Can The World Survive Without Religion (Yes or No) A Hindu P (General)

by dhw, Sunday, November 28, 2010, 20:43 (4918 days ago) @ satyansh

Once again, Satyansh has provided us with detailed insights into the convolutions of Hinduism, and has raised some interesting questions. -You wrote: "You will have to take births after births to reap the fruits of your Karmas." If, as you say, "there is no power on earth which can stop the actions from yielding their fruits", experience suggests this can't possibly apply to the here and now, since so many apparently good people suffer unjustly, and so many apparently bad people get away with their evil deeds. Among my acquaintances, I don't know anyone who remembers a past life, and so I don't understand the relevance of the mistakes we made in previous lives. Surely if I'm to achieve Moksha, I must do it now, irrespective of my unremembered past. Do Hindus really remember past lives? If not, what is (a) the proof and (b) the point of reincarnation? (This is a genuine question, not a criticism.)-You say you are a fan of Hinduism "but along with that I also am a fan of the Darwin theory of evolution by natural selection." I don't know why you say "but also", since there seems to be no contradiction between the two. However, this does raise some important areas for discussion, which I'll come onto in a moment. As David has pointed out, natural selection is only part of the theory of evolution, and does not explain innovation or even the origin of new species ... it only explains variations in existing species. Most of us, however, accept Darwin's theory that all forms of life are descended from one or just a few forms, but there is much controversy over how the different species evolved from those forms. Furthermore, and most importantly perhaps, the theory of evolution does not attempt to explain how life originated in the first place. David believes in an intelligent designer, whereas atheists believe life originated by chance. Darwin himself left that question entirely open ... he was an agnostic, not an atheist. You also believe that life originated by chance, but that is a matter of faith not of fact. Hindus (including yourself?) also believe in a spirit world, and in an impersonal, all-embracing deity called Brahma. Since you, like the rest of us, haven't a clue how life originated or, for that matter, how consciousness works, how can you be sure that they are not both the result of a deliberate creation, and that the deity you call Brahma (the creator) is not itself conscious and personal, and therefore the same as what others call Allah/Jehovah/God?-I should add that I agree with your castigation of atheist and religious fundamentalists, and also that the Abrahamic religions spend far too much time arguing over God instead of simply behaving decently towards their fellow humans. I'm an agnostic. But that means I do not dismiss the concept of a conscious, personal creator any more than I dismiss the concept of a deist god (with which your Brahma seems to have much in common) or no god(s) at all.