What should be the goal of mankind as a whole?

Or should we wander aimlessly as a species?

I often get frustrated with the religious forums because it seems that all we ever discuss is our own personal views of god and/or what god expects from us individually.

But what about the bigger picture?

Is it the fact that we can’t all agree on how to think of god that is preventing us from moving forward as a species?

In the United States, and much of Europe, Christianity is the major religion. However, there is nothing in the Christian Bible that speaks of any specific goal for mankind in general. It seems to be focused entirely on person salvation. Life as if saving one’s self from eternal damnation is the sole purpose of life. About the only directive the Biblical that God ever gave mankind as a whole, was, “Be fruitful and multiply”.

But even that directive seems to get lost in the whole scheme of personal salvation. I mean, the focus of the New Testament is all about seeking personal salvation and personal morals.

But what of the “Be fruitful” part?

What should mankind be striving toward as a species?

Unfortunately that issue seems to be completely lost, or deemed unimportant. In fact, many people believe that we are in the “end times” or whatever. They seem to think that all we need to do is sit around and wait for God to do something. Like that’s all there is to life. Just get our own personal salvation in order and then sit around and wait to see what God does with us?

We are over-populating the earth. We say that “pollution” is the problem. But if there weren't so many people polluting, then pollution wouldn't be a problem. In a very real sense we can actually say that the real problem is not pollution at all, but rather over population. We aren’t even thinking about curbing our population growth. In fact, from a purely religious point of view some people would even argue, “Hey, God said to be fruitful and multiply!”

Do we just keep multiplying with total disregard for the fact that we are putting a strain on the planet we live on? Earth really is just a self-contained spaceship when you stop and think about it. The only thing that is protecting us from outer space is a very thin layer of air and an even thinner layer of Ozone.

Yet, here we are worrying solely about saving our butts from being sent to hell and totally ignoring the fact that we have evolved to a stage where we have genuinely become the complacent maintenance crew of our spaceship Earth.

Who’s at the helm? Where’s Piccard? I sure hope George Bush isn’t flying this thing!

When, if ever, will all the nations on earth combine into a single human species with a common goal?

When are we going to wake-up to the fact that we are in control of our own destiny? When are we going to quit sitting around waiting for Jesus to come back and save us a second time?

When are we going to take on some RESPONSIBILITY for our own actions as a species?

Have we really evolved beyond the thinking of the dinosaurs yet? Or have we just deluded ourselves into thinking this is the case?

Can we survive as a species while we remain separate in our religious views?

And if we all agree to be only one religion would it really help if all that religion is concerned with is saving our own individual butts from hell and continuing to sit around copulating until we smother our planet out of existence.

Where is the MASTER PLAN for MANKIND????

Could it be that the prophecy of the end-times will self-fulfill simply because we aren’t doing anything but sitting around copulating whilst we wait for it to happen?

Anyone have any thoughts?

So now what do we do?

Hmmmm...I can't speak for the species....and wouldn't attempt to.

I can speak for me....teach my children all I know, then ask them to challenge it, question it, discard what is not appropriate to them, and develop their own understandings, then act on them.

I can walk my talk, and lead by example, and do all I can to be the best me, that I can be....and support my children, emotionally, and spiritually into their inherited future.

My opinion, the bible and all other religious books were written in another time with different values, issues, family structures, ecomonic and social differences, visions of the world and the people as a whole was a completely different concept back then. How can it apply to today? I mean with the exeption maybe of something as simple as the ten commandments, but other than that it is useless. Just my opinion, not stomping on anyones personal beliefs, of course.

So it would seem to me you are taking it too literally, ya think?

Dragoness wrote:
“So it would seem to me you are taking it too literally, ya think?”

I’m all for throwing the book away entirely and waking up to reality.

But in this thread, I'm really just looking to see what other people suggest.

"Waking up to reality"

Like religion that seems to be another area definition unknown or agreed upon.

Perhaps we should be fruitful and multiply. :)

Consider that we have eaten from the tree of knowledge. Let us be fruitful. Let us expand our knowledge. Let us fill the universe with intelligence. Allow us to wage holy war against the second law of thermodynamics and use the entirety of the mass/energy in the pursuit of supporting intelligence with the goal of one day uttering "let there be light." At that moment have we not consumed at long last from the tree of life?

In the meantime, multiply to preserve life.

some thoughts

What a concept - use different definitions for the directive.

KariZman felt we all needed to become vegetarians. This always prompts the thought with me (and maybe selfishly so, as I do love a good steak), if we end up competing with the cows for the vegetation (yes, I know technically different fodder, but just roll with this for a minute), we already killed off most of the natural eaters of the cows, so then what do we do with the overherd population???????

Perhaps they would over run us....

or in truth using this train of thought, Wench, anything that competes with the human species and threatens it's existance is exterminated.

So if the human species was vegetarian, and cattle threatened our food source, they would be ancient cave drawings in short time.

Ideally?

I'd like to get a group of well-meaning, well-funded individuals (hey, it could happen) and start a center for research and development in an out of the way area...

-A place where no combustion engines are allowed, so practical alternative fuels are required. ...No copping out with the donkey carts...
-Natural cures are researched by scientists who AREN'T funded by pharmaceutical companies...
-Organic gardening is developed, which is more effecient (better yield) and environmentally friendly.
-Businesses compete for civic and charitable recognition to lower their taxes. (Sponsored roadways, homeless shelters/rehab centers and foreign aid/emergency services.)

Basically an example, a place to make stewardship cool and profitable.

As for overpopulation being linked to "Be fruitful and multiply," He also gave us dominion... He left our sorry butts in charge. If you forfeit responsible care of the Earth, you forfeit the right to be a steward and your breeding by "God's orders" privileges are suspended.

Religious differences=war? Humanity needs to be knocked down a peg, pridewise. We (I'm included) need to get it through our skulls that we're ALL wrong.

DKW

Use the cattle surplus, combined with the prisoner surplus to feed the impoverished (by pulling plows), hopefully reducing our buttocular surplus.

A test case model of Utopia?

Where do I sign?

Mornin Jess

Hmm, as soon as we get done arguing over policy and recounting chads...

Ok.

Evening Jonathon.

TM sounds good, I'm in.

Cool beans.

Mornin' DK

Oh and Jess, I don't want to exterminate - we've already proven that's not the way to go. I'd prefer to figure out how to coexist, although who to listen to on what will actually work can be a bit of a quandry.

I keep picturing the emaciated cows it India and Africa - bothers me.

I'm a thread hog without saying a whole lot worthwhile.

Mornin' TM!!

Hmmmm...I keep picturing the obese westerners and the emaciated children in Africa...

and wonder where the balance is.

Overpopulated anything becomes a strain on the earth...overuse of anything places strain on the earth.

What do we do now?


We do as we have been doing, we continue to evolve, perhaps our ability to steward will begin to catch up with our ability to destroy.

Of course at this point in history that does feel a bit like saying "so goo so far" during a state of freefall.