if any, of individuals to society and the human race as a whole, as well as the extent of the freedom individuals should have to live as they please. Interspersed among that will be pieces about my own life experience and plans, particularly in relation to social responsibility, wherein I will dissect my views on matters including: living consciously, frugality, consumerism, capitalism vs socialism, religion, economics, politics, mental illness, self-sufficiency, environmentalism and homesteading and it’s place in modern society.

There’s an incredible amount to talk about and I’m keen to get a discussion going. Right now, I’m excited to get typing and explore the essence of basic humanity.


* Societys’/societies’? I agonised over that for ages. General consensus after a quick google search was “societies’”, but I’m not convinced.

** That is not to paint all the religious as selfless and giving, nor all atheists as cold and selfish. Obviously there is a mixed bag of people in both categories.