The Everlasting Gobstopper

I sometimes think about the fundamental 'need to believe' in something other than that which we can observe, that exists in people of religious faith. Being a 'de-convert' myself, I remember well the fleeting satisfaction I would gain from the vague notion that someone 'up there' was looking out for me. There is an element of comfort, in being deluded. We don't have to look out for ourselves. If we ask nicely, someone will 'fix' it for us. There is an element of hope - we can affect our lives and the lives of those around us, with 'prayer'. Someone is sick, we can pray, and hopefully influence their recovery. There is an element of denial, that this life isn't the main show - there has to be an encore.

"there are so many of us who want so badly to be jolted out of our humdrum lives, to rekindle that sense of wonder we remember from childhood, and also, for a few of the stories, to be able, really and truly, to believe--in Someone older, smarter, and wiser who is looking out for us" [Sagan]

You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe. [Dr. Arroway in Carl Sagan's Contact (New York: Pocket Books, 1985]

Like children that can't move on into adulthood, the religious look to a 'Father' in the sky. They ask 'can we have?' 'Give us this' 'We need that', with hands outstretched, complaints and demands. Like toddlers, they need more. 'Is this life all there is?' They stamp their feet and need the guarantee of more life that lasts for ever. The everlasting gobstopper of eternal sweeties. Not for them the wondrous but naturally limited human existence shared by all other living creatures that crawl and slither on the earth.

Why are they so unsure of themselves? Why do some choose delusion over what 'is'. What’s the benefit of giving away the power of determination and being frightened to fulfill our dreams with our own hands?

The need to believe is the inability to believe that we're not special, we are finite, we are subject to the laws of nature, we live, we leave. From the first fur clad guy that left his cave and bowed down before the magic fiery orb in the sky, and thanked it for it's light and heat, we have been drawn to the idea that there's someone, or something, looking after us. What if there isn't? Let's all be big boys and girls and look after ourselves, and each other.