Mind shift

This post is about the fantastic shift I have experienced in my thinking as a result of changing my worldview. Things that used to be meaningless now have meaning and vice verse. For example, I used to think that space exploration was a huge waste of time and taxpayer money and now I think it is very important. As a Christian there is no point in exploring other planets because Jesus is going to return to this one, so we should just stay put. Even recycling was somewhat pointless. Why should Christians take care of the planet when God has plans to destroy it and make a "New Heaven and New Earth"? This all changed with my new worldview and I have had to re-think everything.

I was pretty much raised in a Christian incubator. I was home-schooled from Kindergarten through 12th grade and went to church every Sunday. I was never taught evolution. All of my text books were A Beka books from Pensacola Christian College. I was a descendant of Adam, the first man, who lived around 6,000 years ago. I was indoctrinated with Christian Facts that cannot be questioned: The Bible is God's Word, I was born a sinner and Jesus died on the cross to save me from sin and hell. I say all this so you can see how steeped I was in my first worldview.

Now imagine how radically that has all changed. I've already discussed some of the realizations that led me here along with some reasons for my deconversion. This ultimately leads to my mind shift and having to come to grips with this new reality. The reality is that not a single person on this planet knows with certainty why we're here and how we got here. We may all have our own opinions, but that's all they are, opinions. All we can do is examine the evidence available to us and make an educated guess. This is why I've embraced science rather than religion to understand our universe. Science says, "I don't know, but let's work towards figuring it out using what's available to us." Religion says, "I've got it all figured out, just put your trust in me." When a new discovery comes along that challenges our accepted viewpoints science and religion show their true colors. Science says, "I have to change my views because of this new evidence." Religion says, "The evidence is wrong, keep trusting in me." Now which of these seems like a more honest approach?

Since we don't know how we got here (evolved, created or something in-between) what should we do now? If we are created then whoever created us might expect something of us or might not. Since we don't know I think it's best to listen to our own reasoning. My reason tells me that smoking tobacco or doing drugs will destroy my organs so I don't do those things. I love my wife and my family so I am fully dedicated to them and their welfare. I will never kill another person because I have a high regard for life and liberty. If we have evolved through natural processes that doesn't change anything I just wrote. Either way we are very fortunate to experience life and should do our best to ensure that future generations can experience it as well. Things like world peace, equality, sustainability, and fighting hunger and disease are all fantastic goals and should be sought after. This sums up my agnostic viewpoint and I am glad that my mind has shifted to this new way of thinking.