blogarama.com The Pensieve: Is God Testing Us?

Saturday, March 19

Is God Testing Us?

Another piece about looking at things perspectively.

Exactly to what extent are we 'built for survival'?. Sure, scientists (and well, I also) find it very interesting that the Earth has all the requirements for survival of humans and other animals. It's seemingly extraordinary that Earth is at the right distance from the Sun, has the correct tilt of it's axis to create seasons, has the correct balance of gases in the atmosphere, has an abundance of water in it's liquid state and all the animals that exist on Earth smoothly fit into food chains, thereby helping each other to continue to survive.
Then let's go to a smaller level. To help us digest food we have hydrochloric acid and other gastric juices; to hide from predators chameleon can change colour to camouflage themselves; to swing from tree to tree orangutan's have longer and stronger arms than legs; to compensate for weak sight bats have excellent hearing capability; to hold tools efficiently monkeys and humans have longer fingers than most other species...then here's an example I find really interesting, taken from Physics of The Impossible: 'Foxes, dogs, tigers, and lions have eyes that are on the front of their face in order to judge distance when they pounce on their prey. With two eyes, they can use 3-D stereo-vision to lock on to their prey. Prey, such as deer and rabbits, on the other hand, just have to know how to run. They have eyes that are on the side of their face in order to scan for predators 360 degrees around them.'
All these examples makes one think. Surely all this is way too much to be just a coincidence? It would be ridiculous to suggest after being aware of so many more examples like these that it is through mere chance that we exist today, right? After all, the odds become progressively smaller as we state each factor that has helped us to survive. Doesn't this suggest that there's concrete proof that some supernatural force, maybe a God, that controls everything around us as well as us?
But let's look at the other side of the coin, a side which many people didn't think existed. If this supernatural force had built us specifically for us to survive, then why is it that not even a single person is devoid of flaws? We tend to voluntarily get into arguments, start wars and kill each other, let alone kill other animals. Foods that are nutritious (and help us survive) - vegetables, garlic, juice from tulsi leaves - do not taste as good as foods that slowly poison us...Pepsi, fudge, cakes, chocolates (to be accurate, chocolates are beneficial when taken in small amounts). There is also drugs and smoking. People are obsessed with them because it gives them temporary relief and makes them feel 'cool' in society.
So what's the verdict? Is there some supernatural force controlling the elements? If there is, then why are we easily seduced by things that harm us? Is it a moral test, a test of our willpower that everyone is obliged to take from the moment they are born?

17 comments:

  1. i wud say dat yea god is der..n he made us ol imperfect so dat v learn how to survive...n he gave us our own flaws so no 2 ppl live d same life or think d same way...dis is wat makes dis world so interesting to live in..
    v get seduced to harmful things coz dose act lyk small challanges in lyf..so yeah v r being tested..
    nicely written..:):)

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  2. Why couldn't he teach us how to survive straight away instead? Take the example of a Komodo dragon hatchling. If it hatched after its mother died, then it is forced to take care of itself. And this actually happens!:O Purely by instinct, it looks for a shady spot, or a water body, to hide from predators...
    no 2 people are alike, thats a nice way of putting it:)
    and why do we need small challenges in life? You might say to keep us active and alive...But some challenges can kill us, like use of drugs. And if God made us perfect, we shouldn't need to worry about becoming lazy and chubby by being inactive.....
    and thanks:-)

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  3. different ppl learn different ways...sum straight away n sum thru smal smal things wich dey come across in lyf...dats wat i think..

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  4. god exists. The evidence is too strong to even consider denying it. But spoon-feeding isn't how god likes it. This is what i think. When we are born, we aren't born perfect, i guess you've realized that know. There is always scope to improve, to learn new stuff, to develop and improve abilities that are absent or already exist. Life would be too dull if it would be perfect. There are two forces that work. One is controlled by god and he exercises it as you've mentioned above. Then there's something called free-will. Thats where we come in. We have the power of choice. God's given us options, its our time to exercise our power and live our life.

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  5. Well how do you know what God likes? We, mere human beings shouldn't be insolent enough to try and read his mind.
    And life may not be dull, but it isn't a bundle of joy either...it's full of hardships, like the recent tsunami..

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  6. @palak: well yes, that is what is happening right now, but my point is that its an easier life for us if we knew it straight away, right?

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  7. GOD..hmm..Just a word.not something,someone,somewhere,somehow.but just a word introduced by our ancestors which i believe humans created so that they can classify themselves different based on their religion.i personally dont think god even exists.if he did.we would have proof.but we dont have it.we just have scientific explanations and theories explaining that he exists.who wants to believe that crap?but since its coming down from generations and it seems like a tradition.people follow it.i do belive theres some supernatural force..but thats it.that exists.everyone would agree.but to term that force as god is wrong.theres this saying that god has given each person a different ample amount of whatever a person would desire.but due to human greed its never enough is it? people have flaws.yes they do.but is anyone perfect here?then again we are humans and we make mistakes.we are imperfect and that what makes us stand apart. drugs and all? people do think its "cool" again a man made thing right?neways what those people dont realize is that "coolness" wont remain long and theyd eventually die one day because of addiction.i think it all comes down to to this.believe what you want to believe. Havent you experienced that you wanted something and you couldnt get it?its life and ow it is.where is god?he does nothing because he doesnt EXIST..

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  8. very well said hexile:)...thats what i think...i dont think God exists, but there's no denying there's some superior force that we do not yet understand...

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  9. I have been an atheist as far as i can remember. But that is because believing in someone i dont know personally dosent make sense to me at all. But what most people ignore when saying that there is no proof for god is that there is no proof that god does not exist either. A famous Turkish writer i recently read gave some really sensible points which can make even an unbeliever think twice. I believe that there is an instinct inbuilt in humans for a need to be in control of superior forces. Maybe in a few days some scientists might find a hormone that creates a sense of religiousness( they recently found one that causes jealousy). This might be explain why people suddenly start praying unconsciously when in trouble or under pressure.
    But seriously the whole coincidence thing is mind boggling. But evolution might have had something to do with it.
    If you are thinking about why there are flaws in human nature, there is an excellent hypothesis called the Zoo Hypothesis. It says that aliens have created this universe so that they can simulate problems and learn how things move along in different situations. Like experiment that we do on apes to learn about human evolution.
    Or another thing i just thought up right now is that maybe the universe is a living thing. It evoluted itself to make life possible on it( this explains the axis and the atmosphere and other stuff). Maybe it is a symbiotic relation ship. For the universe to exist there should be a perfectly balanced life system going on it.

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  10. Why does the's universe's existence depend on life forms being present in it? Without life forms there are still stars, planets, blackholes...

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  11. I was just speculating there. There is nothing existing in this world which we cant call worthless. Just think of it as the bacteria in siboglinid tube worms. Both cant live without each other. The bacteria digests the food for the worm and the worm gives it a home. You cant question as to why the worm needs to eat food to live. Or why does the bacteria need a home. These are supposed to be taken for granted. To speculate on a topic there should be a few fixed parameters or else we can just imagine what ever we want.
    Anyway why this sudden existential crisis?
    have you been seeing fight club too many times?

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  12. @adhitya: very true, we can't take anything for granted...
    and no there isn't any existential crisis:D...this is just another random thought...
    and Fight Club i know its rated as a legendary movie, but i didnt like it that much...it was a bit too dark...

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  13. seriously???...Which dark do you mean? dark in scope or dark in nature? Try reading the book. May be you will like it. How do you like your movies then?

    And dude, i said we should take somethings for granted while speculating on a topic.

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  14. dark in nature...
    i generally dont like horror movies, (im not saying fight club was horror:P), so you get my drift...

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