Many people asked me, why I chose the username Egotheist for this platform. Some even nominated me for the #steemitnamechallenge. And since this is my 500. post on Steemit, it’s about time to tell you more about the idea behind my name and the life-changing creed I was secretly developing for it.
If you are an avid follower of my blog, you will probably have guessed by now, that I have no love for religion or other kinds of irrational believes to spare. You might even think, that consequentially I am an atheist. But you are wrong, of course.
I am an Egotheist. Which is so much more, than “just” an atheist.
While my fellow non-believers and sceptics merely think, religion is for the weak and stupid, they lack the needed dedication to take this whole thing even one step further: Egotheism is the conviction of being god himself.
At this point, many of you may call me out for my obvious hubris. How dare I? Calling himself god? This guy clearly has lost his mind.
But calm down, my little sheep. I came to you to bring enlightenment and hope. Sometimes there is more to it, than you might have guessed after the first glimpse.
The term Egotheist is open for anybody. Everyone can perceive himself as god. Where does this lead? To a society full of megalomaniac people, arrogant pricks and self-righteous assholes? Quite the contrary.
If everybody perceives himself as some kind of god, the word itself becomes meaningless. It loses its ascribed dominance, power and fear - and therefore being an Egotheist is the best and logical consequence for all of us. Egotheism is based mainly on the idea, that we, as humans, are only responsible towards ourselves and other human beings, there is nothing supernatural. Bound only to the laws of nature, we can achieve so much, we don't need any deity to pray to.
Most of the violent conflicts we are seeing today, and many in history as well, are fuelled by religious differences.
“Who has the cooler invisible friend in the sky?”
“My fantasy book told me, it’s ok to kill people who disagree with me.”
“My delusion is truer than yours!”
Sigh. I often hear religious people demanding respect for their beliefs. Fuck it. The same way I don’t have to respect the idea of reptiloids secretly controlling the Earth, I don’t have to pay respect for religious delusions. I can respect people, but not their ludicrous convictions. Important difference.
But enough of this rant. Back to the important part.
In contrast to religion or other irrational ideologies, the concept of Egotheism is completely pledged to logic, reason, science and, maybe most important, happiness instead of guilt and suffering.
About 99% of the time I ask other people, whether our world is getting better or worse, they will answer, that it’s becoming worse all the time. Death, hunger, war, illnesses, inequality, etc.
While it is easy to succumb to this view, nothing could be further from the truth.
It’s mainly a matter of perspective. Most of the people alive today are experiencing higher living standards than the ones a hundred years ago. Illiteracy rates are going down, poverty, hunger, diseases as well. The raw statistics do not support the apocalyptic view of the world most of the people tend to have. I will do a series about this topic in the near future, so be prepared to get some of your most loved beliefs challenged by facts and numbers.
What has this to do with Egotheism, you may ask yourself? Everything.
It’s important to be aware of the amazing accomplishments the human race was able to achieve, even as sometimes all odds pointed towards its ultimate demise. Egotheism is the firm belief, that humans are capable of anything – only restricted by the laws of nature.
We have so much potential. Sometimes we use it for negative, destructive behaviour – but as history proves it over and over again, quite often we tend to cooperate in the end and achieve even more amazing goals, than we could have ever imagined.
As an Egotheist, you are aware of this kind of world-changing potential.
I told you in the beginning, I have created a creed – probably the only one you will ever need.
“Bound only to the laws of nature, you have the potential to change the world.
Failure is not something to be sad about, but an opportunity to build on.
If your belief is proven to be wrong, change your belief, not the proof.
Strive to make the world a better place than it was before.”
This may sound a bit cheesy, but that doesn’t make it wrong. An Egotheist is aware of human errors and weaknesses. Often life has other plans for you and sometimes it may seem, there is nothing you can do about it. Wrong. There will always be opportunities. Half a year ago, I had no idea what to do with my life at all. I just lost my job, was broke as fuck and another time on a pathway straight to self-destruction.
Now I’m close to finishing my first book, being part of an awesome community, will hopefully be able to speak about Steemit and science communication in front of a big audience in a few months and maybe can even change some lives for the better.
Life is not always sunshine and rainbows, trust me, I maybe know this better than most people can imagine – but this made me realize, it’s even more important to be aware of your own strengths. When all odds are against you, when your life is fucked up, you are constantly thinking about suicide or even attempt it – then it’s important to focus on the things you can do. Taking small steps. Every day one more than the day before. Eventually, your life will change for the better.
Egotheism is about accepting your weaknesses and developing your strengths; constant self-reflection, brutal intellectual honesty, permanent self-development and stupid jokes.
Who needs a god, when you can be one yourself?
