I was perusing last.fm and noticed a recommended Rush music video. I’m not sure if it was officially commissioned, but it was made by some guy named Bobby who’s obviously talented:

I must give the guy major props not only for the slick production, but also the impressive research that went into making those trees.  Would make a cool wallpaper if he’d publish the graphics he used.  Anyway, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I wanted to write some thoughts on the content of the video.  Whether or not it got Rush’s blessing (wouldn’t surprise me if it did…the band and especially lyricist Neil Peart are openly agnostic/atheist), the content is definitely provocative and worthy of a response.

As you can see, the gist of the video is to portray the secular perspective of religion.  And from the angle given in this video, it’s pretty convincing.  When you look at Christianity, or any specific religion, in the context of all the others surrounding and intertwining with it, it sounds absurd to say that one little branch is true while all the others are false.  The obvious secular conclusion: cut ‘em all down and embrace reason!  It sure sounds logical, and with all the religiously-motivated war and strife in the world, as though it would sure make the world a better place.  I think the South Park guys did a good job of exposing the folly in this suggestion, as the following clip from the “Go God Go XII” episode illustrates:

Still, human reason has indeed brought much good into the world.  The worldwide standard of living continues to increase thanks to advances in science and technology, and the democratization of information by the internet continues to empower the poor and oppressed to enact positive change.  But those examples of positive advances can be countered with just as many negatives.  Nuclear weaponry, identity theft, government censorship, piracy, breaches of security, etc. are also technological achievements that were the product of human reason, logic and skill.  This only goes to show that science and even human reason are merely tools.  Reason itself is not “good” or “evil” in the context of a godless existence, because such terms have only relative meaning.  One atheist might define good as whatever makes the world a better place, and apply his powers of reason to advance others at the expense of himself.  Another atheist might define good as whatever makes his life better, and apply his powers of reason to advance himself at the expense of others.  Still another might define good as whatever furthers his secular beliefs, and apply his powers of reason to fight religion in the name of scientific truth.

All this is to say that the video above only paints one part of the picture.  Yes, the history of “religion” is a convoluted maze.  But the “axe of good” isn’t secularism.  Nevermind the fact that “good” has no meaning in such a worldview, but there isn’t even one worldview wielding the axe.  Rather, there’s another tree of beliefs, which likewise has a multitude of variations.  While none of them may acknowledge the existence of a god or gods, they still have them.  Whether it’s faith in nature’s ability to choose and improve life, or faith in mankind’s ability to attain and apply knowledge, or in science’s ability to explain our existence, or any number of other objects in which to trust, atheism is as much a tree of belief as religion is.  There is no absolute truth in nature, because there is ultimately no natural explanation for existence.  To an honest atheist, life is a mystery with no meaning.  We’re here by chance, evolved from matter whose origin we can’t explain, and we’ll just cease to exist when we die.  Our purpose in life extends no further than to amuse ourselves, and perhaps others, for the brief period with which we have breath.  That’s it.

Still, the faithless seek meaning in life as anyone does.  For some, their purpose is to better themselves and/or loved ones through work, hobbies, personal interactions, etc.  For others, their purpose is to proselytize their recognition of our purposelessness so we may all reap the benefits of reason unhindered by religion.  In either case, centuries of human history bear out the futility of both efforts.  Mankind has been trying to advance himself since we came into being.  Yet for all the technological advances of today, war, disease, stress, discontent, divorce, suicide, bigotry, etc. are as alive an well in the Scientific Age as they were in the Dark Ages.

Although most religions are at least honest about the need for a purpose and an absolute standard by which to measure our performance, their definitions nevertheless fall into the same category as the arbitrary definitions of secular humanists.  Almost universally, they command humans to keep trying to do better by one means or another.  Maybe it’s philanthropy.  Maybe it’s personal advancement.  Maybe it’s peaceful meditation.  Maybe it’s violent jihad.  But each involves a human effort that will at best be a marginal success.  Finding true fulfillment will never come from a human effort because, as history clearly shows, our efforts of making the world a better place continually fail.  Scientific advancement may have changed the tools we can use, but the people using them haven’t changed.  We’re still messed up, and so is our world.

Although it may seem just another religion in the timeline of human history, Christianity is in fact the “axe of good” that can chop down the creeds of the world with one simple concept: a Supernatural Savior.  At the heart of Christianity is a recognition that mankind is broken and can’t fix itself.  Although it does have an absolute standard for good (God), we aren’t expected to live up to it.  Instead, we have a Savior who gives us his righteousness so we appear perfectly good before his Heavenly Father. Our purpose is merely to live life to the fullest in gratitude for this gift, and the Bible gives an outline for how best to do this. But whether we succeed or fail is irrelevant to the ultimate destiny of those who call on the name of Christ, which is to live eternally with Him. Christianity stands alone as the only God-centric worldview there is, because mankind is in no way responsible for his salvation.  Other religions focus on human effort just as much as secular humanism, they simply use divine language to justify it.