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there's a theory - not really a theory at this point - that certain religious fundamentalists aren't really so much denying the reality of climate change as they are embracing it as a sign that the end of days are coming.
I'm religious, and that's terrifying to me.
I'm religious, and that's terrifying to me.
I don't know if any of you have gone to catechism or saturday school lately, but no matter which religion you follow, the end of days is not a *good* place to be. in any faith tradition you care to name, it is a terrifying event, symbolic of death as part of the cycle of life.
from ragnarok to armageddon, the point is that death is a traumatic experience, but that we *need* to experience it as part of life - that life can't happen without it. the stories always end with rebirth, renewal. midgard is renewed. god's eternal kingdom rises from the ashes.
but nobody should *want* to be around for the end of days.
except for religious fundamentalists.
except for religious fundamentalists.
they honestly believe that when the end comes - and they hope it'll come soon - they'll be delivered unto heaven, leaving the rest of us sinners to suffer untold horror and torment while heaven and hell destroy this world so that their new kingdom can rise. they *want* that.
and they think it will have no consequences for them, because they'll be safe, so they don't *care* what happens to us.
how incredibly, selfishly inhumane.
how incredibly, selfishly inhumane.
the end of days will come in fire and flood, in war and famine and pestilence and death. look around you! they're doing their best to hasten it. and they don't care because they don't think they'll suffer. they're waiting to be raptured up, scotty, while the rest of us die.
this has been said a million times, but it bears saying again: the cruelty is the point. the horror, the suffering, the deliberate indifference, it's all intentional. who cares about us? we're all sinners. they're waiting on their space elevator to heaven. we're just chaff.
and here's the worst thing about that, at least to me. it's not just that it's cruel, or that billions of people will suffer because a few people they're in line for a first-class flight away from a hell they're deliberately creating.
that's not the worst thing.
that's not the worst thing.
I'm religious. I believe humanity has a destiny. I believe there will eventually be an end of days.
and I want humanity to be the very best version of itself whenever that day comes, and I believe with all my heart and soul that it's a perversion of faith to want anything else.
and I want humanity to be the very best version of itself whenever that day comes, and I believe with all my heart and soul that it's a perversion of faith to want anything else.
look at the things humans can do when we come together! within the lifetimes of some of the people reading this, we put a man on the moon. imagine that! what an absolute triumph of human endeavour. what a shining moment in our species' history.
we eradicated smallpox! we made it so that nobody will ever have to die of that horrible disease ever again. that took the coordinated effort of governments in dozens of countries, of scientists the world over - hundreds of thousands of people - but we did it.
and we have the technology, the ability, to eradicate measles and polio! we could do that, if we came together like that again. we could make it so that no child ever had to suffer, never had to be in pain, because of those diseases. and we're getting close with malaria, too!
we put a robot on mars! right now, there are incredibly clever people the world over figuring out how we're going to get humans up there! there is so much we can do, so much we're capable of, when we try.
and I truly believe we haven't even started trying yet.
and I truly believe we haven't even started trying yet.
the first verse of the first surah of the qur'an, roughly translated, reads, "all praise to allah, lord of all the universes."
universes, plural. think about that. there's so much we don't even *know* yet. there's so much we haven't discovered. so, so much.
universes, plural. think about that. there's so much we don't even *know* yet. there's so much we haven't discovered. so, so much.
not just the worlds beyond us, but the worlds within us: new therapies and cures for diseases, new ways of understanding our minds and bodies so that we can alleviate hurt and suffering. there's so much we don't *know* yet, but we're learning more every day!
you can believe in one god or a hundred gods or no god at all, but surely all of us should be putting our faith in humanity. look at what we can do when we try! look at what we've done! imagine what we might do!
how dare anyone take that chance from us?
how dare anyone take that chance from us?
and that's what upsets me the most. I don't really care if fundamentalists want the end of days to come. they can believe what they want.
I care that they're robbing the rest of us of the chance to do all the amazing things I know we're capable of.
I care that they're robbing the rest of us of the chance to do all the amazing things I know we're capable of.
death is a part of the cycle of life. I'll die one day, and hopefully I'll have contributed something, however small, to this grand human experiment, so that the humans who come after me will be better than I was. *that's* the moral of the story.
but I don't want everyone to have to die just because I have to. I want life to continue after me, constantly growing and improving and reaching for the stars and whatever is beyond them. from my end of days I want the birth of something better, even if it's something small.
that's the point. and if you missed it, go back to catechism or saturday school or reread the eddas or the gitas or, I don't know, carl sagan?
it's not about us. it's about *all* of us. it's about building the space elevator to heaven ourselves, one generation at a time.
it's not about us. it's about *all* of us. it's about building the space elevator to heaven ourselves, one generation at a time.
it's amazing to me that in a thread where I specifically reference atheism twice, there are still people who will reply with things like this. https://twitter.com/TooDefToSteph/status/1194576293494448128?s=19
"muslim" is the first word in my bio. the crescent and star is in my twitter name, and so is my name in arabic. why are you following me? https://twitter.com/TooDefToSteph/status/1194585091806248960?s=19
I really feel like you might want to read the rest of the thread before replying with things like this? https://twitter.com/EleanorSRT8/status/1194592901617115136?s=19
and it doesn't *matter* if something is just a story. we live in a universe made out of stories! terry pratchett said it best: "show me an atom of justice, a molecule of mercy." but we believe those things are real and we've made them real! stories *matter*.
the stories we tell about the world we live in define it. we used to believe we were at the centre of the universe, and look at how powerfully that story has shaped human history! the stories colonisers told about their subjects enabled horrific oppression, a continuing legacy.
stories are *important*. even if you don't believe them, they're important because of the people who do. and it's easy to dismiss the stories fundamentalists believe as ridiculous, but they are shaping the world we live in *right now*. our world is burning because of stories.
and the only way to fight that is to tell a story that is bigger and more compelling - a story of humanity and compassion and hope - and keep telling it until we believe it, and keep believing it until it's true, and then make that truth a reality.
thank you for confirming that you did not, in fact, read anything else I said after "I'm religious"! https://twitter.com/EleanorSRT8/status/1194596910524436480?s=19
