Religion and the existence of god

Religion and the existence of god, for some it is an open and shut case which cannot be contested. They are either sure of gods’ existence or sure of the inexistence of god, but either way their faith in their beliefs is absolute. For those who believe in god, whatever they conceive god to be, they know in their heart that their god is there and all of the words of that religion are not just factual but an unbreakable law and a guideline of who they are to live their lives. As for the other side they know just as soundly that there is no god, no threat of damnation or reward of an afterlife. There is no sacred book or hand from beyond. Both of these sides have great resolute and conviction in their beliefs and have what they consider to be incontestable evidence for their beliefs. Both can call on scientific data and the work of scholars and historians as well as chemist, physicists, archeologist and others who use the scientific method to “prove” their findings. There is a myriad of books both for and against gods’ existence, both claiming that they have proven their side. Then in the middle you have those such as myself who simply do not agree with either side, that is also to say that I do not disagree with either side. At its core this debate is a matter of philosophy and faith and ultimately cannot be won, proven, or disproven.
The simple fact is that without hard physical evidence one cannot prove or disprove these beliefs or arguments. But alas, again and further adding to the cloud that surrounds this issue, both sides have physical “proof” as well as both have the “evidence” to disprove the others findings. For example, the shroud of Turin, which has been a matter of debate since 1868, is said to be the cloth that covered Jesus of Nazareth following his crucifixion. Both sides seem to have scientific evidence that this shroud is or is not what it is said to be. There is on both sides carbon testing and explanations of how a fire may have thrown off the testing making the shroud seem older than what it is. There is also the 1948 finding of a large hull shaped impact that is believed by some to be the remains of Noah’s Ark. And again both sides have very compelling and scientific evidence for and against the findings. These two examples are just from Christianity, but there are similar findings and arguments in other religions as well.
The truth is that beliefs are very powerful things and they are held in the even more powerful brain. And just as beliefs and their truths are a matter of mystery so is the power and working of the human psyche. Human perception is an interesting phenomenon. Our perception of beauty, music, art, movies, people, and the overall world around us are just as unique as we are as individuals. This perception can be affected or steered in any direction by outside as well as inside influences. As we all grow up and experience life we are constantly learning and absorbing every nuance of our world and the interactions of our day to day lives. We experience socialization, which is the process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it. For the individual it provides the skills and habits necessary for acting and participating within their society. For the society, inducting all individual members into its moral norms, attitudes, values, motives, social roles, language and symbols is the ‘means by which social and cultural continuity are attained (Clausen 1968). There is what is referred to as agents of socialization. Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior. The family is responsible for, among other things, determining one's attitudes toward religion and establishing career goals; education is the agency responsible for socializing groups of young people in particular skills and values in society; and peers refer to people who are roughly the same age and/or who share other social characteristics (e.g., students in a college class) and also vastly affect our socialization process.
It is through these life experiences and the socialization process that our beliefs about the world are formed including our thoughts on religion and the existence of god. Some may say to that, “I am not the same religion as my family”; and “I made the choice to follow a different philosophy or religion”. And though that may be true the fact is you picked up the idea you currently have somewhere and it was fostered and promoted until it became what you believe. Unless you have created your own unique religion this is simply where you got your ideas on the subject. Not to digress from the topic but this is one of the main problems that I have with many people’s beliefs. If you are to ask most people what their religions is and then how they came to settle on that religion many will say that is simply how they were raised. To me this is a shortcut to thinking and warrants no respect on any real level. However, if the person replies that after much thought and study of various religions, or reflection on their current one they felt this was the true and correct path whether it is the same as their families or quite the opposite, these people are the ones who I feel deserve respect. The ones who have studied other religions and can tell you why they believe in one and not the other, what it is about the different religions that turned them on or off; these are the real believers and it is my opinion that whatever god there may be, god would much rather have a person who put actual thought and contemplation into their belief rather than just blindly accepting what was handed to them at birth.
But whatever path one takes, be it blind acceptance or intent reflection, the fact is it is all part of our socialization process. Through our lives our brain takes all of the information it receives and comes up with who you are. This process determines how you think, feel, and react to different circumstances and makes up who you are as a person. It might be said that these perceptions can change, and I believe do change, as we are constantly gaining new experiences. However as we grow older we become more set in who we are and are less impressionable and are thus less likely to change very easily, though it does happen. Now through all of this one of the main things that are affected is our perception of the world. This is how two people can see the same movie and have vastly different opinions on the matter, or here the same song, or read the same book. Perception is the eyes through which we see the world and our learning and socialization process is the material which creates the eyes and affects the image we see.
So given the vast affects on our perception by these processes it only logically follows that our perceptions of scientific data may also be skewed in one direction or the other. So when we are given the evidence we now see what we want to see and derive the information which we want to find. Not only do we see what we want to see, but we find what we want to find. If you are attempting to prove or disprove something then more than likely that is what you will do. This is the reason clinical trials and much research is done double blind. This is where those collecting the data and analyzing the data have no idea what they are looking for; they simply produce a report from the studies and test they run so there is no chance of someone’s perceptions and biases influencing how the data is either collected or analyzed. However, most of the research I described above is not done under such conditions, the researcher is fully aware of what they are looking for. This is not to mention the deliberate skewing of data to make a case seem more convincing. Anyone who has dealt with research and statistics will tell you that you can make the data say anything you want, it’s all in how it interpreted and displayed.

This is the crux of the issue and the problem for people like me who are constantly searching for that concrete evidence one way or the other. In a world full of skewed data how are we to come to any real conclusion. I liken this to the presidential race. From both sides we hear how the other is worse and how their plan is better, and what else would we expect them to say. But the truth is it is all skewed data and misinformation. If one were to listen to the commercials for any candidate they both sound great and make the other sound terrible. All they are doing is taking their own excrement and polishing it up and rubbing the other in dirt, of course they sound better; it is the same for these arguments concerning religion. The sad thing is there may be an answer somewhere, I am not sure if I believe there to be, but there may be. Bu in the world as it is with people more concerned with being right, or more importantly, not being wrong; if there is an answer it has surely been covered up or blurred to the point it is no longer recognizable or has had all value removed from it forever.
So I guess what it really comes down to is our ability to sift through the garbage and make our own decisions on what we believe or do not believe. But think about the evidence and consider your sources prior to taking something as gospel or truth, for you may be putting stock into something, and if some are correct your soul on the line, for something that has been contorted to fit just as someone wanted it to. Most of it comes down to feelings I guess, what you feel in your heart to be true. For those like me however this is not enough because I can provide “evidence” or at least an explanation of how even that is a simple effect of your psyche and the process that has made you who you are, for even how we feel is affected by socialization. So for me I wade through the smoke and the mud searching for real evidence, even though I believe it to be an act of futility. But I can take solace in my belief that I am committing no wrong and if there truly is a god that whatever god it may be would not look down upon my approach. I really do not believe that there is evidence either way; I honestly believe this to be beyond our scope of understanding. The best quote I have ever heard that sums up how I feel comes from Robert G. Ingersoll, he said “we can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know."
I believe that the only time a person is wrong regarding the existence of god is when that person takes the stand that they are the only one that is right and all others are wrong. This is a dangerous and very short sighted stance to take and is one of the major problems in the world today. I personally believe that there is a god, not the Christian god or any other man created god, but a higher power. That is as far as it goes for me and I cannot give more reason than to me it only makes sense. Science can only explain so much. I came to this conclusion after doing some studying on outer space and thinking bit upon time and existence in general. This is my conclusion thus far and is not right any more than it is wrong. But it is at least a well thought out and logical conclusion which is more than I can say for some. I think to toil over these questions is healthy and constructive, but to fight and kill over them is not only illogical but in most cases in direct conflict with the religion that is being fought for. Believe how you wish and follow the teachings but leave others to do the same. Basing a war or forcing others to follow your religions rules based on something so fallible is misguided, dangerous, and will only make things worse (did you see the logical flaw in the final statement?).