It's fantastic news that the miners trapped underground in Chile since the 5th of August are now being rescued. As I write this blog half of them are already out to scenes of jubilation, relief and high emotion.
Many are hailing it a miracle and the work of god.
But lets have a reality check here. Would any benevolent god have put them in that position in the first place? If you asked a christian why it happened in the first place they'd probably say it was god's will or some kind of bizarre test of faith.
The real reason the 33 miners are being lifted to safety is man kinds ingenuity, resourcefulness and pragmatism, added to the fact science has played a major role. Whilst the miners thank god for their release they really ought to be thanking their fellow human beings first who have worked tirelessly to make it possible.
You have to imagine if the world was more of a theocracy and less scientific, the miners would have been trapped down there with no hope of rescue, a million and one prayers could not have saved them.
As a humanist I look at my past, look at my health problems. I nearly lost my sight aged 13, later in life I needed hip surgery. Had it not been for the advent of science and man kinds involvement in amazing breakthrough's I would have been a blind cripple. It was man's knowledge and compassion that saved me.
This is where mankind beats any god and is master of his own destiny. What god would wish any hardship on any individual only for man to rectify it? It's clear proof there is no god because such actions would be a totally pointless exercise. In the past human tragedy and disasters were labelled 'gods will' because there was no better way to explain things. Today's heroic rescue and the bravery of those 33 miners is credit to human resources and courage and clear proof we don't need to look to any god to determine our fate.
It's incidents like this that increase my belief in humankind and what we are capable of when we believe in ourselves. And this is why I am a humanist.
Many are hailing it a miracle and the work of god.
But lets have a reality check here. Would any benevolent god have put them in that position in the first place? If you asked a christian why it happened in the first place they'd probably say it was god's will or some kind of bizarre test of faith.
The real reason the 33 miners are being lifted to safety is man kinds ingenuity, resourcefulness and pragmatism, added to the fact science has played a major role. Whilst the miners thank god for their release they really ought to be thanking their fellow human beings first who have worked tirelessly to make it possible.
You have to imagine if the world was more of a theocracy and less scientific, the miners would have been trapped down there with no hope of rescue, a million and one prayers could not have saved them.
As a humanist I look at my past, look at my health problems. I nearly lost my sight aged 13, later in life I needed hip surgery. Had it not been for the advent of science and man kinds involvement in amazing breakthrough's I would have been a blind cripple. It was man's knowledge and compassion that saved me.
This is where mankind beats any god and is master of his own destiny. What god would wish any hardship on any individual only for man to rectify it? It's clear proof there is no god because such actions would be a totally pointless exercise. In the past human tragedy and disasters were labelled 'gods will' because there was no better way to explain things. Today's heroic rescue and the bravery of those 33 miners is credit to human resources and courage and clear proof we don't need to look to any god to determine our fate.
It's incidents like this that increase my belief in humankind and what we are capable of when we believe in ourselves. And this is why I am a humanist.
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