Hell

Posted by on

“14% of men believe that they’ll end up in hell, if it exists, as do 6% of women”.   (YouGov poll)

If you have the self-knowledge to know that you are destined for Hell, you are almost certainly there already.  Of course there is a hell – but it is in your head.  It is about living a life of selfishness and greed; a life of cheating and dishonesty, bullying and unkindness to others, and somehow knowing it.  It is about recognising in  your heart of hearts that you have hastened the death or disablement (or caused them) of other people, abused your own body, or lied and cheated throughout your life, and feeling uncomfortable about it.   Of  course, they wouldn’t admit all this publically, only to themselves in the course of a sleepless night.  What this 14% are picking up on is a half-digested teaching of organised religion, which invented Hell as a mechanism for controlling congregations in life and frightening them into approved behavior.

What you can say of the 14% is that at least they have owned up and are aware that they are sinners.  But it does make you wonder what proportion of men, in particular, would see themselves destined for  hell if they were absolutely honest.  And what about that (only) 6% of women?  Mmmmh!

The surprises of climate change

Posted by on

An ancient virus has “come back to life” after lying dormant for at least 30,000 years.  It was found frozen in a deep layer of the Siberian permafrost, 30m. under ground level.  After it thawed it became infectious again. It attacks amoebas, but appears to pose no danger to humans or animals. But other viruses could be unleashed as the ground becomes exposed.

The ancient pathogen, called Pithovirus sibericum, belongs to a class of giant viruses that were discovered 10 years ago, and is so large that, unlike other viruses, it can be seen under a microscope. And this one, measuring 1.5 micrometres in length, is the biggest that has ever been found.

Since the 1970s, the permafrost has retreated and reduced in thickness. Climate change projections suggest it will decrease further, is becoming more accessible, and is being eyed for its natural resources. Scientists warn that exposing the deep layers could expose new viral threats.  One such threat is an ancient strain of the smallpox virus, which was declared eradicated 30 years ago. It is possible that smallpox is not eradicated from the planet – only from the surface.

However, it is not yet clear whether all viruses could become active again after being frozen for thousands or even millions of years.  Professor Jonathan Ball, a virologist from the University of Nottingham, thinks it depends on whether they have an external protein shell, like foot and mouth and the common cold – that withstands repeated freezing and unfreezing . ” But if they do survive,  they need to find a host to infect and they need to find one pretty fast”.  (The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reported on the BBC website).

We tend to think that climate change is just about sea levels and food production. It seems we that collectively we haven’t a clue what we really face if the planet continues to warm. Common sense seems to suggest that action should be taken now, not left to chance.

As the Pope visits America, give religion its due

Posted by on

Does religion, in the words of Christopher Hitchens, “turn the world into an agglomeration of vindictive mobs”?   Look at the brutal, medieval ISIS, the competing religions in Northern Ireland, or the way that in rural America, if you don’t attend the local megachurch, you can be snubbed, excluded and treated as a pariah.

While Epicureans might regard the supernatural aspects of some organised religions with dismay – the doctrine, inflexibility and intolerance – no one will quarrel with the good “works”.  I am referring, for instance, to the huge efforts of the current Pope to reach out to the poor and excluded; the voluntary effort of thousands of christians to help and support thousands of moslem Syrian refugees; the nationwide effort of the churches of different persuasions to distribute food to the British poor; and the drive by moderate Israelis to counter the extremists and work with Palestinians (just four examples).  You have to admire the courage and selflessness of these people who quietly care for their fellow human beings with compassion and no judgement.  Epicurus would  have heartily approved. Epicureanism cannot be reflexively dismissive, like Hitchens, or it becomes as disagreeable and heartless as the faiths is it reacting to.

 

Don’t leave the EU – reform it!

Posted by on

“After WWII, Europe’s devastated nations had lost all interest in military glory: to protect themselves from a return to “conflict and destruction”, they sought to dethrone the old obsession with national sovereignty, by focusing instead on mutual cooperation. But today the ideal of closer integration is fading.

“There are worrying signs that even the most liberal-minded Europeans, beset by constant crises, are reverting to a nationalist mindset.  Take the Dutch. Until a few years ago, a visitor to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam could see tributes to Rembrandt, Vermeer and other great Dutch artists. Now, after a lengthy refit, one finds a boastful celebration of military victories of the Dutch navy over the French and British in the 17th century and the central role of Dutch troops in helping defeat Napoleon at Waterloo. How things have changed”.  (Dominique Moisi, de Volkskrant, Amsterdam).

The principal reason for this is that EU expansion has  gone too far.  I am an ardent supporter of the idea of the EU, but even I would support a down-scaling of ambition. The EU has become too big, unwieldy and bureaucratic. Not even experts understand the Agricultural Policy. The EU has strayed into matters best left to the constituent nations.  The inclusion of countries contiguous to Russia, and the stupid planning of a string of rocket sites along the Russian frontier, were always going to cause resentment in a Russia paranoid about its frontier security. And, sure enough, it has! (Thank you, the US and NATO).  Too many cultures, too many languages,  too many interests and too many opinions to take into account.

The latest poll shows that 51% of British people favour leaving the EU.   No!  Don’t leave it; reform it, root and branch. The EU was a great Epicurean project, now lost to ambition and paper-shuffling.  There is no magic in sheer size.

 

Darwin and the mobile phone

Posted by on

The Department of Head Posture at the University of Taunton has conducted an exhaustive study on the effects to the body of people constantly looking down at their mobile phones and tablets and adding to their Facebook pages.  72 % of all those between the ages of 16 and 38 walk through the street gazing raptly at their phones, and some 53% regularly have their heads down while out to dinner with spouses and  boyfriends, accompanied by mutual grunts.

“Constantly looking down is very bad for the posture and the back”, says professor Jane Furness, an expert in walking and standing upright. “The outlook is not good for the human race.  There are two distinct possibilities, either of which could start occurring within two generations:

  1.  Humans will bend lower and lower until they resume the posture of the great ape, which moves around with two hands on the ground.
  2. Human beings will develop eyes in the top of their heads so that they can see where they are going, because now they can’t”.

“These adaptations”, says Prof. Furness, “are fully in accordance with the work of Darwin.  Humans adapt to their environment, and some adapt quicker than others.  However, as Darwin points out, if individuals do not inherit these adaptive traits, they will not survive to reproduce themselves. Constant trauma to the brain caused by repeated collisions with stone walls, (or to phoneless people like the writer of this post),  is not compatible with with a long and healthy life.”