Religion for atheists.

by Leonid Sakharov

Religion as society institution for imposing moral values on its members is discussed to offer solution that is not contradict to science.

Disclaimer and warning: The material presented on this page could hurt feeling of true believers. Author is sincerely apologizing for any possible assault of anybody’s religion and asking to consider all this text as a sort of humor exercise or mind game. Whatever could make you feel good.
Better do not read ithis text at all.

After two millennia’s of triumph of the Christian religion which has created a modern civilization, it is just a time to invent something not so silly, but not less useful.

Religions as public institute have extremely important stabilizing value for a society as a whole and life of every individual in it.

The religion softens daily horror of comprehension of finiteness of existence for the believer and introduces meaning of the life: eternal pleasure after death for righteous persons threatening with never-ending oppress for sinister.

The society receives a theoretical substantiation of moral and can influence behavior of the members not by only rough compulsion, but also on the level of sub consciousness, promising the award in the life after life for God obeying behavior and an eternal penalty for crime. Each believer could add to these two main, from the point of view of the author, incentives of religion, something personal, but referred above motivations give more than enough reasons, for a substantiation of usefulness of any religion.

All widespread religions without exception have many lacks, one of which is seriously reduced their efficiency, namely the uttermost absurdity, obvious incompatibility with scientific findings. As the occasional practical Christian not to provoke inter-religious squabble that does not come at all in my intentions, I shall not touch any of currents competing to it. All of them, except for ancient human like Greeks Gods, are simply alien to me. As for sadomasochism legend about big daddy, conducting psychedelic exercise on his own son, the humanism can be deduced from it only with an exclusive overstrain of dialectic and oratorical abilities. Just as remark aside I would like to mention that a success of Christian religion is based on the manufacture of impression that the broad documented story of resurrection of Jesus gives scientific like proof of God existence. That is of course an self persuasive illusion only. The real scientific evidence of electricity is a switcher for light in every room. There is no such widespread devise in the religion.

It is enough to tell, that the best validation of religious belief: «I Believe, because it is an absurd », does not satisfy any person practicing a scientific method of knowledge. That is the traditional religion demands for simply belief, that essentially reduces its resistibility to criticism on the basis of common sense, and the Science even is not make dirty its hands, if, certainly, “scientific atheism” is not attribute to the Science.

Meanwhile, it seems to the author, that, making sign of the cross over, it is possible on a basis only one very daring hypothesis supported exclusively by its utility, to design internally consistent model which will possess all useful properties of religion, not entering into the direct contradiction with a Science, and will offend a common sense not too much.

Let’s presume, that any material object has a replica that is also material, but extremely light and has almost none influence on the behavior normally observed matter, in religious terminology it’s spirit or soul. Gratitude to God, a science has supplied by present time number of so insufficiently studied objects for a role of the material carrier of soul, so as soon as unfitness one of them will be proved, at once there will be another candidate to choose from. Just for example here are two most successful on taste of the author nominees for a role of the material carrier of soul: structures of cold neutrinos (Lem’s 'Solaris') and soliton’s of fields of probability in quantum mechanics. The choice was made by criterion of the unproved impossibility of existence; practical not levels for scrutiny and artistic harmonies. Physicists in this place urgently are asked to not lecture how to live but better to support financially instead.

Let’s declare, several properties, these structures should to possess, to the purposes of building of the further construction. The topology of these structures should carry the information, first of all, but not only, about their carrier, a heavy matter. They should have an opportunity to exist independently, at least for limited time. Not bad to proclaim, that stability and time of their independent existence is proportional to their information charge.

After death of a person and destruction of the material carrier of his soul, the destiny of its information replica can have some variants: - Self-destruction because of primitiveness in time from three to nine days and without traces after forty; - The information structure of the carrier appears so refined, that will allow soul to exist independently essentially longer - up to years with preservation of individuality; - Embedding in more complex structure, increasing its stability. Partial or full vanishing of individuality; if it was recognized before death, of course; - Association of several structures with achievement of a critical level of stability.

It is easy to recognize in stable spiritual structure an analogue of Cathedral Soul. It is enough to make only one-step further and to consider, that it and is the God. It is interesting, that the First Commandment about the One and Only One God can then be interpreted, as the declaration on a resolute victory of one of them above competitors or self-advertisement as a intermediate result of natural selection of Them.

Let's think about, what properties the God if He(?) (or She?? or IT???!) should appear to be synthesis of the souls of died people these are capable to incorporated into their God. It cannot be more informed, than mankind as a whole. Even, if to allow an opportunity of direct adsorption of information from souls of living people, knowledge of the God has to be limit by current knowledge of mankind. It is not too promising, but also it is bizarre to wait miracles from anybody including the God.

Almightiness of God/Gods is obvious exaggeration. A maximum power which it is possible to give to such kind of creature, it is statistically poorly distinct increase in frequency of lightning discharges in places of concentration of sinners, whatever meaning the word sin we will give assume (dissidents?), and creation of an information field through which the God can distribute its favorite ideas in a form of prophetic dreams, for example.

Gods associated with different religions, can have specific preferences in behavior, and also in a choice of souls for embedding in them after death of their carrier bodies. Amusingly enough could be the situation of unpleasant realization after death of souls of religious fanatics that they were completely wrong about what exactly the God want from them. God can be bored up to complete absence of interest in their fairy tales, and the spirit of the atheist – encyclopedia knowledge scientist can long and without painfully fast destruction of his personality chatting stories to the God, imperceptibly incorporating in It as a important part.

The conclusion in form of toast evidently can be done about what kind behavior in this world can provide prosperity on that - « Let's live in this word in that way to get something to recollect at that». It is needless, though and harmless to notice, that the God should be interest in all aspects of a material world, including social and sexual. The souls interested these should be interested by God in are not necessarily belongs to scientists, but they can be as well souls of the adventurers or porn-stars or other interesting people. It is not interested in hearing by heart Bible declamation -what’s new it will tell to the God. Most moral behavior in that formulation is the aspiration to expand knowledge in general and promotion to do the same of all associates in this noble business.

Many interesting interpretations would be possible to expand as a to result of implementation of this concept: about interaction and evolution of religions and Gods; whether the God is immortal or extinction of mankind means His will end too. Probably here we can find an explanation why we were able to avoid nuclear war. But conjectures by the author about these questions would not promote free evolution of this idea in general. And with dogmatism it is necessary to struggle resolutely.


Initially submitted in 1999 at Russian forum at Russian

This article was initially published at Russian forum msk.ru most possible at early 1999. This forum was good and later dead. I don't think its archives are on web now. I find two mentions about this article: 1 and 2 these are still live.

The title was partially adopted in this book I did't read:

After time being the article is still actual and probably not for me but for occasional reader. I am personally move farther and going to write about the topic and related ideas in expand manner.

Dec. 5, 2017; 10:07 EST

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