Embracing Biological Humanism
Abandoning the Idea of God
by
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God as an idea.
Major premise: all human cultural artifacts are created by humans.
Minor premise: the idea of god is a human cultural artifact.
Conclusion: the idea of god was created by humans.
Because of their [prehistoric humans] dependence on and innate biological inclination for motion and an urge to express their appreciation to the unknown forces which provided for their welfare, when language developed, they created names for those unknown forces and called them gods. They named their gods in accordance with the cultural circumstances in which they found themselves, and gave them characteristics which they deemed appropriate. The idea of God is a human cultural artifact, created by humans.
The concept that god was an idea created by humans was a "sleeping beauty" which remained unconscious for over two millennia, roused briefly in the early 1900s, and deserves a full awakening now.…
How do you know – anything? You have to be carefully taught. [The process through which we learn is called] social constructionism, [which] is rather simple, but very profound: we humans create knowledge through our social interaction with each other, and exercise our ability to accept as valid and assimilate the effects of that knowledge in our lives. Think back to the basis for the claim in chapter 1 that humans created the idea of god. The sources from archaeology, anthropology, and sociology all claimed that the idea of god arose among humans because of their social interactions related to the circumstances in which they found themselves. Why did those writers not claim that the idea of god was socially constructed? If you noticed the publication dates of those authors you will remember that they all reached their conclusions before 1966, when the concept of social construction began to gain general acceptance. Since what we know as a society "must be carefully taught", when the concept of social constructionism becomes generalized in society, acceptance of the reality that god is an idea which was socially constructed will be accepted and carefully taught.…
Since humans created the idea of god, they also created the idea that god created humans. If we humans are not beings created by god, who are we?… You are an emergent, complex biological organism with a genealogical heritage that goes back to the beginning of time. You are not a special being created by an idea (god) confabulated by human ancestors about 50,000 years ago.… Confabulation is a recently (early 1900s) explicated phenomenon of human behavior.… The nature of confabulation can possibly be best demonstrated with a simple example: suppose someone is asked a question to which they do not know the answer. Instead of saying that they do not know the answer, they make up an answer which, to an observer, on its face, does not seem at all feasible. However, when questioned whether the person is sure of the answer, they insist that the answer is correct. That is confabulation.… We are mistaken about our belief in god because our ancestors were mistaken in their confabulation about the source of the provision of circumstances which were favorable to them. We are also mistaken in continuing to propagate their mistake when we have sufficient evidence that their confabulation was just that – a confabulation and not an accurate description of the circumstances of life on earth.… How will humans be able to abandon the idea of god? -reluctantly and grudgingly. Because of our penchant for depending on brain biases, we have a long history of continuing to depend on ideas and patterns of action long after they have ceased to be beneficial. We'll consider some of those idea ideas which we have clung to tenaciously, and then abandoned:… Gathering – hunting as a means of livelihood; the earth is flat; the earth is the center of the universe; "bloodletting" as medical treatment; germs are the cause of all diseases – or are they?; Radical mastectomy is a cure for breast cancer; an eyewitness is the best proof of the validity of a circumstance.… In some fashion, each of the ideas discussed in this chapter originated from human perception. When the perceptions are questioned and questioning was supported by substantial evidence, which gained adequate social acceptance, the ideas were usually abandoned, to the benefit of human society as a whole. [How can biological humanism replace the idea of God?]… For biological humanism to replace the idea of god it must be able to serve the function that religion currently serves. What then, is the unifying element among all religions that makes them a religion? From an anthropological standpoint, that element is ritual.… As religion is a construct invented by humans to describe a feeling which is prompted by ritual, if biological humanism can accommodate ritual, it can serve as a religion.… Humanism always has fostered, and biological humanism always will foster cooperation over conflict as an ethical premise for humans. Biological humanism, as a religion, will provide the guidance necessary for helping us as humans know how to treat each other. What would biological humanism as a religion be like? Ritual would be a central focus. [A creed for biological humanism would be] "for the strength afforded by close association with other biological entities, we are truly grateful." The humanistic creed would serve well at joint public settings; a song by Phil Ochs, "when I'm gone", will serve well as an initial anthem for biological humanism. When society in general learns that biological humanism is a valid religion, and the ritualistic activities described above are implemented, biological humanism can become the predominant form of religion. Theistic religion, with its focus on supernaturalism, is no longer tenable and viable. Humanity needs to abandon the idea of god and allow the "sleeping beauty" of (biological) humanism to fully and permanently awake.
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About the Book
How do you know what you know—or what you think you know?
Have you ever wondered why you believe in God, why some people don’t believe in God, or what it means to be religious? How do you answer the question, “Who are you?”
Norman Orr provides new ways to think about these questions and many more in this book that promotes the idea of embracing biological humanism.
He begins by sharing a syllogism that demonstrates God is an idea created by humans, and therefore, not real. Next, he explores when, how, and why humans created the idea of God. He also answers questions such as:
• What are the benefits of abandoning the idea that we are special creatures created by God and replace that concept with the premise that we are only biological organisms?
• What does the cultural artifact of Santa Claus created by humans tell us about the idea of God?
• What is the concept of social constructionism and how does it relate to the idea of god?
The author also asks who humans are if we are not beings created by God—as well as why we must recognize that the brain normally operates on the basis of biases.
About the Author
Norman Orr is retired and enjoys cycling in the Texas Senior Games, where he has won multiple gold medals. He also enjoys flower gardening, writing, and thinking about religion and ethics. With an educational background in theology, history of science, and technical communications, he is able to present a fresh view of the history and nature of humanity. He has written numerous articles for scholarly publications and lives in Lubbock, Texas, with his wife, Bettie.