| Whenever we read the great tales of ghosts and | | | | natural world. Without desire or fear or sexual |
| goblins, of gods and their helpers, of priests, lore, | | | | impulses, an organism would not reproduce, and |
| and magic, we are always struck with the idea | | | | therefore, no other organisms with that mentality |
| that these spirits have emotions, that they are | | | | would be created, except by chance of reversion, |
| suffering from human frailties, and that they have | | | | which is very unlikely. My question is this: why is it |
| a will power. The origin of the idea of the soul, of | | | | that spirits and souls are endowed with these |
| the spirits and the gods, all comes from the most | | | | psychological aspects?In all of the stories I have |
| human desire: immortality, freedom from fear of | | | | read of the gods, I have uncovered all of these |
| death. As it so happens to be natural, humans | | | | impulses. I have encountered the sexual urge of |
| desire to avoid pain, suffering, misery, and death. | | | | the gods of Greece and Rome. I have discovered |
| The idea that death or the end of life is not really | | | | the ability to desire and feel accomplishment or |
| the end of life, and that a misery-less future | | | | disappointment in the gods and spirits of Animist |
| awaits those who die, this idea is a relatively | | | | cultures. It seems that there is no god, excepting |
| attractive one. With an afterlife, there is no death, | | | | the god of Deism, that has no interest in being |
| so it is easy to see why one might enjoy such a | | | | involved with the people who believe in him. The |
| theory, regardless of the lack of any evidence | | | | Christians believe their god will save them. The |
| whatsoever. Since this idea in an afterlife | | | | Hindus believe their god will reincarnate them. The |
| flourishes considerably, there is are other popular | | | | Jews believe that their god has smashed societies |
| ideas about spirits, souls, and other items that | | | | and cultures for the tiniest of reasons. Every |
| exist in this afterlife theory.Our memories, our | | | | religion remains identical in this fact.Okay, so, we |
| experiences, our thoughts, ideas, notions, | | | | have spirits, souls, and gods, many of them |
| character, attitude, and feelings are all stored | | | | endowed with human mentality. I am quite |
| within the mind. Science, or at least all honest | | | | curious, though. Why is it that no playwright in |
| investigative studies, would tell us that our mind is | | | | ancient Greece ever described one of the gods |
| located within the physical brain of the body. So | | | | as rubbing his belly and hungry? Why have I seen |
| far, no other theory has come up with any | | | | no spirits that get hungry? Some cultures feed |
| verifiable evidence to the contrary. Another | | | | their spirits, but that's even more absurd. They |
| theory, with much less evidence, does exist. It is | | | | leave only enough food for a few days or a |
| the idea that the mind is a part of the soul -- that | | | | weeks. And why leave any food at all? Will the |
| when the body dies, the mind leaves the body | | | | spirits decompose and go to the state of the |
| with the soul. Some individuals have offered | | | | after-afterlife? The sexual urge that seems so |
| evidence on behalf of such a trite idea. They have | | | | prevalent in so many religions, from the god of |
| argued that since it is a part of the spiritual realm, | | | | Christianity violating a virgin meant to be married |
| one which tools and devices and technology | | | | to the Greek gods that committed such |
| cannot reach nor see, that it is out of their | | | | fornication on a regular basis -- just why does the |
| jurisdiction of judgment. An interesting idea, I | | | | sexual urge prevail? Of what use is it? Are the |
| admit. One might as well claim that they have | | | | gods going to mate and then produce spiritual |
| invented, discovered, or uncovered something | | | | offspring?What seems a thousand times more |
| that is wonderful and beautiful, but that is | | | | odd is that the gods are lacking those parts that |
| completely unsensible by human senses. (i.e. we | | | | make sexual activity useful, for procreation or |
| might have a tourist trap with the holy grail, only | | | | recreation. The penis and the vagina, these two |
| to find a plaque "If you have sinned, you cannot | | | | parts that are responsible for producing the |
| see or feel it, but you must believe it is | | | | pleasure of sex, are non-existent on ghosts. If a |
| there.")One might be so educated and thoughtful | | | | human loses such a part, it is impossible to |
| enough to feel that the theory of a soul is so | | | | engage in sexual activity. And, it seems that |
| discredited, that it needs no further examination; it | | | | these ghosts have lost all their bodies. Yet, the |
| becomes a moot point. However, there are some | | | | urge to have sex is prevalent, while their sex |
| things in this field that might want to be | | | | organs are not prevalent. One may argue with |
| considered, just in a hypothetical point of view at | | | | me, "But the gods and ghosts have physical |
| most. So it indeed happens that every folk story | | | | bodies that they can use!" If this is true, then it |
| and every old religion regards spirits as vibrant | | | | shouldn't be even slightly difficult to get evidence |
| and powerful beings. In Greek mythology, the | | | | of god. Whenever pressed for evidence, the |
| gods often came down from their clouds, to | | | | religionist usually claims, "But they are noncorporal |
| mate with earthlings, or kill them, or have dealings | | | | entities -- they are not physical, they are spiritual." |
| with them. In the stories of these gods, they all | | | | No thoughtful spiritualist will claim their god is |
| seem to have the exact same characteristics of | | | | actually physical, because in doing so, they have |
| any human being. They have desires, wants, | | | | opened the doors to dispelling their beliefs in a |
| fears, hopes, beliefs. They react to their | | | | heartbeat.The need to eat is as absurd as the |
| environment. When they are informed that their | | | | desire to have sex for the gods. Other things, |
| plans have failed, they react with disappointment, | | | | such as the social instinct and any desire at all, |
| and maybe rage or violence. When they are | | | | seem to also be quite absurd. Why animals and |
| informed that their plans have succeeded, they | | | | other conscious organisms are equipped with |
| react with happiness, and maybe feasting or | | | | desires and the social instinct is easy to |
| gloating. The gods are essentially the most human | | | | understand. With regard to the social instinct, it |
| of any theoretical being, and this is no surprise | | | | has helped organisms to survive against the |
| when we think of their creator.I cannot, for the | | | | natural elements, or predators, or aided in |
| life of me, suppose any idea or theory as to why | | | | obtaining their prey. When organisms had a social |
| any of the gods are endowed with desires or | | | | instinct, they were more effective at survival, and |
| wants anyway. When I think of the origin of such | | | | that means they were more effective at |
| psychological phenomena in humans, or any other | | | | reproducing. When organisms had no social instinct, |
| organism, my question is immediately answered. | | | | they died rather quickly -- not able to reproduce |
| Humans are endowed with a complex brain | | | | something like themselves, leaving the world |
| because it is necessary towards survival. The | | | | destitute of such types of species. (And while |
| same can be argued for any other living creature. | | | | there may be exceptions to this rule of the social |
| Desire motivates, it creates movement. When a | | | | instinct, the previous description is how Evolution |
| predator, either a crocodile or a lion or any other | | | | works: those unfit, do not survive.) Why would |
| for that matter, is hungry, it hunts to satisfy its | | | | the gods ever be needing of the social instinct? |
| desire. In this situation, the component of the | | | | Why ever should the gods band together with |
| brain that creates desire and want, especially for | | | | other gods? In all honesty, I am bankrupt of any |
| satisfying hunger, this component is essential. | | | | answer. The gods cannot die, they cannot suffer |
| Those predators that were born without this | | | | afflictions caused by natural disasters, they cannot |
| capability could not hunt or eat as effectively, and | | | | be wounded. Everything that makes the social |
| could not fight for breeding rights very well either, | | | | instinct desirable and useful is nonexistent with the |
| since they could not want them. And, so, it would | | | | gods. Banding together does nothing for them. |
| die, leaving no offspring, leaving no other | | | | One might argue "It cures loneliness," but |
| organisms on this planet with their DNA -- DNA | | | | loneliness may in fact just be that instinct to band |
| which contains a lack of desire. We can apply this | | | | together unsatisfied.Then there is the idea of |
| to other organisms, too. Prey that is born without | | | | desire. In all my studying of literature, I must say |
| a desire to flee its natural predator, for example, | | | | that the mythology of Greece, Egypt, and the |
| will not live long enough to reproduce. The same | | | | entire Fertile Crescent is full of gods with more |
| can be said of prey that does not want to eat to | | | | desires and wants than any sane man. Since it |
| satisfy its hunger, either. It will waste away to | | | | seems very easy to believe that the gods are |
| weakness and then be taken by its | | | | simply an image of mankind, exaggerrated in |
| predator.Desire definitely plays a strong and | | | | many aspects, so it seems that these gods are |
| important role in the psyche of all | | | | endowed with many supernatural wants, needs, |
| consciousness-endowed organisms. However, it is | | | | impulses, desires. Sometimes the drowning of an |
| not the only important part of consciousness. For | | | | entire civilization in blood is not enough to quell the |
| example, there is also pain, the physical affliction, | | | | heart of the least dominant deity. I am also |
| or misery, the mental affliction. An animal can | | | | curious here... Why is it that the gods have been |
| suffer, and it is this suffering that they will | | | | endowed with this ability of desiring? To what use |
| forever be afraid of. Their fear and their suffering | | | | is it really, when one is a god? It has no use. For, |
| gives them something to desire: happiness and | | | | if god, or the gods, are capable of doing anything, |
| security. Without pain, an organism will not react | | | | then they would not desire, but simply have. I can |
| negatively to another trying to kill it -- at least, if | | | | see the use of the desire ability in organisms and |
| instincts were gone as well. Without happiness, an | | | | animals on our own planet. When there is hunger, |
| animal would not know whether it was doing | | | | or sexual lust, or gaining security in society, all of |
| something right or wrong. The social instinct, to be | | | | these desires push and motivate the organism to |
| in a collective of like organisms, is natural to | | | | do what is necessary to live and to reproduce. |
| almost every mammal. When wolves hunt in | | | | And, once reproduction has occured, the cycle |
| packs, they are more effective killers. When | | | | can happen all over again. When an animal is not |
| humans band together to form societies and | | | | fit enough to reproduce, or cannot live to that |
| civilizations, the fruit of their labor increases. When | | | | stage, then the genes that cursed it to a sexless |
| zebras feed and mate in packs, all of their stripes | | | | life will not be found again, exception in the rare |
| form a natural defense, by disallowing predators | | | | instances of reversion perhaps.Many of the |
| from knowing where one zebra starts and | | | | Freethinkers and philosophes of earlier years, and |
| another ends. The social instinct has given each | | | | even our own day, have attacked the idea of |
| organism a strong advantage in survival. And, | | | | religion. God created man in his own image was a |
| when organisms survive, they can reproduce, and | | | | questioned idea, and we reversed it: man created |
| more organisms like themselves, with the same | | | | god in his own image. This would seem to be the |
| emotions and mental faculties, will be produced.Let | | | | more credulous case of the matter. We find gods |
| us not forget the importance of the mating | | | | in each civilization, taking the race and species of |
| instinct. The sexual arrousal caused by flirting or | | | | its people. This has varied in some cases, where |
| foreplay plays a significant role in the mating act. | | | | gods take on the forms of reptiles, mammals, |
| The orgasm itself and the sexual drive to achieve | | | | and birds. However, there is one thing in the |
| are important to every creature. It seems that in | | | | nature of gods, spirits, and souls that seems to |
| every group of thoughtful organisms, there is not | | | | be consistent in every religion we investigate: they |
| competition for the right to reproduce, some how | | | | have wants, desires, lust, hunger, and needs. |
| or some way. Often, it is the male competing for | | | | Where every human being -- no, where every |
| the female, but this is not the only case. In some | | | | living creature is the same, in having a |
| cases, there is polygamy, and in others, there is | | | | consciousness, we find that same consciousness |
| polyandry. Every rule of behavior that we can | | | | in a rather inplausible place: in a god, or a soul, or a |
| think of for other organisms will always have | | | | spirit. It is clearly understood, then, that these |
| exceptions to it. The underlying fact that sex | | | | gods and spirits are based on human ideas, that |
| plays an important role in the mental faculties of | | | | they come from the minds of men, that they |
| conscious organisms is important to my thesis. | | | | spread by our mouths. And, it must also be |
| The mind is full of complexities and faculties that | | | | clearly understood, that the gods are nothing |
| make it conscious. All of these emotions, these | | | | more than an imperfect creation by the hands of |
| feelings, play a strong sense in the conscious | | | | man. Life,Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been |
| organism.Now that I have covered a great deal | | | | writing essays and poetry on social issues which |
| on the complexities of conscious organisms, one | | | | have caught his attention for several years. His |
| might be curious as to why I brought up this | | | | website provides a complete list of all of these |
| subject in the discussion of spirits. First of all, all of | | | | writings. His life experience includes homelessness, |
| the components of the mind that I mentioned | | | | squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of |
| above -- desire, fear, social instinct, sex -- all of | | | | high school, getting expelled from college for |
| these components have a reason for existence. | | | | "subversive activities," and a myriad of other |
| By this, I mean that they all exist because of the | | | | revolutionary actions. |
| natural and perpetual struggle that goes on in the | | | | |