Me & Grandpa, we believe

The song goes like this..."Grandma got run over by a reindeer. Walking home from our house Christmas eve. You can say there's no such thing as Santa, but as for me and grandpa we believe."

My recent comments regarding the Presidential candidates stirred two responses regarding Jesus. Nothing about Hillary. Roger and Millie had similar things to say about candidates who know jesus. These comments bring into question one of the two biggest issues in life. Why do we believe god exists? Calm down. This is a big issue and I will try to work through my point of view slowly. Yes, you can comment and I welcome your thoughts.

Unicorns, alien invaders, tooth fairies, and boogie men all share on thing. They are myths believed to exits by some persons. If a Presidential Candidate believed in one of these myths they would be laughed off the stage. Why do we agree that some made up non proven concepts are false, yet there is overwhelming belief in god? Many would say it is faith. We believe, because we believe. Simple irrefutable faith.

But, does faith make it so? I remember having a similar question as a child. Is there a Santa? I believed it was true in spite of friends who told me the concept was a hoax. I worked to prove them wrong with a Santa sighting. Try as I may, I never got to see him. Still I had faith in Santa and believed.

The question of god's existence needs to be asked. Much is riding on it. All of the terror attacks are based on the belief that god wants the terrorists to strike out against us. Roger may remember the women in Texas who drown her children because god told her to do it. When you consider it, god and his or her will, has been the foundation on many of the acts of mankind. The Incas believed the sun god demanded human sacrifice at dawn. Is it possible that all of this is wrong? There are two very good books on the subject. Michael Schermer's book "How we believe" and "The god Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. Warning: reading these books may cause you to think.

I have spent some time on this and come to my own conclusion. There is no question that the belief in god has been a driving force in mankind's development. Civilization passed on it's early science, written word, and ethics through religion, based on the belief in god. They also passed on some ugly history in which killing was done because god wanted to eliminate heretics. God and the belief in after life has eased many persons acceptance of death. Humans, I am told are the only animals who know they are going to die. Is this belief in god a psychological compensation for the knowledge that death is imminent? I think that maybe the answer.

We evaluate everything in our lives based on the physical laws of science. In the last 300 years myth and superstition have given way to empirical data and truth. Mankind has come a long way and part of the journey was a result of our beliefs. Regardless, we know there are no unicorns. No tooth fairy. This is based on our understanding of science and reality. Likewise, if we set guilt and superstition aside, we know there is no god.

God is a great myth that has helped us develop as a civilization. An emotional crutch for the less educated or sophisticated in our history. The Church believed the earth was the center of the universe. In 1616, Galileo was accused of being a heretic. Heresy was a crime for which people were sometimes sentenced to death. Galileo was cleared of charges of heresy, but was told that he should no longer publicly state his belief that Earth moved around the Sun. As science and education have improved, the god myth has become more obvious.

My opinion could be wrong. But I wonder why an all powerful god who knows everything would not reveal himself so we can put the issue to rest. As for me, I still believe in Santa. I have solid proof that he exists. He brought me a bicycle.