Faith, God and Religion

(Conversation about)

 

With the topic:

Predetermined by God

Creationists

Chosen

Humanity

Adaptation

Atheist

Intolerance

 

First part

 

We talked about God and religions. The occasion was a boat accident, in which several hundred pilgrims of an eastern religious drowned.

 

“But there is probably no religion or belief system”, I said, “in which devotees in the exercise of their faith service would not have been killed by terrible disasters, sometimes by the thousands. And yet people continue to believe! These people only wanted to serve their God and perished miserably in the process. Can one speak of God's righteousness there?

 

There is probably nothing that a religious person would not excuse in the name of God, because an unjust God is usually unimaginable to them. With the highest brain acrobatics, reasons are conjured up to show that it was God's will, what happened, and that he would already know what he is doing. The believers say, 'God's ways are unfathomable!' "

 

"If you were to give a definition of God, what would you say?" CP asked.

 

"God is a form contained in the primordial structure of man with the feeling of all powerful properties of a being.

 

 

 

 

Especially in early childhood there is often a transference of this divine being to caregivers.

 

That there is something mystical, supernatural, God, was an absolute truth for the primitive men, which conveyed their feeling to them. This also helped them understand the world. This has nested itself in the original structures and is also effective in the present.

 

It often shapes the brain, especially between the third and fifth year of life during human development, in the mystical phase.

 

Since everything is possible for this being - felt - aims in adulthood like to fall back on it.

 

This aim is activated again particularly often in emergency situations, crises etc. in further life, when God is asked for help. "

 

I smiled. "You could also define God as 'God is law' and you could go on to say that God's ways are indeed unfathomable, you cannot see all the laws to realize that everything had to come exactly as it came."

 

 

 

"How do you define 'laws'?"

 

"Identical substances under identical circumstances always produce identical structures, or in other words: under exactly the same circumstances of the same substances, exactly the same consequences must occur.

 

Laws of substances are never to change. Only after them can they form their structure. They determine each process.

 

For many people, God is something that has all power and is infallible. But there is only one thing in the world that is really infallible and has all power: the laws! "

 

"You mean the laws of the universe?"

 

"Yes. In small parts, such as in the atom or in large, as in space. There are people who use knowledge to be 'godlike'. They say, 'He who knows laws has all power.' Once you put aside the deity, which has a lot to do with hubris, it really is like this: Only by submitting to the necessary laws can you achieve your aims, of course, only if you have the assets. "

 

"Under 'assets' do you understand values?"

 

"Yes, things, powers, energies."

 

"Cannot laws be changed? And so, break their power? “

 

"No. They are eternal. One can only exchange laws against others by adding or subtracting values, that is, by structural changes, because the same substances under the same circumstances always give the same thing. This is an irrefutable sentence.

 

And not everything is possible, just what the law allows. Nobody and nothing can ever be outside of them. "

 

"Is not that definition that God is law, too impersonal, too cold for many people?"

 

"That's probably so. For most people, it is too abstract. It is only an aid to explanation.

 

People need something concrete, in which they can let go, in which they feel secure, that gives them hope, something that is omnipotent. Faith is important to them. And I think almost everyone has their faith, even if God is practically irrelevant.

 

But as the history of the world has shown, no god or belief is omnipotent, for if that were the case, the world would be different, more harmonious, and secure. Thus, faith turns out to be what it ultimately is: a dream created from the need for mental stability, hope for comfort, and yearning for eternity. And so, religions meet the desire of most people to believe in and live according to these beliefs.

 

Because many people cannot, or better, want to resist the feeling of religiosity, there may be religions, sects or other beliefs as long as there are people. Unfortunately, faith is usually egotistical, as shown in the dogmas, writings and traditions often in the intolerance towards people of other faiths, according to the motto: only my faith is true, only my God is real. Therefore, what does not conform to their belief is rejected or opposed. People go a lot to their feelings, and they can give you the absolute assurance that what they believe is right.

 

Indeed, through the powerful midpoint of belief, man can be absolutely convinced of the veracity of his actions.

 

Those who live in a belief, in a particular world, in a structure, cannot help themselves, the world - their world - would otherwise collapse.

 

Well - if the God of the respective faith was really so omnipotent, then it could easily, from one moment to another and for all eternity, everything according to his purpose, justice to the world, justice to the human sense. "

 

"Are not the laws fair?" CP asked.

 

"What is fair? 'Just' comes from the direction of an aim. And what fits, is right. Living beings have very specific aims in them, such as life, freedom, basic needs such as drinking, eating, warmth, sexuality. That means: living things follow their aims, their direction. The laws also follow their purpose, their direction. For them, what and how everything happens is right. However, this often does not coincide with the aims and wishes of the people. In that sense, the laws are often unfair. "But man is not the midpoints of attention, it's not all about him as he would like, but he's just a microscopic part of the whole. And from a universal point of view, this microscope would have to increase enormously in order to even see the human being. "

 

"Good," CP said, "but there are many people who are absolutely convinced that God exists."

 

"That's true, too," I replied, "in the minds of the people."

 

“They don't mean that in that sense!"

 

"Well, God and religions will probably enjoy unbroken popularity until the end of humanity, because here sense of life and all desires can be interpreted into it, or the fear of death becomes less. People like to shape the hereafter according to the desires of this world. That is probably also a reason why many people are religious, even though the dogmas and beliefs of all religions are built on spongy ground. God and religions are pure inventions, as such unrealistic and thus ideal for the development and realization of one's own ideas and feelings.

 

Hardly anyone can escape the feelings that have formed and embedded in the psyche from the beginning of the multicellular life to the present. A help would be to use his cognitive abilities; But even with that, these feelings are hardly convincing.”

 

--- predetermined by God ---

 

Many people (like to) believe that God guides people and the world. This leads to the idea, and the aim in the brain, that everything is pre-determined by God.

 

And so, they believe that everything has a meaning that has been initiated and carried out by a higher-level mystical body.

 

And this leads to very strange explanations: If something has happened to someone that he regards as negative, then in the rest of his life, when something good happens to him, he often comes up with the idea of saying: 'Now it is clear to me why I experienced that back then, because what I am experiencing now was predetermined by it.'

 

The brain came to this conclusion (which it gives as evidence) because of the aim that God determines everything.”

 

"Does God really only arise in the brain, as a self-generated structure in humans?"

 

"Definitely yes. Religion has a lot to do with the feeling and little with the mind. The seat of emotions is in the brain. "

 

"Again asked: Where do you think the belief comes from an overpowering person?

 

"As I said: It is already a target in the genome (here in the primordial structures).

 

And then from childhood, coined among other things through the experience of the overpowering adults, because it is important for the child to confide in a person who cares for one."

 

"So, God is, among other things, a transfer from the childhood experiences with the caregivers, where it was about support, security, etc.?"

 

"That seems to me to be an important reason. It's not like someone sitting in the sky and pulling the strings. But it's the case that there are substances that run according to laws - in this case neurons and their connections in the brain - that are responsible for the topic, God'.

 

It seems to be a fact that many people think that they cannot live without the idea of a higher being. For the sense of security that came about as life grows could otherwise be lost. This was, as I said, produced by, among others, the one close to him and transferred to a person, God or to general beliefs, they are cultural constructs; a transmission of the primitive trust of the toddler, which trusts that his caregivers will take care of all that is necessary, later on, that God cares for everything necessary. Religious people say, 'I experience in myself an absolute reason, God, who carries me, from whom everything emanates. 'Here you can see very nicely the transference: the parents, the caregivers wear one, everything goes out of them - love, security, warmth, satisfaction of the basic needs. "

 

"If there is no metaphysical God, the saying goes, 'Help yourself, God will help you'," CP said.

 

"Yes, and so you can say, 'Help yourself, then the outwardly projected God will help you too. 'And that's how people usually act.'

 

"But many people still believe in their deepest soul in God's work in the sense of a force existing outside of us. And is not it nicer to live in the belief that there is someone who protectively holds his hand over you, so that you see yourself as well as everything else in the world that soberly pursues values and laws? "

 

"That's actually nicer, and that's why people do it. But, as I said, God is created through neural circuits and physiological processes. It is not only unimaginable to many people, but also absolutely unbearable to realize that we are alone on earth, without a higher being in any form, or any dimension outside of the world. "

 

"And why do you not believe, ask CP?"

 

"I cannot believe it. I'm too much attached to the truth and interested in finding out what's real, what's behind the apparent truths. I am more in search of knowledge. My thirst for knowledge and the search for the truth are far too great to be satisfied with a simple faith.

 

If one looks at living beings, and especially humans, then one can perhaps not fail to admire the designer who has created this marvel, 'man'. But if you look more closely at how this miracle works, what mistakes it may have, then you are much less inclined to admire the designer. "

 

 

I looked at him thoughtfully.

 

"And just as little as the fact that there is no God, it is inconceivable to most people that there is no free will. Here, the old demand becomes current: 'Know thyself!' If one goes through life with open eyes, one can recognize 'God's work' in daily life. What you see is that everything is based on substances and laws, that people have to orient their behaviour according to their aims, and that on closer inspection, any form of altruism* turns out to be selfishness. If you look at the history of life, or humanity, you see: Simple forms of life came about four billion years ago, because that made the conditions on our planet possible. Life evolved and differentiated over a long time, until about four million years ago the evolution of man began. All steps are comprehensible, and there is nothing that is not in harmony with the laws of nature. "

 

"But cannot this realization that there is no God be terrible? Does not it make her afraid of being alone? You are so on your own! Without help from heaven - from space - or beyond! Maybe people still want to believe in God or a higher authority, because otherwise they will feel alone," noted GP.

 

--- creationists ---

 

"For sure. That's how faiths can be born, like the 'creationists'. They are a good example of people who hide reality. With much money and power, they staunchly assert that only what is in the Bible is right. The creationists have money, money gives power, and that in turn can lead to stupidity because there is no need to submit to criticism. Although science has proven through various fossil discoveries that the evolution of humanity began millions of years ago, the creationists firmly and firmly affirm that God created man 6,000 years ago. They believe in Genesis, which states that the Creator God created everything within six days: heaven and earth, sun and moon, animals and humans, and so on, literally as described in the Bible. They reject the Big Bang and all hypotheses about the origin of the cosmos because it does not conform to the Bible. They deny that the earth's history is many billions of years old and claim that the earth lasts a maximum of 10,000 years. Because, according to the Bible, all creatures were created at the same time, in their view, evolution cannot be right and will be fought.

 

That science has come to completely different results, is not perceived or it is vehemently contradicted. So, they live in their own world of desire as long as possible. Such a fantasy world is really only possible because of the meta-worlds that can create aims in people's brains, "I said.

 

"Is not this way of looking at the world apt to make an escape from the world - when they are afraid of life?" ask CP.

 

“Could be.”

 

--- chosen ---

 

I continued: "Some people believe, especially if they succeed, that they are chosen by God," I said. "When something good happens to someone, when you are lucky, or when you reach your aim very well, then you often feel that fate has it. He attributes this to a higher authority who wanted exactly what happened to him now."

 

I smiled. "If you are lucky in life, you can already come up with vain thoughts. These people may then feel like the chosen ones God has raised above other people, and they like to avoid the fact that they had to do what they did because of the substances and laws - and not because a god chooses them has. Their belief often results from childhood transmission: the desire to be chosen by the caregiver, preferred over all others. And they feel good when they believe something like that. The thought is also very seductive!

 

When vanity (I call this 'Ichtelkeit') wants to rise up in me, then I remember that everything had to come as it came, that quickly brings me back down to earth. "

 

"Many people actually believe that they are doing what they are doing in God's terms - on their behalf or a higher power," CP said.

 

"As long as there were societies, there were always poor and rich," I noted. "That was often considered unfair by the poor, and they asked God for justice. By contrast, the wealthy considered this state to be God-given. They justified this by saying that they belonged to the elect of God and so it would have its order.

 

Perhaps these people should, if they can, make it clear that they are doing what they do for their own interests. The term 'God' can be used excellently to try to enforce his own ideas. This term is as patient as a sheet of paper. Also, for the attempt to shape people according to his own ideas, 'God' is a wonderful working tool. "

 

"What do you think about someone who is proud of his birth, his heritage?"

 

"I'm not surprised that people who have inherited something, be it psychic, physical or material, are often proud of it, even though they did not do anything to these progenitors - they just want to experience the feelings of pride."

 

"You definitely mean God is law?" CP asked again.

 

"So, it is - in a figurative sense. And so, it would be best to adapt to the laws, because adaptation is probably the most important thing for life. Since the laws have all power, one would be well advised to see them and act accordingly.”

 

"Everything may be the way you do it," said CP, "but I don't think many can do anything else: they have to believe in God as a supernatural person, that's how they grew up. Otherwise, there is an emptiness in them and they feel lonely and left alone. "

 

"I can understand that," I nodded.

 

--- humanity ---

 

"Another question: don't you think that religion is a necessary condition for humanity?"

 

"She certainly is not. People usually have empathy. Our brain is able to empathize with strange inner life. We can sympathize because neural networks in us reflect, imitate, empathize with the situation. So, we experience similar emotions and can more or less feel the experience of other people. This can generate sympathy and the urge to help. This often happens completely without a religious background. "

 

"But many say that religion is important to help others, because otherwise no mercy would arise."

 

"Yes, they say that because they want to uphold the religion that feeds them emotionally.

 

Faith in God is ineradicable and will exist as long as there are people. Even if the evidence to the contrary is clear, people stick to their beliefs.

 

This does not necessarily have to do with intelligence, even smart people often act that way. Faith and superstition* will always be stronger than the mind because feelings are much more powerful. So even smart people will not or will not be able to give up their faith for emotional reasons. "

 

"Does that mean that the intelligence quotient does not play a significant role in the question of faith?"

 

"Yes, that seems to me so."

 

"Why do not people often notice that something is outdated or not true anymore?"

 

"Because they usually do not question the behaviour that they learned in the first years of their lives, but simply take it over, because their fellow human beings do too. Because something has always been like this, society is used to it. You just join the Zeitgeist. "

 

--- Adaptation ---

 

"How do you see the rules of the religions? These usually give solid rules of conduct. "

 

"It is the instructions of religious founders and leaders to regulate life in the community. They particularly involve the emotional realm and often provide significant resistance to change.

 

They act like dictators who enforce their opinions by any means necessary.

 

However, it is the case that behaviours have to adapt to the changed environmental conditions, and so should the behavioural instructions actually change.

 

But this is usually not done because there are solid dogmas. So, it can happen that the rules of religious leaders who are a thousand years and older are still valid today, and people are following it, even though the world has totally changed.

 

But everyone has well idle behaviours that had formed in the past because they were once useful and are still active now, changes oppose a strong persistence even though the structure of the world has changed. "

 

"You mean these behaviours should actually be cleared out?"

 

"That would be healthy," I nodded.

 

"Religion, sects in general the belief in supernatural metaphysics bring the advantage for humans - similar to intoxicants - that beyond the midpoints everything else is no longer perceived.

 

Even though it is still nice to surrender to the feeling that one's own faith is the only right one should try to keep in mind that a belief is ultimately no knowledge. So, like any other faith, just a feeling. Emotions do not need proof - and that can lead to blindness."

 

 

 

  Second part

 

 

--- Atheist ---

 

"You are an atheist," CP said, "how is life without God?"

 

"In a life without God, you have freedom - against alien ideologies."

 

"You are missing nothing?"

 

"What should I miss? The bondage of the faith? The cage in which one is locked?"

 

"You once said, 'The belief in God can be an addiction'."

 

"I mean that today! Religion dazzles. God, religion, faith, mysticism, etc. can really be like drugs. "

 

"But do not you need this cage, the dogma of religion, that dictates the behaviour of how to live? There can be values, security, a firm worldview. And human values are what you need - these are the aims he lives for. "

 

"I give myself the world view, and it contains the values that give me security."

 

"And what about the values of society when you say, 'I give myself the worldview'. Does not your view differ from that of your environment, the society in which you live? "

 

"More or less."

 

"And that does not bother you?"

 

"Of course, I respect the values of others. And of course, the personal values of the people I'm with. This is clear from my frame, in which stands; Empathy to have the best possible relationship with people, to approach them and to try to help.

 

 

To return to your question: I would be bothered by bondage if I had to live by values that did not suit me. I am further disturbed by the distance from reality that faith often bases on. Religious people cannot openly face life - and the world - or see what their brains play for them. Their dogma, more precisely, their aims, let them see the world only in a certain structure. "

 

"But, if you ask these people, they would surely answer that they themselves face life with their faith, and people like you do not see the world properly."

 

"There you are right. And that opinion has a clear reason. "

 

"You mean the midpoint principle?"

 

"Yes, the midpoint is the shape that makes an aim of one.

 

The aim here is the practice of faith that brings man into a form that conforms to dogma. From this structure he sees the world. Everything else is faded out - and this leads to the unreality and the opinion that one sees the world correctly, the other sees it wrong. "

 

 

"Faith has arrested these people?"

 

"In the true sense of the word, they live in the prison of faith.

 

To observe these processes is always fascinating for me: That this is done exclusively by the neurons in the brain, which connect to networks and thus shape the world that man sees. "

 

"So, God is just a construction of the brain?"

 

"That's very clear. The brain projects with his feelings 'God' into the world. Religion is the head cinema - with the emotions as the driving force. "

 

"You mean that the topic 'God' leads many people into blindness?"

 

“If you ask deeply believing people how they know that God exists, they say: 'I know that.' And if you ask, they say: 'I know that God exists.'

 

They seldom say, as it would actually be right, 'I believe that God exists.' Because there is only a feeling in them that this gives them certainty. "

 

"You mean, even though people say, 'I believe', they actually mean 'I know'."

 

I nodded. "And so, they are trapped in their feelings, lost in their sense of God - cannot see the truth."

 

"Believers often argue this way to prove to God, 'Since everything arose out of something, or was created by somebody, the Universe must have been created by somebody. And that was God. And God is not questionable; he is the ultimate reason, he embraces everything. '

 

"Well," I replied, "for me the universe is the last reason; it has always been there, and everything came into being and created. The universe can no longer be questioned because it encompasses everything.

 

This view, everything must have arisen from something, they simply project from their everyday experience on the universe - without dealing with it intensively. "

 

 

 

 

--- intolerance ---

 

CP considered. Then he said: "Do intolerance generally bother you about belief?"

 

"Yes, and the violence that can be assumed - as seen in the past and seen in the present, how many atrocities were and are committed in the name of faith."

 

"When I look at religions, I often find the word" peace. "When peace is sought, how can these atrocities happen?"

 

"Because every religion has its own view of God and the world, it usually clashes with the other religions, and most religions claim that they have the ultimate wisdom - that leads to peace." It's clear that when every religion says, there is only one God, one's own, which leads to conflicts with other religions or beliefs - and often to atrocities.

 

Intolerance arises because many people actually believe that their view - that is, their belief - is the only true thing. For every 'god', every religion, every worldview has its own aims, its own value system. The more extreme this is pursued, the more extreme is the behaviour towards dissidents or 'unbelievers', which often leads to violence and inhumanity. "

 

"So, you think believers are unrealistic?"

 

 

"Inevitably, because the belief lives on preconditions – makes unbiased thinking impossible. To see, for example, the fact that everything proceeds according to values and laws, organic or inorganic, on earth or otherwise in the universe. This means that there is nothing, even nothing supernatural – such as a god – that could intervene 'freely' in the processes. It follows that everything had to be done as it happened. That is the reality! Anyone who does not recognize this – and those who believe in God cannot recognize this; because their faith in God blocks their access - is unrealistic. "

 

"Your personal attitude makes it easier for you to accept events or behaviour?"

 

"Yes, for that I do not need a creed that, for example, tells me to forgive my neighbour. You see the past, even what happened, with different eyes. You can usually see them much looser when you are trained in it than someone who believes that there is absolute freedom for man. "

 

"So, you also accept the atrocities committed in the name of faith?"

 

"It had to happen the way it happened."

 

"So, you also accept the atrocities committed in the present?"

 

"If I cannot change it, I have no choice but what happens must happen as it happens.

 

You see, the benefit of living without God is not having to live in a rigid structure that you cannot change. One is changeable and adaptable without God – which is ultimately healthier.

 

The decisive factor is the insight that ultimately everything is a product of one's own brain, ultimately the primordial structures anchored here.

 

Imagine if all beliefs and all ideologies were viewed by human beings for what they really are: the constructs of our brains. That would put self-responsibility on a completely different level, because the superstructure, the belief with which one evaluates one's view and one's actions, would no longer be there.

 

For example, humans could no longer justify horrific actions against those who think differently with God or other ideologies, but would, if it were a matter of justifying their behaviour, be referred to themselves. "

 

"Wouldn’t it end in anarchy when religious and idealized behaviours were removed?"

 

"It certainly would not, because it replaces the primal structures and its own framework, which one gives to oneself, which regulates one's own behaviour and takes into account the laws of the society in which one lives.

 

If someone who has previously believed in God, miracles, mysteries etc. can realize that this is not out there, but that it was a production of his brain, then he would suddenly see the world completely differently, himself behave differently towards her.

 

Phrases like, 'The mission for my action comes from God' turn out to be absolutely insubstantial. And: one can no longer shift the responsibility to a higher being.

 

Immediate self-responsibility occurs - then one does not expect any help from the 'heaven', but one knows that ultimately one can only help oneself.

 

One should really be aware of this: these people believe the 'heaven' puts their hand protectively over them - just as their parents used to do. But the sky is neutral. In reality, they just confuse the sky with their parents. "

 

"'Heaven is neutral" means: Help yourself, there is no help from mystical sources or something, perhaps from a god? "

 

"Yes. It really makes a difference if you go through the world in the consciousness (better said: perception), someone holds his hand over you, like, for example. God, or one is responsible for oneself.

 

There is no help from 'heaven'.

 

In the first case, one goes dreaming through the world, is almost still in his childhood, where the parents or other caregivers have held a protective hand over one. It also means that you have very specific expectations of life: how it has to be, what you owe it to, etc. And, as a result, often the disappointment, the anger over life, about fate or, heaven because something did not happen as expected.

 

But if you go through life with the attitude that you are responsible for yourself, and you are still aware that everything that happened had to happen the way it did, then these ups and downs will not be fed. And you can break away from the events of the past much faster and direct your energy to what lies ahead. In a word, one is freer. "

 

"Where does the faith come from?"

 

“The roots of religion are in the genes, in the primordial structures; the drive to submit to a leader.”

 

"What do you think about praying?"

 

"I know that there is no help from heaven." When I want something, I try to do my best to recognize structures and laws, and to control my behaviour accordingly. "

 

"What do you think of the ancient scriptures on which the religions are based and which people believe have been dictated by God?"

 

"Since I do not believe in God, I do not believe that these scriptures were dictated by God, and I think these scriptures were created by people who have put their own or traditional beliefs of the world on paper."

 

"So, this is only human work - without supernatural help?"

 

"Naturally. But unfortunately, it is true: People believe that what their feelings are fooling you, even in the world is true. For example, that there is a God, that some mystical person spoke to the greatness of their religion, that they received an order of something supernatural.

 

These feelings can become so intense that they completely enslave man. It is impossible for them to realize that it is just a trick of their brains.

 

This process is similar to addiction. The addict is only looking for satisfaction. Everything else is reduced in value - sometimes to zero. "

 

"For many people, faith in their religion, their God is the only hope: they feel comfortable with it. Faith in God helps them, "CP interjected.

 

"May everyone live the way they want - as long as they do not become violent," I replied. "There is certainly no real God in the outer world of these believers - but of course the belief in them can be very effective as an impulse or consolation.

 

Most people are involved, captivated by their traditions, beliefs, beliefs that they have taken from their childhood into adulthood. They have experienced and taken over from their caregivers. Hence, the belief that God will judge it already, that is, in the transmission, will be that his former caregivers will already judge it."

 

"So, is the concept and belief in God a transmission of the sense of superiority of his former caregivers, such as the parents?"

 

"That's how I see it. And so, it can be extremely unhealthy to just let things go that way - in that belief. Because you are no longer a child, over whom the adults protectively hold their hands.

 

Therefore: Whatever you want, you cannot expect help from 'heaven' - in whatever form. The best help is to help yourself. Heaven just looks impassively - whatever you do or what happens to you!

 

If you know that there is no God who helps you, then you also know, as I said, that ultimately you can only help yourself.

 

This helps activate your own energies to solve problems and avoid disappointment, in the sense of: Why did God allow this. Or why did that have to happen to me, does not God love me? 'Or something like that.

 

Whatever should happen - what one would like to achieve: One should never rely on help from 'heaven'. But take this fate into your own hands! With your own frame created by yourself. "

 

"By 'framework' do you mean the same thing as constitution, such as the constitution of a society?"

 

"Exactly."

 

 

"What elementary differences still exist between the attitude of believing in God and life without God?"

 

"For example, the devotees often advocate retribution, revenge.

 

I say you should just try to prevent similar behaviour in the future.

 

This can of course include, for reasons of a functioning society, that the offender has to pay for his behaviour, in whatever form. "

 

"What about belief in free will?"

 

"Here are the differences not so great, as it seems at first glance:

 

For believers in God, free will is self-evident.

 

I know that there is no free will, because everything is predetermined by virtue of substances and laws. Nevertheless, in every moment of the present I act as if I had a free will, because I do not know what should happen. "

 

 

"How do you see the belief in a life after death?"

 

"As a desired fairy tale. I know that, from a universal point of view, we are nothing special. If something in the universe loses its previous structure, it no longer exists. It doesn't 'live on' somewhere as a 'spirit being'. It is the same with us humans: If we die, we lose our special structure."

 

"You mean we lose our special human structure, but stay in the universe."

 

"Nothing and nobody can fall out of the universe because it embraces everything - we have been, are and will always be in the universe - only after our death have our aims dissolved that created our midpoints - the world as we did them saw. "

 

"You say you cannot recognize the world, do not see how it 'actually' is?"

 

"Most people believe that the world as they see it is always like that, but you cannot see it in general, you can only see it from a perspective. In our human case, from the human perspective of our brain. We form the world from our aims, which bring us into a corresponding view. So that the world is seen by us, the brain forms it. But in this form, it is only there as long as we live there. If we are dead, then this structure of the world will not exist anymore."

 

"So, the world is an illusion?"

 

"I believe that whoever sees the world can only recognize it from his own perspective.

 

As a rule, this is a real human perspective that our brain shows us - not an illusion in the sense just asked.

 

And: Of course, the objective world can be depicted by means of photography - because initially the subjective influences are not present."

Ultimately, however, the world cannot be described as a fixed structure. But always only through the respective perspective.

 

For example: If you dive deeper and deeper into an object, you always see different structures. Which one is supposed to be that is eternal and unchangeable? There is no such thing! This also clearly shows quantum mechanics.”

 

 

 

"People who believe in God say that the purpose of life is to serve God."

 

"As I said, 'God' in my opinion is just a product of the brain. To put it bluntly, these people actually say: 'The purpose of life is to serve the product of God in my brain'.

 

Faith can generate enormous energies. If you use it skilfully, you can use people very well for your aims. This is what religious leaders and secular rulers like to take advantage of. "

 

 

 

"What is the meaning of life for you?"

 

"To live, specifically: seek the truth. In addition, for me, the meaning of my life - meaning basically means 'aim' - to comply with my framework, which I have given myself. "

 

"You once said, 'Humanity is growing to bursting.'"

 

I nodded. "Billions of years ago, life began to grow. This drive is in all living beings, including in humans. As the past has shown, people want always to get higher, bigger, more. Especially to have offspring - as your feeling tells you. 

But every growth has its natural limits - which the people who are at the midpoints of growth do not want or cannot see. And so, they continue to grow until it crosses the borders - and the bubble bursts.

 

Then they begin to grow out of the rubble until the next bubble bursts.

 

And so, this process will be repeated until the end of all living beings. "

 

"And there is no remedy for this recurring process?"

 

“For humans possibly: knowledge and frugality – but who strives for it? It is much more pleasant to indulge in your urge, your feeling (like any creature) to grow and to experience the feelings of satisfaction.

 

Actually, you only need two 'things' in your life: health and sufficient means to live. And in that order.

 

But, as I said, people tend always to grow, their greed drives them too more and more. And that always leads to disaster. It really is like constantly adding more air to a balloon. At some point he will burst. "

 

I sighed. "But unfortunately, it lies, as I said, in the living beings."

 

"Are you satisfied, Mr. Hermsch?"

 

"That's me, actually. See: Satisfaction is based on the level of expectation and - on the realistic assessment of the aims that you set yourself. That is, if they can be achieved.

 

And I do not expect too much.

 

I feel well, the way it is now: I am relatively healthy, have enough money, no exorbitant desires and am not driven by the desire to have more and more. For me, that way of living would be slavery.

 

I'm very happy not to succumb to this urge to be relatively unassuming and feel free to do so."