God's Debris

УWhy do people have different religions? Ф I asked. УIt seems like the best one would win, eventually, www.store-baby.ru and weТd all believe the same thing. Ф

The old man paused and rocked. He tucked both hands inside his red plaid blanket.

УImagine that a group of curious bees lands on the outside of a church window. Each bee gazes upon the interior through a different stained glass pane. To one bee, the churchТs interior is all red. To another it is all yellow, and so on. The bees cannot experience the inside of the church directly; they can only see it. They can never touch the interior or smell it or interact with it in any way. If bees could talk they might argue over the color of the interior. Each bee would stick to his version, not capable of understanding that the other bees were looking through different pieces of stained glass. Nor would they understand the purpose of the church or how it got there or anything about it. The brain of a bee is not capable of such things.

УBut these are curious bees. When they donТt understand something, they become unsettled and unhappy. In the long run the bees would have to choose between permanent curiosityЧan uncomfortable mental stateЧand delusion. The bees donТt like those choices. They would prefer to know the true color of the churchТs interior and its purpose, but bee brains are not designed for that level of understanding. They must choose from what is possible, either discomfort or self-deception. The bees that choose discomfort will be unpleasant to be around and they will be ostracized. The bees that choose self-deception will band together to reinforce their vision of a red-based interior or yellow-based interior and so on. Ф

УSo youТre saying weТre like dumb bees? Ф I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

УWorse. We are curious. Ф