The Miracles of Nature

Posted by on Dec 6, 2006 in Images, Rants | 5 comments

Miracles. Something derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning ‘something wonderful’. Recently I was asked, “how do you explain miracles if you don’t believe in god?” Like the miracle of life or childbirth? There are things we have explanations for but are no less wonderful because of it. Divine intervention? Not a chance. Where was god during the enslaving of the Jews and the blacks and women? Where was god when genocides took place in Germany, Austria, Poland, Russia, Africa…need I go on?

I have never experienced something that was unexplained. Though I was attacked once and it was a “miracle” I wasn’t raped. No, wait, it was the nice Cuban cabbie and the women with the dog. My mom still insists it was god. But if a god were watching, maybe I wouldn’t have been attacked at all. Or maybe my parents would not have preferred I spend my summer in New York for a crappy internship than film school in Prague. New York is safer than Prague? What were they thinking? And I learned a lot that summer: New York sucks when you’re alone.

For me a miracle is happenstance, a coincidence, luck, or just an event. Things happen. And there is always an explanation. It’s whether one accepts it or not. There was a day when we didn’t know how the sun rose or why the sky rained. We know now. Call it a miracle when the rain finally stops, but there’s not divine intervention. Angels aren’t crying and god isn’t bowling. If an answer to anything is “god did it” or “because god said so”, then you haven’t done your research. Why do people fear knowledge? The sheer mass of the universe floating in space with so many planets and other objects with so many lifeforms… is it just too much? Specks of dust floating through the atmosphere doesn’t satisfy? Makes you feel too small? Well, too bad. You are. I am. So what?

Being molded from dirt is not less offensive than evolving from other intelligent creatures. Creatures we clearly share 95% DNA with. I am constantly in awe of nature. The beautiful things that have evolved over the billions of years. The stars in the sky, the plants, the animals…all of Nature’s and Evolution’s creatures. The randomness of it all intrigues me. And makes me so happy to be part of time when we have all this collected knowledge. Nature is beautiful. To think some omnipotent deity just ::poof:: created us is just silly and far more offensive to me!

we came from the sea
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  • Taylor

    When I read through some of the things you write, I feel like you’re on the cusp of true understanding. Your stance on “the miracles of life” is exactly right–nothing in the universe happens that breaks the natural order (no matter how unlikely an event may have been). Everything happens within the confines of the natural world, and the only parameters are the laws of the natural world (whether known or unknown).

    The problem I have with the majority of what you write comes to this. With the defeatist attitude that you so prominently display, why do you go against yourself and believe in something like humanism? Another way for me to ask this is as follows… If everything really is just happenstance, and there is no divine plan or intervention, why do you posit that equality, morals, ethics, freedom, and caring are all good things? If all we have in the universe is chance, what force is there that makes things like equality, justice, and caring for others *good* things? Why would an empty universe prefer equality to privelege? Why would a world of happenstance prefer truth over deception? What driving force is there that prefers safety to suffering?

    What you believe about the universe and what you believe about purpose, goodness and humanity are non sequitur. I think if you studied a little philosophy of language, it might help you understand how religion interacts within itself, and how the lexicon (both literal and figurative) of any system of beliefs should not and can not be transferred within different systems of belief.

    I like to see someone with a brain out there, but Christ, you sure do seem to think that you’ve got it all figured out.

  • Intergalactic Hussy

    You apparently have missed the point of everything I say. That morals don’t need to come from religion. Everyone should just live happily and not worry about what other’s say. Ethics are important but they don’t come from religion. Having ethics is a good quality; how can it not be? I’m sorry if you think I come off like I know everything. How can I know everything out there? I just write what how I feel about a subject and from scientific data.

    I can’t answer any of your other questions, being that they don’t make sense and do not correspond correctly to anything I have ever said.

  • Anonymous

    Dear intergalactic, you have listed both “logic” and “love” as the values that you believe in. There is contradiction though. Logic suppresses idealism, intuition, creativity, love and anything else what is “good”. You seem to think that science is logical… No way. Scientific progress has always emerged from intuition and “enlightenment” that are highly “illogical”. It seems that all “atheists” are confused by this, as they don’t understand what logic is. Aristotle defined it as the art of tautology, as logic doesn’t create anything except emotions. It is intuition (i.e. right brain) that creates anything beyond emotions. When you start worshiping logic (i.e., become left-brained), you suppress your intuition, thus becoming ready to accept any immoralities simply because they are “well-reasoned”. In the meantime, for every reason there are dozens of “anti-reasons” which you don’t see, because your intuition is suppressed. This is how all evil things are started. To become evil, simply worship logic! Isn’t logic a God of all atheists?

  • Intergalactic Hussy

    I don’t “worship” logic. I believe in logic and intuition. I belive in all good things.

    I must correct you, religion is what causes evil. If you don’t see that, I pity you.

  • Capt.Joe Data Kickass

    Logic is not required to disbelieve in a personal god, however the suspension of logic is required to fully believe in a personal god.