The world is confusing. I know it is to me, and I would guess that you’re no different. We’re not stupid, either. I mean, we know things. We can spell and do long division. Imagine facing the world without any of that. You never went to school. You never learned science, because it didn’t exist yet. In the prescientific world, how do you think you would deal with seeing something like a volcanic eruption or a thunder storm? The innate human need to explain things drives you, but you don’t have any tools at your disposal. This is the predicament of early man. So you do what many humans still do today when facing something unfamiliar. You make shit up.

Many people say that science is a descendant of religion. The goals are the same. They both aim to explain the universe. The methods, though, are quite different. However, given the need for explanation and the absence of the scientific method, religion fits the bill nicely. Now, this may be an odd approach for an atheist, but I’m going to turn to a religious text to explain this further. Chapter 3 of the Buddhist Lotus Sutra contains the parable of the burning house, which is applicable to this discussion. It deals with the concept of Expedient Means (upaya-kaushalya).

In the story, a rich man has a large house with only one, narrow door. The house ignites, and he runs to safety. When he gets outside, he realizes that his young children are still in the house. They are engrossed in play, so they will not notice the fire until it is to late. Moreover, they are too young to understand the danger posed by fire, so even if he calls to them and tells them about the fire, they will ignore him. He comes up with expedient means of getting them out of the house. He knows what presents would be appealing to each of them, and he calls into the burning house, telling them that each of those things is out front waiting for them. The children run quickly out of the house and are saved from death. The nature of the presents and the end of the story are only interesting if you’re trying to understand more about Buddhism. That’s enough for our purposes.

The fire, in my use of this tale, is ignorance of the world. The urgency is the human need for understanding. The youth of the children represents the immaturity of human intelligence and knowledge. The story the man makes up about the presents is religion. He lied to his children, but would anyone say that what he did was wrong? It gave them the understanding they so desparately needed. Accuracy is unimportant. It was the only available option given the circumstances.

However, there is now a “greater vehicle” (I’m sure someone will get that) toward truth. Science allows us to recognize and avoid the fire of ignorance, and most of us can get out of the house on our own. The lies are no longer necessary.

~I AM~

P.S. The Haiku / Senryu contest winners have been posted (see the right column for the link). Thank you to everyone who participated. There were a couple that probably would have been chosen, but they had the wrong number of syllables, so I disqualified them.

P.P.S. The latest Carnival of the Godless is up at What You Can Get Away With. Check it out.