One extreme example of this is ISIS. Many join, and many
will not escape alive. However, our beliefs can kill more subtly. What we think
about ourselves can kill us.
Many years ago, after taking LSD, I lost the awareness that
I was a human who could die. I could easily have jumped out of a window,
thinking I could fly.
However, we can lose awareness of who we are, with deadly
consequences, without taking LSD.
In a vain attempt to dismiss the existence of God, many have
opted for materialism - the belief that only a physical reality exists.
However, this belief entails other beliefs - that everything is determined by
the laws of science. Consequently, everything is predetermined by these laws.
As a result, they are convinced that freewill is only an illusion.
Some even relish this belief. If they do not have freewill,
then they couldn't have acted otherwise, and they cannot be held accountable
for their behavior.
Although this might serve to mitigate feelings of shame and
guilt, it also carries unintended lethal baggage. For one thing, they have also
relinquished their right to hold others accountable. Along with this, they have
sacrificed vital concepts like justice, retribution, honor, dignity, courage,
meaning, and any purpose for their lives.
But do these sacrifices kill? They will kill relationships.
What are you going to tell your wife, when she accuses you of pushing her? Are
you going to apologize? You cannot honestly apologize if you believe that you
couldn't have done otherwise. But how then can there be reconciliation with
your wife?
Nor can you require your children to apologize. After all,
they too couldn't have behaved otherwise.
You can instead decide: “I will apologize and will require
my children to apologize even though we couldn't have done otherwise.”
However, to apologize contradicts your worldview. It admits
that your worldview fails to address the needs of your life. It is therefore
dysfunctional and should be exchanged for a worldview that reflects reality and
serves as a guide for life.
The denial of freewill and accountability kills in other
ways. It tells criminals that they are not responsible for their rapes and
murders. It even tells them that they lack the freewill to improve.
Perhaps, even worse, it teaches cynicism. It tells them that
they do not deserve punishment, because their crimes had been pre-programmed
into them.
If so, they will wonder why they are being punished if they
couldn't have acted otherwise. They will regard our system of justice is hypocritical.
Such an awareness will not inspire change and personal responsibility.
Instead, we need to be nourished with a coherent rationale
for responsible living. Without this, I fear that our society cannot long
endure. And why should we even care if we cannot do otherwise?
Should we deprive such people of the vote, a vote that is no
more than a chemical-electrical reaction! And when deprived, should we take
their complaint seriously?
This is not a flippant remark but a reality. To deny
freewill is to deny that we are responsible and moral agents. It is also to
seriously degrade humanity. If this human machine fails to respond in socially
acceptable ways, why not simply deposit us in the city dump with the rest of
the garbage!
What then happens to our concepts of human dignity, human
equality, and human rights! One secular scholar insisted that pragmatic
considerations are enough to maintain these necessary principles. However, when
pragmatism reigns supreme, it is inevitable that those in power will chose what
benefits them.
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