JUNE 26, 2022 – (Cont.) “As I’ve said—I’m here to learn,” said the alien.
“Good! I’m not the best instructor you could’ve cornered, but I’m willing to try. However, before I fully wrap my head around the concept of leading you on a distant field trip, I have a bit more to say about the nature of religion in the human experience.”
“Please—yes, go on.”
“You see . . . say what you will about religion, but it’s probably the most human of all of our institutions—an irony, to be sure, since so many members of religion ascribe it to divine intervention of some kind, as if the Creator, the Life Force, the God of gods, somehow created or at least closely directed religion for humanity’s salvation and edification.”
The alien’s level humming began to fluctuate, as if I’d disturbed its sound system—again.
“I know you don’t believe in God or at least conceive God in the way we humans do.”
“To reiterate, let’s say your notions are quaint,” said the alien.
“We harbor a lot of quaint notions . . .” I said, taking another bite of the cookie.
“. . . but I’m not sure ‘quaint’ is an apt description of religion, unless you’re prepared to label all of humanity as ‘quaint.’ I mean, there’s something—a lot, actually—about our makeup that impels us in imponderable directions. Our demise, for example. Every single non-comatose human being who isn’t 100% mentally ill knows at some level that eventually life will end. The mystery of what follows the end of life and the coordinate question of ‘Why life in the first place?’ have hounded, fascinated, and preoccupied our species since evolution to the point of our having self-detected a soul—that is, introspection. Once humans started asking—and trying to answer—these questions . . . Voila! Supernatural forces appeared—or more accurately, were conjured by the human imagination. These forces were consolidated by story-telling that became legends that became ‘The Word’ that became Yahweh, God, and Allah. Organized religion followed as naturally as domestication of sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle—and a priestly class shepherding the masses under the direction of, or in coordination with, powerful political leaders.
“Once the holy men—and all were men, if not necessarily holy—donned their robes and created centers of worship made of bricks and mortar, people had a tangible manifestation of their purported connection with the Supreme Being. The rest is history, as we say.
“Aren’t you impressed?” I asked the alien, not feeling the least bit embarrassed or full of myself.
“I’m impressed that humans would create evidence to fit the necessity of proof.”
“Hmmm. Yes, that’s insightful, but as you observed earlier, we’re nothing if not imaginative. And what’s the source of our imagination, do you suppose? Is it entirely a product of biological evolution? Is it just some quirk of biological nature? Or does it not suggest that somewhere, somehow, beyond our plain, science-can-explain-it presence, there’s some element of a life force that doesn’t simply exist under the laws of the universe but actually directs those laws?”
The alien didn’t answer. Its low humming stopped, and its filaments projected a steady glow—blue and green, again, which I interpreted as the colors of contemplation. (Cont.)
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© 2022 by Eric Nilsson
