This night the masses will gather at the churches to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Hearing the sound of the church bells over and again, I see people shuffling in and out of the churches, many of them going for their only visit a year. Gods, sons of Gods, rituals and a feeling of being connected to the bigger whole, on this planet to the community and outside of this planet to an omnipotent man with a beard. Supernaturalism is man’s favourite irrationality. One he defends with his life if pressed. The truth may come in many forms, but not when it comes to the raîson d’etre.

I think that this is one of man’s odd peculiarities, especially taking into account that he has tried to enlighten himself. Why is there a need to believe? Why do we construct things that were never observed, of that were seen but are no reliable eye witness accounts of? Very odd, isn’t?

And then, we have made believing (in whatever person or object) the most important cornerstone of our communities. Some communities apply rules that are so strict that they are even willing to take the life of those who doubt or ‘discredit’ their belief. It is fascinating.

We were born to this life, bare naked, and with one message: your stay is temporary. You are a product of the earth’s resources, and you will return to its soil one day. This is quite a harsh message, for a being that is aware of who or what he is, and that will not be anymore at some point. The same holds true for those around him, his protectors. All will be gone at a certain point. As a human being we are just 1 element, exposed to the endless number of elements around us. Most of them we don’t know, and as such pose a threat to our existence.

We want to live, to exist, and to live a life shielded from pain and threats to our existence. In order to survive we need food and shelter. Shelter takes many forms, practical things like clothing and housing, to parental protection. This will cover most of our day to day discomforts and threats. Still, our body keeps developing and makes us aware that it is alive and ageing. Our protectors, friends and mates develop and perish. It confronts us with our nakedness, of our souls living on their own. It brings forward questions about the ‘purpose of all this’. And as we cannot mentally construct a coherent answer to this, we make one up. Supernaturalism is born.

It is not really important how supernaturalism was conceived. It was conceived in many different forms throughout our history, and even today ‘answer needys’ think of new ones. More important: it provides us with the answers, it does not matter that they are man made. We like to believe that the answers given are truth, because they alleviate the unrest and social pain. We are connected to something or someone, watching over us and comforting us when confronted with the limits of our imagination. It does not require truth, it requires surrender and dedication to this new truth. Only then will we be free from our earthly pains.

For most people on this planet, judging from the role that belief and religion play in the world’s societies, there must be some kind of belief. For them it is not enough not to know where we came from and where our bodies are going. They need answers, guiding lines and comfort in their daily lives. Some take it a step further, as they think that their believe must be defended when threatened, and brought to those still unaware of the salvation that supernaturalism brings. Even if it involves pointing a gun at another man’s face. Isn’t that fascinating?

Happy 2009th birthday, Jesus, I guess that many more will come.