Wednesday, September 5, 2007

WHY ARE WE HERE ?


HANTU LAUT

Sometimes, it makes you wonder why are we here ? If it's not for the contemptuous act of the temptress, Eve and the foolishness of Adam, we would all still be in paradise, the Garden of Eden, away from all our worldly troubles.That's, if you believe in any of the Abrahamic religions.

Omar Khayyam, the Persian poet, philosopher and mathematician wrote in his famous ruba'iyat:

"Although I have a handsome face and colour,
Cheek like the tulips, form like the cypress,
It is not clear why the Eternal Painter,
Thus tricked me out for the dusty show-booth of earth.

He began my creation with constraint,
By giving me life he added only confusion,
We depart reluctantly still not knowing,
The aim of birth, existence, departure.

Heaven's wheel gained nothing from my coming,
Nor did my going augment its dignity,
Nor did my ears hear from anyone
Why I had to come and why I went"

This question has plagued and challenged mankind for generations.The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe we are God's creation.Are we willing to accept the Scriptures as the truth and stop the search of our origin ?

On the other hand, the Theory of Evolution believes we are created from non-life, a complex transformation over time with beneficial mutation passed on to the next generation.The beneficial genetic mutations produce a different organism, an entirely different creature.Charles Darwin's theory of 'natural selection' has given plausible mechanism to the theory of evolution. It's a kind of 'survival of the fittest'. The inferior members of the same species would gradually died out, leaving only the superior members to survive.

Both, religion and evolution aspects of the beginning of mankind have remained as theories and perpetual mysteries.Both have not been able to provide conclusive evidence to support its tenet. In any religious belief, if you are a believer, than the existence of God become unquestionable.

In Darwin's theory of 'natural selection' the slight successive variations cannot take a great and sudden leap, but advance by short, sure and slow steps, therefore, no single or even multiple and successive generations can observe or witness the 'descend' into a new creature.The process could take millions of years. The theory remains at best a theory.

Would the day come when human can be created without the seeds and the womb? Can genetic engineering and stem cell one day produce our future generations in a laboratory? Would God be obsolete by then ?

Where are we from and why are we here ?

We still don't have an answer.

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