Life – existence itself – through millions of years of evolution, amazes me. We’re at the point now where we think about thinking.

Through the evolution of science, we know we think with our brains. Now capable of processing 100 trillion instructions per second, our brains have evolved by natural selection or survival of the strongest, most adapted and luckiest of the species that led to homosapiens.

From our brains came communication. Communication led to numerous advancements in and challenges of government, religion and science. These advancements and challenges have created a societal separation from religious establishment, or order, and a move toward agnosticism and atheism.

Life on Earth is dependent on the sun, moon, crucial elements and continual cycles these phenomena govern or stimulate. There is a possibility of hundreds of intelligent civilizations existing in the universe. These life forms most likely would have evolved into and out of nature over billions of years, governed by the same laws here on Earth. Why? Why do space and time – which contain the infinite solar systems and individual planets, the smallest electrons and everything in between – exist? Time is infinite, but why do we have this tiny piece of more than 4,000 years of history? Why are we the first species on Earth to evolve to the level that we are able to manipulate and understand the three-dimensional world in which we live?

Did the waves we have utilized to advance human civilization exist as long as Earth has? Of course they have. If our eyes were able to detect all wavelengths, we would not be able to see a foot in front of our faces. The coexistence of all the waves is like a perfect, invisible thread that weaves together the natural world we share with each other.

The earliest forms of humans had to deal with the harsh natural environment in which they lived. Advances through farming, tools and irrigation allowed humans to live in one place with a larger population than the earlier generations. Spirituality continued to evolve as bands of people came together and communication evolved. Eventually, chiefdoms came together to form societies. The populations grew and the resources and territory became scarcer.

Order and earthly authority were needed to keep these people on a path to civilization. Hammurabi’s Code was the first set of written laws for the Sumerians in modern-day Baghdad. Hundreds of miles away and years later, Moses revealed the Ten Commandments to his Jewish people. These laws included “Thou shalt not kill.” This would make sense for the law of the Creator and has become common sense for us. He or She gave us the gift of life, and naturally this does not permit us to destroy life. An eye for an eye seems to only continue a cycle of violence.

At the same time, war has shaped the current geography of the world in terms of countries’ borders. The world in which we live is a product and result of individuals who lived before us, their actions, their influences and their legacies.

We all walk on our own paths in life, contributing to the shaping of future society for the next generations. Each choice we make affects a future decision and the options for the next choice. Each choice has a ripple effect throughout society on many levels – on the people around us, their choices and the people around them, these people’s choices and so on.

Believing in God and choosing a religion – or accepting the teachings of numerous religions like Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Rasta – can only contribute to decision-making and therefore the impact of those decisions in a positive way.

Jesus, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela all had positive effects on society on both political and social levels for the generations before us and the generations to come. These people are all products of the society that was shaped by previous lives and impacts of individuals that share a common value, love for a deity.

If the universe created life on earth for a reason, then the lives of these individuals were for the purpose of shaping and impacting future society and its individuals. There is no reason to not be a good person with faith and love of God and its creations. If He is real, you will be rewarded. If God is only a figment of our imagination, our character and deeds will leave the world a better place.

Atheism is not only ignorant but pointless; the religions are here as advice to live among each other peacefully and happily.

– Tom Moses is a sophomore international affairs major.