Why Do People Believe in God?

By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet. Posted January 31, 2009.

If the matter is urgent -- is it me the FBI is looking for? -- we get a big bio-chemical hit. So big that our other needs -- to eat, to sleep, to procreate, everything -- will be overwhelmed, until we know.

If the matter is insanely urgent (or, rather, felt as insanely urgent) we get such a big hit that it's as if our body is screaming, do nothing until you figure this out! Or sometimes, get the hell out of here! Get somewhere and hide! Until you can figure things out. Which is called panic.

We start as infants and move out into the world.

As we move out, we understand more and more, in ever-widening circles.

Then, we get to a point where we can't figure things out.

Through most of human history this was simply because we didn't know enough.

Along came science and the range of our knowledge grew exponentially. That was useful and felt good.

Until we saw a universe that was too big. We tried to measure it and discovered that there was something so far beyond our senses that we could only describe it as "dark." Dark matter and dark energy. And there was vastly more of it than there was of our stuff.

Looking in the other direction -- down toward the small -- we got past atoms, to subatomic particles, and encountered quantum weirdness.

The theory of quantum electrodynamics describes nature as absurd from the point of view of common sense. And it agrees fully with experiment. So I hope you can accept nature as she is -- absurd.

--Richard Feynman, (Nobel Prize in Physics)

The study of biology brought us to the theory of evolution. That showed us that we hadn't been produced for a reason, but by accident.

Such new knowledge is very useful.

But it does not address what the underlying drive really wants -- to know what it all means in relation to self.

The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.

That's not what we want to know.

In fact, it's precisely the opposite of what we want to know -- what it means in relation to me.

In either case, too little knowledge, or too much, we're frustrated.

Needs that can't be satisfied don't go away.

Hunger doesn't cease when there's no food, thirst when there's nothing to drink, the desire for sex when there's no appropriate partner, the yearning for love when everyone hates us.

Our being is built to keep pushing itself. The chemical goads don't relent. The pain does not stop.

At this point we have a choice.

We can accept that this particular need can't be satisfied. That our knowledge is insufficient. Or, in modern times, that the universe does not mean anything in the terms we want to hear about.

The pain remains.

Until someone creative comes along and says, "I have an answer. There's a God." Actually, prior to about to about 1300 BC, when monotheism was invented, they would have said gods. "He's like the king. But bigger and better. He knows it all. He has a master plan. You're included. So it all has meaning, in relation to you."

Even if it's not true, if you accept it, the pain suddenly stops.

When we have a toothache, it's not just the tooth that's out of whack. Our whole being is out of balance. When it's fixed we feel good all over.

Then, on top of that, we get a hit of joy juice from our being. It's a reward for fixing the problem. So we feel really, really good.

If it's Tuesday and the dentist can't see us until Friday, we take a painkiller. It doesn't fix the problem, but it does make us feel better, allows the rest of our body to come into balance, and makes it so we can go on about our business.

That's why we believe in God, even when one doesn't exist.

Because a false answer is better than no answer at all. And that's our only choice, no answer or a false one.

That creates a whole set of new questions.

If there is no God, what is morality, where does it come from, and will it work without God? What is spirituality? How is it different than religion? Does it have value if God is a mere myth and legend? Why are there atheists? Why gods, and then a God? Why is monotheism successful in some societies and not in others? Why is belief more prevalent among some groups and cultures than in others? Why are we willing to kill and die for this particular idea?

But that's OK, because those are questions about us, as natural human beings, and they can be answered. They will be taken up in subsequent articles in this series.

See more stories tagged with: religion, god, atheism, belief

Larry Beinhart is the author of "Wag the Dog," "The Librarian," and "Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin." His latest book is Salvation Boulevard. Responses can be sent to beinhart@earthlink.net.

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