Intelligence. it is everywhere. The underlying forces of our universe are chaotic and if left to it’s own influence there would be nothing but unbridled energy. Intelligence is the glue that holds it together, that gives cause and purpose to survive against all odds.

The Hebrew Bible gets that point right, “In the beginning there was nothingness”. Then in six days the universe is imbued with an intelligence. The sower of these seeds, is a supreme being known to us as “Hashem” the name. In the world view of the religious person the source of everything we have comes from god. Genesis tells the story of creation. Scientists call it intelligent design. That is what we call an opinion. I can’t argue with an opinion based on currently unknowable fact patterns regardless how attractive the concept may sound. 

Now here’s where things get very interesting. It seems that one night about six thousand years ago the supreme being holds a meeting at his heavenly palace. He has an idea and announces that time has come to make man, in his image, male and female. Religious people fully believe that God created man as told in the Bible, and the rest of creation is here to support humanity. In return for all this kindness bestowed on us by the creator an expectation of servitude and gratitude is demanded. To achieve that state of servitude a leap of faith, or as a good friend of mine put it to me recently, “every person has to choose when and where to suspend their rationality and just believe”.

Do we need to suspend reality to imagine that life may have come about on this planet as a result of a cosmic accident billions of years ago? That once established in a simple basic life form, intelligence slowly evolved as a methodology of survival. As intelligence continues to evolve, the eventual emergence of sentient beings with greater degrees of situational awareness emerge. Human beings then continue the process by applying their intellectual abilities to create new forms of higher “artificial intelligence”.  Are we god too? The theory of evolution was not developed by scientists who suspended reality. They carefully studied fossil records, species of plants and animals  and came to reasoned conclusions based on evidence. Though the original theory as posed by Charles Darwin has been modified and enhanced, at no point did mythology or fairy tales figure in the equation. To rely on a story of revelation that only a few were privy to at one moment in time is not evidence of anything.

If God is the source of all intelligence on the planet, then who created God? What then can we point to as the source of all intelligent life on the planet. 

As we understand more about the relationship between matter and energy we start to see a structure and order to our universe. The arrangement of atomic particles, molecules, DNA is something which we are only gaining knowledge of in the last century of human history. The advent of modern scientific principles  are continually disproving the basis and foundation of religious mythologies. The concept of a virgin birth, or any mythology that supports a deity suspending the laws of physics to protect the faithful is now greatly regarded as fantasy. For this reason and because religious ideologies are responsible for the worst transgressions in human history, most  countries and their populace have realized that religious thought and ideas need to be separate from our political systems. God’s laws and justice is only recognized as civil law in the few theocracies left on the planet.

Suspending reality leads to dangerous ideologies that can have catastrophic outcomes. The truth of this is self evident in our history. More murder and suffering has been and still is unleashed on this planet by groups of people suspending reality and believing in a religious or political ideologies.

Without suspending reality, it is clear to me that Man created god in his image and then used that creation as a tool to subjugate others. Why is it that  religious organizations have to cover up one scandal after another to protect their reputation. Representatives of Gods moral and ethical words are caught up in so much abuse and sin. Theocracies today are the biggest exporters of terror organizations and promulgators of hate.

So what do people like me who refuse to suspend reality and just believe, do?

Big brother Burt considers personal integrity to be man’s greatest ally. Human comprehension while continuously evolving has it’s limitations. Our choices and decisions should always be based on sound rational principles. In life we must strive for solutions that will benefit ourselves as well as those we deal with. There is so much good in this world that we can afford to share it with others. Doing so brings peace, harmony and co-operation between different groups.

Suspension of reality is good fun in the entertainment industry when people understand reality from fantasy. Otherwise I suggest that we apply personal integrity to circumstances that are beyond comprehension by admitting unfamiliarity.

Sam Harris wrote a wonderful little book called Lying. In it he deals with some culturally difficult themes and insists that we as people strive to maintain our personal integrity even in the face of grave danger. Finding humans of such exemplary character is rare in this world. In my years within a faith based community I met a few individuals who embodied such values. They were the only religious figures who provided me with inspiration. To them I am grateful.

Personal integrity is a value that dies in many religious circles when faith is in question. The idea that it is ok to tell a lie to protect the greater good is simply unethical. I have borne witness to far too many mistruths within religious systems that discussion with religious people rarely yield truthful outcomes. When it comes to protecting the faith, religious people because of their “suspension of reality” suspend the truth as necessary.

The very premise of our western religions is to “just believe”. To ask a person to believe in an idea that is unknowable, implies a deception. It is in fact selling an empty promise. In any other business that would be defined as a fraud. In the business of religion we actually grant a tax deductible status. Local politicians look the other way as religious people organize into voting blocks to support their lifestyles. The lies just keep coming. No amount of rational thought can convince these people any differently. Anything opposing their self preservation is deemed an enemy and defeated.

Every generation will have individuals born who will succumb to religious ideology. It’s our job as a culture to see it for what it is. Every day we should be grateful that we are living in a free society, free from the tyranny of what religious people would do to us if they had the power.

Big brother Burt

The elements that make religious ideologies attractive, also make them so susceptible to abuse.  ” PAY ATTENTION Isreal, God is your master, God is one” is some of the most powerful words of the Old Testament. The oneness of God is a concept very few religious traditions pay attention to or even understand. God is portrayed as an external force which watches, judges and eventually punishes those who do not follow the protocols of the faith.

In that statement the word used for god is “The Name”. The ancient Israelites had the foresight to incorporate attributes to describe the deity. Not convinced with the physical manifestations other cultures used to represent forces which influenced their environment, the early Israelite tribes attempted to define the unknowable. Human attributes of justice, mercy, strength and intelligence are just a few of the terms ultimately used to describe their new invisible deity.  In this regard, Judaism, Christianity and Islam ultimately project a picture of the deity made in the image of man.

Oneness is a term that goes beyond any human attributes. Like infinity everlasting, oneness is a concept of unity which we have a sense about, and using logical deductive reasoning, we can better appreciate the concept. As scientists search for the unified theory in physics, a growing consensus of spiritually minded humans concur as to the oneness of our universe. Meaning that on a deeper level all things in our universe consisting of matter and energy are deeply related. Scientific research is proving that the our limited human sensory generated perceptions are not representative of our universe.

Religious ideologies fall way short of the mark when they describe their deities with human form, human emotions and concerns. The creation of a “personal deity” is nothing more than an immature attempt at coercion. If we understand human perceptions to be incomplete and flawed, then human emotions based purely on those perceptions have no place in gods world. 

Early Jews and christians referred to the polytheistic world around them as idolators. Stories abound in the traditions where they mocked and violated those who worshipped idols. There are stringent laws that orthodox jews follow today, just to differentiate themselves from idolators of old. And yet judeo-christian gods take human form, get angry, jealous, fight wars and they alter nature to protect their followers. Repackaged as monotheism, the big difference is that the new deity is now chaste. Debasing human sexuality, our new deity rises above the din of the older polytheistic gods that seemed to enjoy copulation with other gods and humans.

Big Brother Burt does not see much discrepancy between polytheistic and monotheistic religions. Both ways of representing god(s) to suit human needs has yielded the same catastrophic effects. Religious ideologies based on the unknowable, regardless of version, have an unacceptable high level of abuse potential. In each case unscrupulous individuals seize the opportunity to control others. The religious observant follower, having taken the leap of faith, is directed to take council from leaders within the faith.  We as the human community need to re-evaluate our position on personalized gods as presented to us by the great religious ideologies. Lets separate fact from fiction and focus on solving problems that will make life on this planet more enriching for all of us..

My greatest hope is that humanity will adopt those attributes that you my friends have reserved for your deity. Let us be just and act compassionately. May we raise children that see the value in formulating their own moral compass, and continue to pursue just and fair causes. If there is a god or force that sustains the world, I am sure he would want us to effect these changes in the world. If not, it is our birthright to pursue a life of integrity and equality to  all.

Big brother Burt

Our brain, when it comes to conscious thought works very much like a computer. The mind to function properly, must have a set of rules or beliefs to work with. For humans to fulfill social needs and communicate effectively there needs to be agreement to the definitions we place on our perceptions. The primary communication tool we use is language. If someone says, lets meet by the oak tree at 5 pm, those involved would need to share the same beliefs about time and oak trees.

The nice thing about oak trees is that once they are defined, humans can easily identify oak trees.  If someone pointed to a palm tree and called it an oak tree, we would understand that the poor fellow was mistaken. A belief, like a computer program, determines what decisions we make. The individual who believes that an oak tree looks like a palm tree won’t be at our meeting.

Our three great western religions claim revelation. Orthodox jews believe completely that god revealed himself to the entire nation of Israel at Mount Sinai approximately 3500 years ago. Jesus and the Prophet Mohamed had revelation more recently. The events were then codified many years later. Today none of these traditions agree upon the nature of god.  They all disagree so adamantly with each other about god that they have been killing each other over this for millennia. Is god a palm tree or an oak tree?  To my knowledge no one has ever killed a person for believing a palm tree was an oak.

We consider a person to be insane if they claim beliefs that are unsubstantiated by the rest of us. Asylums are full of people whose internal personal beliefs are considered ludicrous. Revelation of god is unsubstantiated and yet to millions of people it is the core belief in their lives. Their decisions and actions are based on a system of belief (ideology) that is completely unknowable by human intelligence. 

In order to appear normal, religious beliefs have to be held by large groups of people. To accomplish these ends religious people have many children, raise them in sheltered environments and incorporate their values at a young vulnerable age. They see the secular world of science and technology as an enemy. Books of literature and history not written in their slant are prohibited.  Independent thinking amongst their followers is discouraged. To me it sounds like a cover-up. If god and his ideas were so great wouldn’t free people naturally gravitate towards it. Why in today’s world are so many people forsaking religious life.

Beliefs in things that are unknowable will lead us to actions that are unconscionable. The most horrible abuses in human history were done in the name of god. Social ideologies such as nazism and communism take their cues from religious ideologies. To control large groups of people to do your bidding, find a set of unsubstantiated beliefs and get people to buy into it. Since the belief is unknowable, logic and reason no longer need to apply to actions resulting from these beliefs. In god’s world a palm tree and an oak may be the same thing. In god’s realm ideas that are bound by time, space and human logic need not apply. Anything is now possible. All a religious person needs to do is preface what ever idea they may have with “god says”. When the Church said the world was flat, then that became the belief which guided geographical exploration for years. Sailing ships would never venture too far out to sea for fear of falling off the earth’s edge. In today’s world the Church tells us that the human soul enters a fetus at conception, this unknowable belief has become a limiting factor in stem cell research. Interestingly it seems that jewish talmudic law disagrees, in that they say human life starts at birth. Since no one has seen or identified a soul, who really knows. And yet Christian fundamentalists will defend killing Doctors who perform legal abortions.

Nazi fascism worked so effectively because it utilized a social ideology of taking different groups of people and classifying them as superior or inferior (us vs. them). Once people bought into the arbitrary belief that ethnically pure germans were supreme beings, the Nazi leaders were able to get people to make decisions and take actions based on those beliefs. The outcome as we know was catastrophic. 

Big Brother Burt encourages people to examine their core beliefs. Core belief that we ascribe to should be based in knowable, understandable phenomena, which strikes us as logical and rational. Beliefs based on mythologies, ancient texts or just something our parents or teachers told us at a young age need to be critically reviewed. Beliefs based on exclusivity, racism and hatred need to be rejected.

As free thinkers we have a responsibility to align our beliefs with reality. In doing so we can ensure that our decisions and actions will lead to results that make this planet a better place to live. 

Big Brother Burt

“Your Father is very disappointed in you”. This was the topic of the last conversation I had with my Mother. Mom is a 71 year old woman of sound mind and her intentions were clear. She was letting me in on the reason my Father was acting so cold to me for the previous six weeks. At the heart of the matter is that Father no longer approves of my lifestyle.

You may be wondering what horrible deed could cause a Father to disrespect a son. Did I commit murder, was I arrested for robbery, or is my chosen profession that of a hitman. What I did do, is, I finally came out of the closet.

From an early age I was raised in a strict Orthodox environment. I was sent to religious schools since kindergarten and was instructed in the laws of god. At home i was expected to follow the laws and as I got older took on more of the many of the obligations and responsibilities of someone seriously practicing religion. The message drummed into me from a very young age and imprinted into my psyche was you better do these things or god was going to punish you.

During my teenage years I began to seriously question the legitimacy of these practices. I naturally gravitated toward friends who were from homes that were not as religiously strict as mine. When I became vocal about my objections Father knew exactly what to do to put me back on course. Verbal abuse was his specialty. Because if you make a child feel that they are worthless it becomes easier to control them. Father never truly addressed my concerns with religion, but made sure I knew that I was a complete screw up for thinking the way I did.

As a result of this upbringing I comply with my religious obligations until age 50, when I decide to “come out of the closet”. For all those years I was living a life of a lie. At no time was I comfortable with religious people, or any of their ideologies.

You see Rabbi Sacks, with all due respect for your position and your intelligence, I was never ashamed to wear a yarmulka or to walk proudly as a jew. Truthfully I just never wanted to. After all the education, and all the training I simply do not believe in your or my families “version” of religion, or anyone else’s “version” of religion for that matter. The great jews you mention in your speech about jewish pride, as you know, most of them do not identify themselves with the jewish religion.

As a result of my upbringing and what I learnt, the only logical position for me is a complete rejection of everything religious. The challenge for you and all great religious leaders is to realize that the values and ideology that you all hold dear are not for everyone. What puzzles me is that you seem to insinuate in your talk that there is a connection between lack of jewish pride and refusal to comply. I would bet that there are many people like myself who are not comfortable with the religious lifestyle they are immersed in. We are people who are deeply conflicted between what were taught at a very young age to be truth and our personal sense of integrity that now as adults differ.

The statement you make about non-Jewish people respecting jews who follow their religion, is true, in so doing they also poses a level of integrity and caring for all people. I believe that any human being is capable of possessing a moral compass which will enrich the lives of those around him. The level of personal integrity and the commitment to achieving these goals is naturally respected. As a religious leader I know that you support the position that respect and dignity should be practiced equaly to all and would never tolerate the abuses I have witnessed and been subjected to.

Rabbi Sacks, what I realize today is that my Father is simply following the example set by the god of the old testament. The conditional love of the jewish god is clear to any student of the Torah. To my Father i am nothing more than a rebellious, wicked son. and living in the time of the first temple I would be stoned in public. His last words to me was to repent.

My children know that regardless of their choices in life we will love them unconditionally. My god would be one that loved all human beings unconditionally and did not play favorites amongst the nations. This example emulated by all humans might bring us to a place where all religions would be unnecessary.

Big Brother Burt is responding to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speech on Jewish Pride at Chabad.org. Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the former Chief Rabbi of The British Commonwealth.