The strength of humanity is in the tale we tell; our ability to learn from the things we do and pass it down to our children.
Our unique intelligence is measured in our stories. We are the chimps who create narrative, invent answers and have the imagination to knit all life together.
We are alone in our ability to express wonder at the majesty of life and immensity of our universe.
Every culture on this planet has the creation myths and stories it has collected and passed down through long oral tradition right back to the depths of time. These stories are rich with mental emanations, characters, gods and stories that reflect the vast scope of our imagination. They embroider and enrich our lives.
As an antitheist I do not for a moment think that any of these stories are true; they are the fancies of vivid minds, scattered over the world, around camp-fires, set loose on the substance of a life, death and universe that is only partially understood. The gods, hobgoblins, elves, fairies and creatures of the night are fanciful. But they have enriched all our lives. We would be far poorer without them.
It is similar to the beauty of the temples, churches, mosques and cathedrals that adorn the world; the stupendous art and crafts that decorate the religious shrines and the wondrous music, dress, dance and culture that has sprung from religion. I adore its range, splendour and creativity without succumbing to the underlying absurdity of its many different gods and practices.
It is not quaint. It is human. We are gullible. Religion, worship and ceremony is hard-wired into our psyche. We fall for it in our millions. It is also tribal.
I travel the world to witness the splendour of our heritage. It tells the story of mankind. I can connect with my ancestors. I touch the stone circles, dolmens and quoits of antiquity and feel my place in this never ending story. We are part of it.
It is with great sadness I read of the destruction of the Bamiyam Buddha’s or the blowing up of Palmira. ISIS in their ignorance and religious fanaticism are busy trying to eradicate the past. They are intent on destroying the world’s heritage, or wiping out the human story. For them the only story is their story. It begins and ends one thousand years ago. Anything before is idolatry. Anything that is not of their story is sacrilege.
This is not only sad it is deplorable. The selfish, egocentric intolerance is abominable.
The logical conclusion is that if ISIS had their way they would attempt to wipe our the whole of human heritage; they would be setting their explosive devices on Stone-Henge and be detonating our cathedrals. There’s no end to their vandalism.
Islam will wither like all the religions before it. It will not, in the long run, disruption the human song, but it will cause immense harm.
That is why this warped fanaticism needs stamping out fast before it does more damage.
The saddest thing of all is that it is their own story that they are presently destroying, their own heritage they are ripping apart.
As long as there is one person left, there will always be a story…
Even when we are all gone our story will live on…..