Do things really happen for a reason? (PART 1)
If I had a nickel for everytime I've heard "I believe everything happens for a reason..." or "Nothing happens by chance..." I would be writing this from my log cabin in the mountains.
Does everything happen for a "reason"? Well, I would say that depends on what someone is referring to as the reason. I think it's fairly safe to say that in our world things typically "happen" because something "caused" them to happen. The fuzzy world of subatomic phenomena aside, in the macroworld, the 8-ball went in the corner pocket because the cue ball I hit with my pool cue struck it in a particular way. If *that* is what people mean when they summon this cliché, then I would be inclined to agree. Yes, things do happen for a reason: something caused them to happen.
But we all know that is not what is meant.
While the chain of events for most effects can be traced to some initial natural cause, when it cannot, we either begin investigating for the cause, or we decide that the cause was something supernatural. Now, when it comes to invoking the supernatural or the divine to explain "why" things happened the way they did, there are basically three ways that people reach such a conclusion. First, some only decide that God (or some other supernatural force) caused some event or phenomenon when it seems that all natural explanations have been exhausted. Many people consider the phenomenon of human consciousness evidence of divine cause since, as of yet, a complete scientific explanation has not been formulated -- or at least it is not yet reproducible in the lab (though who knows what the future holds?). Similarly, many dub an event "miraculous" since, at least on the surface, it appears as if there is no other immediate explanation. "Rippley's Believe it or Not" is full of these kinds of anecdotes. Though thorough investigation of cause and effect is sometimes not done, there is at least usually some kind of thinking involved.
Second, there are those who immediately decide that because some event seems unlikely, unusual or is grandiose in some pronounced way that it simply must have a supernatural cause. That is, they are not interested in actual investigation for a natural cause since a supernatural one is more exciting, and it evokes mystery and a sense of awe and wonder. For example, when the shape of the Virgin Mary appears in someone's Belgian waffle, and hundreds of people make their pilgrimage to lay flowers and lift prayers to said waffle... obviously they are much more interested in believing that Mary likes to appear to us in breakfast foods (or office windows, or tree trunks, etc...) than in considering that the wafflemaker caused this random hodge-podge of bumps, curves, and shapes in a waffle (that should really just be eaten) but that our pattern-seeking brains "see" the Virgin Mary due to the influence of culturally induced ideas and beliefs. Of course, this example is an easy target, but human beings are chock full of ideas about the supernatural, so the trigger is always back, awaiting the opportunity to label some odd or strange event as supernatural in cause and/or effect...many times before we think rationally about it at all!
Finally, there is a hybrid option that both appeals to our common sense as well as to our penchant for seeking the supernatural in a natural world. This way of judging natural vs. supernatural causes is a little more subtle, it is very convenient, and also what's most likely meant by "everything happens for a reason". What is it? Well, it is the belief that although effects have causes in this world, there rides atop of (or underlies or is interwoven into) all causes and effects a divine "hand" such that all things are either literally caused by God or allowed by God. Therefore, all events in history are actually part of some overall "divine plan"; hence, all things happen for a reason...that reason being God's blueprint for history, or as some prefer, God's will. Now, how one defines "God" may vary -- for some a personal Being, for others an ultimate "Mind", for yet others, just some unconscious brute fact that is the basis for all existence, etc... -- but in the end, this idea is the dominant one behind the belief in question.
The popularity of this belief is not surprising; however, niether is it scrutinized for internal consistency very often. The reason? Because it provides a kind of comfort to many people, even an explanation, for notable events in our lives...and most often the not-so-good ones. And who wants to question something that brings personal peace-of-mind, right? After all, the good things in life need little more than celebration and perhaps a prayer of thanksgiving for those so inclined. But the bad things in life -- some of them *very* bad -- often defy reasonable explanations. This defiance taxes our minds and bodies as we try to understand certain tragedies. Sometimes we even know *what* caused a tragedy (say, a fatal car accident or cancer), but simply cannot get our minds around *why* it happened. And why would we wonder why? Because tragedy is itself tragic to us because it doesn't seem fair; it doesn't follow the natural course of life we have come to expect; it shatters our dreams and hopes into pieces that we are powerless to mend. When someone dies at 88 years old, we may miss them, but their death is hardly a surprise and sometimes even a bittersweet event. When someone dies at 45 or 25 or 5 years old, however, we fumble for reasons to justify it in our grieving. We grope for some kind of comfort, some kind of explanation, some kind of meaning. Thus, there is this worldview that insists that all things happen for "some kind of reason" which has nestled within it a quick answer: you may not understand it, but God does, and God is good and God is in control, and God knows what it best. The "reason" then is rooted in the belief that a benevolent God (or some other supernatural force) knows what's going on even if we don't...at least we don't know yet. So, we try to take comfort in the one thing we feel we do know (or believe), the one thing to which we can default when we need to do so: everything happens for a reason. We see it in the obvious ("8-ball, corner pocket"), so it must be so in the not-so-obvious too (an otherwise healthy five year old dies of brain cancer).
So, is this philosophy OK? Does it really work as well as we think? Could it even cause more pain than it salves for ourselves and others to whom we announce it? I'll give my opinion in the next blog (Part 2), but I'm sure you have some opinions of your own. I'd like to hear them.
Until Part 2,
- Kevin
You are a rarity. I have nothing but admiration for your thorough, critical thinking. I wish more people would think through things like you do. Where were you 15 years ago?!?
I like your blog. I have always appreciated people who think for themselves and don't just accept a religion that is handed to them. As a child I had a sense of God, although my parents didn't go to church or teach me about God. Because I wanted to go to church my parents finally joined one. However, I found it dull, boring, and far from the sense of God I had in my heart. So I rejected Christianity and religion. A few years later, I had a personal experience with the living Jesus Christ and I have never been the same. I love Jesus, but I still find religiion a tough pill to swallow. That is why I call my blog: non-religious Christian Challenge. Stop by at: christianchallenge.blogstream.com Thanks. Steve Simms
Thanks for your reply. It's obviously very common for people who believe in a personal "Satan" or "devil" to invoke his existence to explain why bad things happen. I used to do it myself years ago. Aside from the fact that biblical scholars have long since been able to show the evolution of the "Satan" figure through the Bible and cultural history, some (like myself) find the concept simply implausible to begin with in our modern age of understanding.
All that aside, your proposition is certainly worth considering, especially since so many others hold to this idea as well. My opinion, however, is that those who invoke the "devil" to explain why bad things happen in the world are simply not thinking through their claim. A few well placed questions will illustrate what I mean:
(1) You said "Satan" is the god of this world...yet at the same time you said he doesn't have control in the world (over which he is god...or is this God's world?? Which is it?) because, in fact, WE control the world by our own choices. Does Satan actually DO anything in this world then or no? If not, then he can't be invoked as an answer to why bad things happen.
(2) If Satan DOES cause evil in the world, then we are at a loss to explain WHICH bad things he causes since, presumably, God also causes calamity (which Christians call judgment). So, if a family tragically dies in a car accident, did God or Satan cause it? If niether, then why do we need to invoke God or Satan to explain anything at all?
(3) Does God *allow* Satan to inflict harm on people? When? How often? And should we thank God when evil things happen since God is ultimately the one who decrees that they happen (or be allowed to happen)? Sorry...but the thought of thanking God for tragedy is just plain deplorable and twisted.
The attempts Christians have made to reconcile an all-powerful, all-good God with the free reign of an all-evil supernatural being to inflict pain and suffering to those on earth are doomed to failure. Here is why. Christian theories of why evil happens in the world are all very compartmentalised. That is, there is not "one theory" among Christians to explain evil in the world; rather there are many of them, and Christians will jump from one theory to another depending on the situation or the objections posed by non-Christians. So, when one theory is called into question, the Christian will jump to another unrelated theory, and so on. What appears to be many related answers to the same question of why bad things happen in the world turns out to be many NON-related and exclusive answers to the same question. To the Christian, the convenience of jumping from one to another gives the feel of unassailability and an air-tight argument. In reality, it is nothing more than evading the fact that every compartmentalized answer fails in and of itself upon scrutiny...and thus the entire Christian stance is bankrupt.
Thanks for reading and replying. So you're reading Smith's book, huh? Pretty good book, though I think he misses answering some of the latest Christian apologetic arguments (not that those arguments are actually good ones...just that he doesn't deal with them). Still, good book!
I just got through reading Richard Dawkins' book, "The God Delusion" -- best book explaining and arguing for atheism that I've ever read. My next 2 books to read are "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris (rave reviews) and "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" by Daniel Dennett.
Keep reading!
Great to hear from you.
- Kevin
I wonder if Smith doesn't address some of the arguments to which you refer because they had not yet surfaced in 1979? Anyway, it's been interesting. Hope you keep on posting,
KJM
I am enjoying your blog. I was starting to think that I was alone on this site! Anyway...I posted this on my myspace page a week or so ago. It pretty much sums up my thinking...
Take care, and I look forward to reading more!
Amy
Thursday, January 04, 2007
I Don't Get Organized Religion
Current mood: calm
Category: Religion and Philosophy
This is a subject that I have been struggling with for much of my life. It all started when I discovered ( at about age 6 ) that there was no Santa. I thought that if there can't even be a guy who delivers a billion presents in one night, how can there possibly be a god who is supposed to deliver us from evil? I asked a lot of questions at the time, but mostly they got brushed away by the grownups in my life.
When I was 13 and receiving my confirmation, I again questioned the whole thing, out loud, to my very cool and understanding pastor. I don't really recall any of his words of wisdom, except that it was okay to question things. I definitely appreciated that.
From my teens into my late twenties, I hardly attended any kind of services. I mean, I did Chrsitmas Eve and Easter and all that, but more out of ritual and obligation than anything else.
When I was pregnant with my son, Charles I found out he had Down Syndrome and a serious heart defect. My husband and I felt so lost because we had no family support other than my parents, who were 800 miles away. His parents idea of supporting us was to pray that it would go away - literally, pray, in church, that Charles would be born without any kind of defect.
So in our search for answers and support, we found a nearby church that had a very open philosophy and a wonderful choir director, so every week it was an uplifting experience, but I always felt like an outsider. All of these people really believe what they are singing about, I thought to myself, except me. I started feeling like a hypocrite. I enjoyed the people and the music, but couldn't get over the whole belief thing. And I really tried. Because, let's face it, it's a lot easier to have God to rely on than just yourself. I mean if you really believe that God will take care of you and yours than that is a huge weight off of your shoulders!
But, I couldn't do it and we stopped going.
I am okay with not understanding everything that happens. I don't need to say " Oh it's all in God's plan" when awful shit happens, like Hurricane Katrina or the continuing genocide in Darfur or local child abuse. That always made me so angry. What kind of fucked up plan has people hacking each other to death or little children, disabled people, the elderly suffering? I never understood it and never will. 'Cause if there is a god and that is his plan, than like the Depeche Mode song goes - I think God's got a sick sense of humor.
My philosophy on life is simple and I'm sure Jesus would approve, as would Gandhi - Live and Let Live. That's all. We don't need to tithe or build huge temples or have a giant 10 commandments sculpture to remind people of this. Live and let live. Not, live in a vacuum and tune out to any cry of help, by all means, help! But, if someone wants to have 50 piercings through their face, so what? As long as they aren't making you do it, why should you care? If grown ups want to do things in their own bedrooms, so what? How is that hurting anyone? Live and let live
Human tendencies allow us to explain such things as, evil in the world, death, bad happenings, and "signs" (coincidences) to some higher power or omnipotent being. After all, merely the statement that God has always been and always will is a blatant attempt to not have to base teachings upon something tangible.
What I have come to understand, after leaving Christianity for creative thinking is that, faith and intelligence don't mix. Well maybe intelligence isn't the right word, maybe inquisitive is more the correct word. See inquisitive people can't merely accept something based on what someone else has said. The Bible is not good enough. Not that it isn't a good book that teaches some good morals and how to treat others. But it is just that a book. The fact that it is inspired by God is yet to be proven if it ever can. That is why it is easy to say, but hard or impossible to prove.
So therefore to follow it teachings without your own reasoning is just ludicrous. Nothing is iron-clad and absolute, not even religion. One who wants to think for themselves, looks to see if the things that they are told really are true. And the speaker of these words should have no problem allowing someone to prove to themselves the validity of their words. Why? Because if the words are true, then they will prove themselves. That is why the isolation and rigid rules of religion betray themselves.
My parents told me of drugs, alcohol, sex, and such things. Some I tested, some I didn't. But what they told me, I sought out myself, and they were proven to be true. I was one of those "learn things the hard way". But learning things the hard way, doesn't lessen the validity of the statement. Rather it intensifies these words and proves to the person that they are.
Intelligence requires investigation. Blind faith, keyword, blind, begets ignorance. If you feel the need to test someone's words, do so, because if you don't then all you are left with is something/someone that you are not.