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I have to disagree with Nietzsche's statement that "God is dead." To the contrary, he is alive and well in the hearts of many. You see his presence every day on the bible-thumping websites and television shows preaching about the end of the world. You see his presence all over the world in the eyes of fanatics who do monstrous things in his name. You see his presence in the religious right preaching hellfire and damnation upon all who do not represent their idea of a "Christian".

What people need to realize to get past all of this is that God is not dead, he is merely irrelevant. Modern society does not need God to instruct them on right and wrong. That knowledge comes from within. Religion was invented by men to satisfy a need. They initially needed a way to bring law and order into early civilizations. When man was just starting to settle into tribes, and starting to form villages, there was no order. People did as they would, and that caused a lot of problems. So, they created gods to keep them in line. To keep them from stealing, murdering, and other crimes. Religions were also a way to explain scientific matters that were beyond the grasp of early man (such as the sun, the moon, the stars, and why the sky is blue).

As man progressed, and became more self-aware, religion was still used to control, but the motivations of the controllers became more suspect. Wars were fought in the name of religion. People were accused of heresy and put to death when they disagreed with the established monarchy of the church. People fled religions just to start new ones. People were threatened with damnation (or worse) if they did not follow the state religion, and were promised salvation if they did, no matter what their moral standing actually was.

But, with the level of self-awareness that modern man (and by that I mean the human race) has achieved, religion is no longer necessary to control. We have secular governments all over the world that do a fine job without imposing religious values. There are successful, moral people all over the place who do not attend church regularly, do not consider themselves "religious", and have no worries over hell or damnation. They do what they do because it is right and it is just. Those inherent moral values do not change with or without religion, and can be distorted in either sense.

Horrible things have been done and are still being done in the name of "God". Wars are waged, people are murdered, hateful things are said. If humanity is ever to move forward, we need to let go of the "God" concept, and embrace that inner knowledge and inner guidance are enough now. That we don't need an all-powerful guiding light in order to do the right thing, and to create a great society. The time for God has passed, and mankind has got to realize that. There is more power in knowledge than there is in blind faith.

Learn more about this author, Cameron Chapman.
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