For a long while now, I’ve been a steady reader of PostSecret. It’s a well-known blog featuring postcards sent in by anonymous people- all of them sharing a personal message or “secret.” One returning message is people struggling with their belief in God. Or disbelief, such as the person who sent in the card above. This theme is a fairly common one on PS.

“I don’t believe in God & I believe he is punishing me for just that….”

Behold the terrible power of indoctrination. At first glance, the message of this card is almost laughable to both believers and atheists, but once you really start to think about it, the utter sadness of it becomes clear. This is a message filled with despair- a true believer whose faith is shaken and is left with… well, with what? Most religions try their very best at convincing their flock (their term, not mine) that there is no life without God. No real one at any rate– you will not have hope, love or morals. You’ll be damned to rot in Hell too, especially if you once believed. (I remember reading that there is always hope for those poor, lost souls who never came into contact with Christianity at all.)

However, in this day and age it’s becoming increasingly easier and affordable to become well-informed. Close-mindedness is under attack by the Internet (by people such as me) and elements of the mass media (unfortunately, however, large parts of the media still think small minds are right minds). Pretty soon, the inevitable will happen: the mind of a true believer will start to refuse to believe in God.

And so you might end up torn apart, with a heart that belongs to God and a mind that belongs to reason. No wonder religions force upon the masses that true faith is blind faith. There truly is no other way to believe. The only way the cardwriter’s split being can be healed is to allow himself to see that the notion of God almighty isn’t the only thing that’s awry- the doctrine that a life without God is a life wasted is equally false. There is beauty, love and above all: honesty and truth beyond God and dogma.

Was it only five or six years ago that I was browsing online shops for books with comprehensive maps of celestial bodies other than our own blue sphere- only to find a scarce amount of books with big pricetags attached to it?

Today, thanks to the wonderful Google, we have a very detailed map of our moon, which we can zoom into or out of at will, for the price of an internet connection and with features no printed page can offer. Needless to say, I love it.

Apollo 11 Landing site on Google Moon

Now, to make the whole situation even more wonderful, Google has unleashed Google Mars, using data provided by the Arizona State University’s Mars Space Flight Facility.

It is a breathtaking site.

The famous Cydonia region, home of the Face On Mars.

Viking I landing site.

Google proves you can get lost in a map.