Reply to Pete Hardie, and Myself

• Welcome to the BOL Forum on Evolutionary Psychology by John Grohol, 3/19/97
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    • There's no conflict by Pete Hardie, 6/16/98
      
      

I've learned a great deal about evolutionary psychology since I first posted my questions, a few lines up. It goes like this...I have to say I see myself as an agnostic, not so much because I question the existence of my traditional concept of God (whoever and wherever she is) but because the idea of nature and universal wholeism, greatly appeals to me. For me a simple reframing.

In 1802 Paley studied the evidence, of the existence of God, as seen in nature. Who can say what God is -- male, female, spirit, or nature.

I try to live my life to its fullest potential, in the best way I can, because if there is a God...heaven...hell...I'm gonna be ready!! And because altruism (so I've learned) brings reciprocity in others, and promotes the genetic fitness of my offspring (am I getting this), and because it gives my children a concrete basis for their lives (my own traditionalism).

Until now, there was a big piece missing, for me. I've worked for close to twenty years with terminal cancer patients. I've seen their hopes and despairs, and I've watched them die, each time taking a piece of me with them. At the time of their deaths, whatever their upbringing, most did not subscribe to any organized religion or pre-conceived images of God, but described a more universal power or force. Their churches were bordered by blue skies, green grass, and majestic trees. I've struggled to help them understand something I never fully understood. Mostly they helped me to understand. But I've now come to believe in a beauty and completeness in nature, of which I am an intricate part. And I also believe in the good feelings I experience when I am priveledged to share, with someone, their most intimate moment of dying. For me, this connectedness is God.

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