NOTE: I did not write this. This was taken from a diary entry at OpenDiary.com I do though like this, which is why I'm posting it here.
As some of you may have noticed, I didn't post an entry on Wednesday or Thursday. Here - at long last - is the reason why.
I was busy observing the Summer Solstice.
And - for your sake - I kinda hope you were, too.
Our Summer Solstice, of course, is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (and the shortest in the Southern). As such, it is one of the holiest days of the year for all those people who believe that the Sun is the One True God.
Now, as I think I may have mentioned, I'm an atheist. But every once in awhile (like when I've been out in the Sun too long) I think, "What if I'm wrong? What if there really is a God?" That's when I think maybe - just maybe - I better bow in Pascal's direction and hedge my bets a bit.
And so I do.
How? By observing the Summer and Winter Solstices.
Because, you know, if I absolutely had to choose one God to believe in, the Sun sure looks like the best bet of all.
Consider:
----- It's a fact recognized by nearly everyone that the Sun is the source and sustainer of virtually all life on earth.
----- Unlike some alleged gods I could mention, the Sun returns every single morning, just like clockwork. It doesn't merely promise to come back "soon" and then disappear for thousands of years. And It doesn't even require that we light a candle to show It the way.
----- The Sun shares Its obvious, measurable, guiding light with everyone without first demanding that we believe in anything silly or counterintuitive about It or Its mother or father.
----- You generally don't have to guess which people are true Sun Worshipers and which people are merely lying. All you have to do is look at their tan lines.
----- The Bible says that if you take the name of its God in vain, you'll be punished - yet many seem to be getting away with doing just that and much, much more besides. Stare defiantly into the Sun, however, and you'll go blind. Turn your back on the Sun long enough and your back will get burned. Lie in the face of the Sun one too many times and you'll get skin cancer. Which sounds like the more powerful God to you?
----- The Sun is such an obvious God that even prehistoric peoples depicted Its great power on their cave walls. They didn't need to sit around and wait for a prophet to come along and clue them in.
----- Nearly every great culture and civilization has recognized the pre-eminence of the Sun. The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia worshiped the Sun God known as Utu. It was the Sun God, Shamash, who allegedly gave Hammurabi his laws long before Moses was even born. Egypt placed its Sun God, Ra, at the very center of its society going all the way back to 4000 B.C. Ancient Greeks worshiped Helios and later Apollo as Sun Gods, and Greek monarchs claimed descent from Apollo (much as pharaohs identified themselves with Ra). Alexander the Great assumed the title of Sun God and spread worship of the Sun throughout the lands he conquered and into India. The Roman Emperor Aurelian established Sol Invictus ("the Invincible Sun") as the state religion. Constantine eventually changed this to Christianity, but he kept "Sun Day" as the name for the holiest day of the week. The halos and rays associated with Jesus and others are believed to be derived from earlier images of the god Mithras and deified Roman emperors, which in turn got their inspiration from depictions of the Sun. King Louis XIV declared himself The Sun King in an attempt to associate himself with the Sun and the ancient Romans. The Chinese Sun Goddess, Xihe, was said to be married to the emperor, while the Sun Itself became a symbol of the Chinese state. The Japanese believed that the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, created their country by an act of will, and they put the Sun on their flag to emphasize the point. India is studded with temples to the Sun - often situated on mountaintops in order to be closer to the God they honor. In the Americas, the Incas, the Mayans, and the Aztecs all worshiped the Sun, as did the Natchez Indians and other northern tribes.
Can so many people in so many different places and times be wrong? Well, sure. But if you're going to favor the god of one small, backwards Middle Eastern tribe like the Hebrews instead, it seems to me you've got a lot of extra explaining to do. Why bother when there's such a shining alternative?
Among the additional reasons to worship the Sun rather than any other God (if we must worship a God at all):
----- As far as I can determine, people and nations have never gone to war to settle the question of whether or not there is a Sun in the sky. Or which Sun is the right one. Or what the Sun is trying to tell us when It rises every day.
----- No one has ever been burned at the stake for refusing to believe that the Sun is really three stars in one orb.
----- If the Sun has an opinion as to how I should be managing my sex life, the Sun has enough wisdom, mercy, and good taste to keep it to Itself.
----- Although many people say that life without their god would be meaningless, I've gotten along just fine without their god for years and years. In contrast, how long could any of us get along without the Sun? Why, even eclipses lasting a few minutes have traditionally sent people into a panic!
----- Many gods claim that they'll get around to ending the world one day, but who knows if they will or won't? On the other hand, we have irrefutable proof that stars like our Sun can and do explode. Why would anyone ever choose to believe in the empty threats of the former instead of the very real threat of the latter?
Anyway, the Summer Solstice is over now. I've spent a couple days contemplating and appreciating the Sun in my own sweet way (i.e., massive chocolate chip cookie consumption while Sun bathing) and am now back to being a dedicated atheist. After all, science tells me that the Sun is just the sun - a big ball of hydrogen undergoing nuclear fusion. Experience tells me that this sun really doesn't give a damn whether I worship it or not. And common sense tells me that if this sun really is a conscious entity, it's not going to change its ways just because I kill a sheep in its name or put a dollar in a collection plate so that we might be able to send missionaries to Africa to point it out to the people living there.
Still, one never knows for certain, does one?
So: If any of you Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or other theists out there care to hedge your own bets, I'll understand. Heck, I might even be persuaded to buy ya your first chocolate chip cookie for the next Solstice!
When it comes to sun screen, however, the Sun is unforgiving: Everyone will be rewarded or punished according to how they apply themselves.