If a person can simply accept that there is no God and appreciate that the world is a self-generated 'natural' occurrence then one can cherry-pick the holy books for anything that is fundamentally 'good' for all of humanity and in that process he/she will realize that 'goodness' is an inbuilt human trait and that the 'goodness' factor exists to improve humanities ability to survive. If one is honest and rational in that process, they will also realize that humanity also includes 'bad' qualities and he/she can then work to eliminate or at least reduce those 'bad' qualities that work against survival and enjoyment of a life.

Complex arguments from theologians or philosophers are of minimal help to the ordinary citizen of the world. The majority of humanity must find easily understandable reasons for a better appreciation of 'goodness' that can be translated into everyday living. Reliance on external, imaginary creator guidance or leadership from those who profess that a 'God' speaks to 'them', puts members of the human species into a position of subservience.  Such authoritarian guidance only works to reduce self-directed rational thought about our existence and, unfortunately, seems to be a natural means for developing autocratic states. i.e. "do it my way or suffer punishment."

As well, arguments from the past, no matter how renowned the author, are often used authoritatively rather than translating them into our current situation and then judging their ability to inform our search for a better life for all.

And where does changing the world start? It starts with the children. We must resolve to leave the kids alone and give them unbiased access to any and all considerations for living a life, teach them to understand consequences and then trust them to make the best choices. Only when the children grow up free of imaginary and righteously authoritative leadership will humanity be able to unleash its best qualities.

I am at this point, reminded of a personal story. A friend told me about how his young daughter, age 3, wanted to take off her shoes and run in the grass. Dad said "no" then explained that there might be glass hidden in the grass and she could cut her feet.  I paused for a moment and then suggested to him that perhaps he could have told his daughter about the possibility of glass then, with her shoes on, taken her by the hand and said, "let's look around and see if we can find any glass." If they did not see any glass, he could then say, "OK, no glass, take off your shoes and run."

I think the lesson in this little story is clear and it is that we must teach our children to make decisions based on the evidence, not fear of some imagined consequence.

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