Prayer is Evil

The term "evil" has been redefined over ages past. The very first definition of "evil" we encounter is an action or some sentient entity which inflicts harm on another entity (regardless of sentience) or basically something downright immoral. The concept of morality itself is pretty vague because of the issue of subjectivity, hence "evil" is redefined.

The evil of lying and murder can be justified by the reason they are committed, as the concepts of "white lies" and "eye for an eye" stand. Committing such atrocities for no reason other than promoting the life of others is then considered evil. Hence, evil is defined as an act that benefits the minority while oppressing the majority.

By the definition of Christians themselves, selfishness is evil. *

The act of prayer is rather questionable. It is the act of wishful thinking and meditation. A person would usually pray for others to create a good image for himself, showing others that he is doing something when he is actually doing virtually nothing at all. Instead of acting on the problem as directly as possible, the person merely sits down, puts his hands together, and thinks a lot while muttering, giving himself the impression that he is "helping".

What does one get from prayer? A hollow sense of self-satisfaction. What do others get? Nothing. They don't even receive any telepathic consolations or whatsoever. Moreover, these people suffer while the praying people already feel satisfied. This is better defined by the words "hypocrisy" and "slacktivism". What can we conclude from all this? Read the title.

* Disclaimer: I don't subscribe to this belief. I subscribe to this one.

Infinity Paradox

Imagine a circle, for example. Say the circle's circumference is 2m. Take a 2m arc from it and you'll get the whole circle. Now take another circle with a 4m circumference; a 2m arc would be half of its circumference. With 8m, a 2m arc would be a fourth, and so on...



As we can see, as the size of the circle increases, a 2m arc from the circle loses its curvature, approaching the image of a straight line. If we put the earth beside the sun, it would appear that the sun has a flat surface, more so if we put the earth beside VY Canis Majoris, the largest star known as of now.

Let's now think of what would happen if the circle is of "infinite" size. What would the 2m arc look like? A straight line? Logically, yes if we apply basic calculus.

Here's another example. A regular polygon with three sides is an equilateral triangle; four sides, a square; five, a pentagon; et cetera. As the number of sides increases, the more it smooths out to become a round object. Set it to a polygon with infinite sides and it would become a circle, something that doesn't fit into the definition of a polygon.

But as common sense dictates, there is no such thing as a circle with a straight arc or a polygon with a round edge, is there? A circle can only be a single curved line and a polygon can only have straight sides. Moreover, it is hard to visualize "infinite". Visualizing a googol is hard enough, much less a googolplex... but infinite? Something with infinite attributes - size, power, intelligence, or age - just can't exist as far as reality is concerned.

Failure to live in the present

Mankind, in general, is obsessed with the infinite, as I had said in my previous rants. What else can be more virtually infinite than time itself?

People are obsessed with the future. A child is guaranteed a "good future" by his parents and as he grows up, he strives hard to ensure a future for himself and his descendants. Not that there is anything wrong with that, is there? Actually, there is.

The future is a big uncertainty and with uncertainty comes fear. This phobia sends humans into a frenzy that they focus on nothing else but that fear. Instead of overcoming that fear, it turns into some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder. To put it simply, as humans live their lives in ensuring a future, they fail to live in the present.

I'm not saying that planning is a bad thing. It's just that humans forget the purpose of life, which is to be lived and enjoyed, not to be wasted on a goal that can't be reached. The future will always be the future; once you move forward, the present becomes past and the future becomes present.

But ahead of you is still another future. Man must not become fixated in living in the future. Instead, man must let the future come to him so that he still lives in the present.

The present is now. There wouldn't be tomorrow if you don't live today. Carpe diem.