Science, souls and salvation: in which a person of limited intellect ponders universal truths that are far beyond him.

Recently, there was a post-doctorate position advertised at the International Space Science Institute in Switzerland. It got me thinking about myself as a young boy, constantly engrossed in books and encyclopedias about space, being obsessed over the subject and even spending time copying my books out word for word by pen and paper (yes, I was sad. I still am. I'm OK with it). If I had realised at that young age that there were occupations such as the one advertised, I wonder if I'd have worked tirelessly to be in a position to apply for it. I wonder if there is another Universe where a version of me is the successful candidate. I'd like to think there is. The harsh truth of the matter is I'm nowhere near intelligent enough, and probably wouldn't be no matter how diligently I applied myself.

However, not being smart enough to be a scientist has in no way diminished my love and enthusiasm for science. It is probably the most wondrous accomplishment of human intellect, and allows me, along with many others, to lift myself clear of the religious doctrine made up by humans who pretend to have answers in order to exert power and influence over others. Thanks to science, I know there is not a supreme being out there that suffers from acute homophobia, or one that favours one country over another (sorry right wing Americans, that's not the truth, it's just what you'd like your god to be). Thanks to science, I know there isn't a place for me furnished with virgins in the afterlife if only I could murder enough people of a different faith (why would virgins be such a turn-on anyway? They'd be shit at sex). Thanks to science, I have a grasp (however small) of the sheer size, scope and beauty of our incredible Universe, and I understand a little of where it (and therefore I, seeing as I am made of stars myself) came from. Thanks to science, I know the secrets of how all things are made up of atoms I can't see, and I have a good idea of the geological and biological history of our planet, which, it turns out, was not made by that homophobic supreme being at all.

There's an awful lot I can't comprehend and will likely never know - how life first came to be before it began to evolve (abiogenesis is fine in theory, but is unlikely to ever be proved), or even how the Universe began (again, the Big Bang Theory and the standard model of cosmology work OK, but have holes that will probably never be filled). What I do know is that even though I don't know the answers, I won't ever chalk them up to a creator made up by men in order to extend their influence over others. There's other stuff that I kind of understand, but have trouble wrapping my head around - Schrodinger's Cat and Entanglement are two elements of Quantum Theory I'll never really get a handle on for example, and dark matter and dark energy are at once both easy and impossible to understand, but that would be down to little old me and my limited intellect again. Then there's the other big thing I can't understand or explain - human sentience. I'm quite sure it's a natural process and one day it may well be explained by a clever chemist or biologist, and I have trouble accepting that it's proof of a soul, whatever a soul is supposed to be. 'Soul' is a simple word to define that which we can't really define, and will always be linked with the other religious arsegravy that organised religions spout while they tell you forces of good and evil are supposedly battling for yours. There is obviously something, for we have conscious thought and sentience, so for arguments sake we'll call it a soul, but there's nothing to salvage and I doubt very much it's a spirit version of a person that will live forever. I do have faith; I have faith in human ingenuity and faith that these kinds of questions may be answered. But I'm sure of one thing - they won't be answered by organised religion. So in a way, my soul (for lack of a better term) has been saved - science saved it, and saved me from worrying about what will happen to it after I'm dead. The idea of spending eternity in either heaven or hell horrifies me. Isn't 100 years of life (thanks to science that figure will probably increase dramatically in the coming decades; I just hope health and quality of life improves along with it) enough? I take comfort in knowing that the atoms that make up my body used to be part of a star, and will be absorbed and become something else after my death. I don't have to kneel before anyone to receive rewards and love in the afterlife, because I will not have an afterlife. I will forever be a part of this incredible Universe.

There is so much we're on the forefront of - many of the technological applications referred to in this piece for example: http://bigthink.com/ideas/20525 sound like the stuff of science fiction - cloaking devices, invisibility, time travel, teleportation? And yet, Quantum Theory, which no-one is even sure is true, is allowing research into these theoretical technologies to develop. Mind: blown.

This video sums things up more eloquently than I can: http://t.co/B51Ky3F. The line "I...stepped out of a supernova. And so did you" literally brought a tear to my eye.

If you do believe in a god, you have every right to. Just remember, I also have a right. A right to deduce what I see and come to a reasonable conclusion.