this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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There have been over 18,000 different gods, goddesses, and various animals or objects worshipped by humanity since we started writing our history, and likely countless more that have been lost to time. The majority of these worshipped deities are no longer believed in, and the fact we as a species have been unable to move beyond the fairytales of omnipotent gods told during the bronze age will never cease to amaze me.
Religion in all its various current forms is a tool of manipulation used against the masses to keep them complacent and scared. That being said, even though I tend to lean towards an atheististic view, I will concede that the possibility exists of a higher life form we may consider as a god. If such a life form does exist, it would be so far beyond our ability to comprehend that any claim to know what it expects of us is pure human foolishness or intended maliciously to control the ignorant.
I live my life by the simple principle that if a god exists and is a just god then I'll be judged by my actions in this life, whether I caused harm to others or lived well doing what I'm able to make the world better, and not on whether or not I believed in and worshipped them. If a god exists that would punish me for all eternity for not worshipping them, then they are not a just god, and as such would be unworthy of such devotion. Bottomline is we will never know as long as we live, and with as short as our lives are, why waste them worrying about what we can never know. Just live your life well, be kind to others, and be the best you that you can be.
Edit: fixed a typo
I guess I'm an agnostic, with a similar view. I try to be the person my dog thinks I am, and Mr. Rodgers thought I could be.