How to be Kedar

If there is a God, I believe that this God is humble. He does not want to take credit for His own works. Why else would He be imperceptible?

God does not want you to know about Him. If it was the case, he would gather up all of humanity in closed space and say, “Okay, listen up. I’m God. And yes, I do exist. I created everything. I’m all powerful and all knowing and everywhere all at the same time. I’m kind of a big deal. Anyway, you should worship me. Oh, and here’s some flawless scientific evidence that I really am God and that I really do exist, for those of you who are atheists. You should feel pretty dumb for thinking I wasn’t real! That is all; you can get back to your daily lives now. If you have any questions, you can read all about it in this book that I wrote. Don’t forget what I just now told you, because it’s really really important. Okay? Have a good life, and I’ll see you again after you die!”

By the way, if there is a God, I believe this God has a great sense of humor. If He didn’t, I don’t think I would like Him very much.

I used an analogy yesterday, in an argument about the nature of God, that God is a black box.

think about this.

there’s a lot of the stuff in the world that I don’t know. I will admit that. can you admit that there is a lot of stuff in the world that you don’t know?

now let’s say that there is a mystery box, and we have to figure out what is inside. there is absolutely no way of opening the box, shaking the box, scanning the box with electromagnetic waves, taking the temperature of the box, smelling what’s inside the box, etc.

basically, you have no way of figuring out what’s inside this mystery box. that’s why it’s called a mystery box!

so you can talk about what you think is inside the box. one person thinks it’s a pair of underwear. another person thinks it’s a cat. another person thinks that it’s just an empty box. the funny thing is, a lot of people are really REALLY sure that they know what is or isn’t inside that box.

in computer science, this is called a ‘black box’.

God is a black box. how can you test whether or not there is a God?

a good answer – you can’t. but don’t despair. religion isn’t about proving. it is about giving and receiving hope and faith. it is about being kind and loving to other creatures. it is about enjoying the gift of life, and being grateful and forgiving. religion is about a lot of things – I can tell you what it isn’t about. religion isn’t about hurting other people. religion isn’t about taking other people’s money. religion isn’t about scaring people. religion isn’t about forcing a person to believe something.

if anyone can give me a solid proof that there is or isn’t a God, I can show how you are wrong. if you still want to try, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

now, you can have any kind of faith that you want. but you have to admit that there are things that you don’t know, and be comfortable with the idea that you might be wrong.

if you’re an atheist, maybe God does exist. If you’re religious, maybe God doesn’t exist.

Why am I here?

I don’t mean to sound depressed, because I’m not. I just wonder why I’m right here, right now. Look at me. Look at everything around. It’s like everything just randomly blipped into existence and time went on and here I am. what does it all mean? what is it all for?

I read that life was created because of negative entropy (negentropy for short). basically, the transition from the hot sun to the cold Earth creates the potential to work. The second law of thermodynamics says that the universe wants to make thermal energy less available to work. So life exists to export high entropy (by working and thereby giving off heat) while maintaining a low internal entropy. Life then evolves into more creative ways to accomplish that goal.

But really. Think about that. Do I really exist because laws of biology and physics say that I should? Do I exist only to work and to give off heat? That sounds depressing.

What is my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing?

Okay. Let’s assume that life really is all about negentropy.
Here are some scientific conclusions I can make, based on physical and biological laws:

1. We should be more active. Active people exert more energy. Life is about being lively – energetic, vigorous, enthusiastic. Active people also enjoy greater benefits: for instance, sexual appeal. Active people are also happier, and tend to achieve more in life. Life is survival of the fittest – so stay fit.
2. Get outside. If negentropy is created from the transition of the hot sun to the cold Earth, being out in the sun is a prime source for negentropy. Plus, nature is very beautiful.
3. Get rid of sources that drain you. energy drainers slow down productivity, and make life less enjoyable. there are a lot of things and people that can drain you – try to stay away.
4. We should maintain ourselves. The better we keep our life organized, the better potential we have for future work. We need to do what we can to keep ourselves healthy, active, in a good financial situation, etc. Life in the proto languages means ‘continuance’ and ‘perseverence’. That’s exactly what we should be doing – persevering.
5. We should look after others, and get them active too. The more we look after other people, the more entropy that can be given off. So we should make a lot of friends and be really close with family, help them out when they are in trouble, and be kind and loving to all life in general (including pets). We should also get people involved in social activities.
6. We should have a job that helps people – a job that keeps us active – a job that we love. It’s not enough to have a job that just keeps us busy. It is a psychological fact that if you love your job, you’re more likely to find a sense of meaning and purpose, and to be more successful than other people. A job that you’re good at, a job that you’re passionate about – that is best.
7. We should support a government that helps people. That’s basically the function of a government. I probably don’t have to explain this.
8. We should support initiatives that help people. More science is a good thing. Better technology is a good thing. Higher standards of education is a good thing. The government, social organizations, interest groups, and people in general should support causes that help people.
9. We should improve, and help others improve. The better we improve and adapt, the more likely we are to survive and thrive. There are a lot of ways to improve – to keep healthy, to learn more knowledge and skills, to have a good amount of money, etc.
10. We need to use less resources, and maintain the environment. If we use up all of the raw resources, life won’t exist. The environment affects everyone, so we don’t want to mess it up.
11. We should fall in love. Love is a mutual relationship that keeps people alive, healthy, and happy. True love is more than a feeling of love – it is acts of love.
12. We should have children (if it’s possible to look after them properly) and take good care of them. Children are a new source of negentropy. It is natural and good to have children, but only if it’s possible to take care of them.
13. We should follow the Serenity Prayer.
    “God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”
    If there is one thing we can learn from science, it is that everything happens for a reason. Some things we can and should change, others we can’t change. Whatever laws that the universe follows, whether we know it or not, it is much much bigger than any one of us. So instead of sitting around dwelling on the sad, we should get up and get glad.
14. We should get used to chaos and disorder. Physics and thermodynamics say that eventually everything will fall apart. There’s no way to stop that. In fact, as lifeforms, we are contributing to that process even when we aren’t consciously moving – for instance, the digestion of food. Naturally, we would fear disorder because it keeps us at a low entropy. However, sometimes things go wrong and we can’t do anything. rather than panic, it’s better to accept fate.