What we need more

The old professor said:

• Today we are going to debate the philosophy of religion. Theistic religions developed over many centuries and came to hold that people must believe in a God who created everything. The view of God has itself developed alongside the progress of science.
  At first, human beings could see only clouds, sky, rivers and mountains, so the ancient scriptures pictured God as dwelling somewhere in this sky. When science advanced and looked out into space, the image of God was raised to the scale of the universe: he had created the universe. When molecular biology flourished, God's power grew with it: God was the one who had created the extraordinarily intricate genetic code.
  Then missionaries added emotion to God: God loves humanity dearly and has given people dominion over the earth, which seems to allow them to eat other species, even though those species were also created by God.
  Missionaries also added a social element to the image of God: God has arranged each person's destiny.
  Anti-theist philosophers, for their part, argue to prove that such a God cannot exist. If God created everything, then demons, disease, natural disasters, the misfortunes of life and so on must also have been created by God. Even the unbelief of so many people must have been created by God (that is, God also created people who do not believe in him).
  They ask why God would hide his identity so thoroughly, leaving the clergy to struggle by every means, good and bad, to urge everyone to believe in such a God. If God had the power, he would be present at all times, so that people could come and visit him warmly, as children visit their parents.
  And if everything was created by God, then before that God simply existed, alone and solitary, and suddenly thought of creating everything for fun. What a laughable idea. What if one day God grew tired of this universe and wiped it all away to make another for fun? Would everything then be meaningless and temporary?
  Anti-theists maintain that the universe, matter and mind all exist of themselves, just as God would exist of himself (if there really were a God). If everything exists of itself and moves according to scientific principles, is there any need for God?
  What we can see is science, while God is only belief. To get an aeroplane off the ground we need science and engineering, not belief. Prayer does not make an aeroplane take off.
  That, broadly, is the reasoning on each side. Now let us divide the class in two. The left side will try to prove that God created everything, and the right side will try to rebut them. Then we shall see which side has the stronger case.

For four hours the two sides argued without end. The old professor dozed off at his desk. Only when one student rushed over and struck a classmate on the other side, and the whole class surged forward in a noisy brawl, did the old professor start awake. Professors from the other classrooms ran in to see what was happening. At last the fight stopped. There were torn clothes, blackened eyes and bleeding hands and legs.

The old professor apologised to his colleagues, saying he was tired and had fallen asleep, so he had not been able to steer and control the debate. The old professor said:

• In the end, what we need does not seem to be whether God exists or not, but practical ethics in daily life. What we need is food and clothing, schooling and knowledge, a civilised life, and kindness and love towards everyone. Having learnt from this, from now on let us be careful when we talk about religion, because it can easily cause conflict. We should keep the peace, wisely and nobly, for the benefit of the whole of human society. 🎎

What we need is ethics. What worries us is people who are so zealous in sowing belief that they do not care about ethics.
What we need is a stable and peaceful society. What worries us is people who defend their beliefs with violence.
What we need is objective knowledge. What worries us is people who exalt belief beyond measure.

What we need is people who cherish one another. What worries us is people who hate one another because of belief.
What we need is reason. What worries us is people who do not need reason, only belief...