smoketetsuo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
smoketetsuo) wrote2006-12-31 05:05 pm
smoketetsuo) wrote2006-12-31 05:05 pm
Another good read
300 Million year old Rock vs a 6,000 year old rock
"But here’s the cool thing: at least you are a dot. I am a dot, too. This means that, though we are insignificant to the cosmos, we are incredibly significant to each other. We and our fellow dots. What should we do? Don’t be afraid. The lack of a deity is not an opening for chaos. It is a call for responsibility. Besides, there are some really smart dots over there that have figured out how to learn and they can teach us how to survive. It’s all really quite amazing. Did you know that this rock is over 300 million years old?"
You know what is one thing I really don't like about religion. It tries to keep you in a particular faith through fear and manipulation. Mostly fear... fear that your family may disown you if you have different beliefs than them. Fear that society may shun you if you don't follow the "flock". Fear for your life if someone discovers you aren't in their religion they may go so far as to kill you and so on. When you think about it some of the most violent places on earth where people have the least amount of freedom are also the most religious places.
I believe in sense and reason and religion is the polar opposite of it. A true scientist is open to new evidence that a certain hypothesis may be true or false... I heard recently about a story of a man who had been working on a theory for at least thirty years and a new scientist came along and helped prove that theory wrong and the man thanked him for helping him conclude that he was wrong all those years.
Now take religion on the other hand.. religion needs no reason. If you ask for reason they will most of the time just point to the bible and say there is the literal truth right there... or in other words just because "god" said so.
The reason in my opinion why a lot of people have gone for religion is it's a whole lot easier to throw your hands up and say such and such is so because of god than to delve into the nitty gritty of investigating, studying, observing, veryfying, re-examining, learning new ideas, disproving old ones etc.
They deal in absolutes.. if a certain system of reasoning can't explain absolutely everything then it is invalid and superstition is the answer. They also make crazy assumptions like they think evolution states that everything happens by accident but that's lack of understanding. Everything that happens in evolution has a reason like a desirable trait that gets passed on to a new generation of an organism. Things like your genes aren't a product of an accident they are the result of many many years of various people breeding and handing down mixes of their DNA and that's a part of evolution in action.
Religion is also a very social thing and people want to believe that they are a part of something. They also want to believe that there is more to life than just the life they are leading right now. But a lot of what is going around right now is irrational and quite frankly dangerous. I choose not to go around arguing with people who are devout religious because it's an exercise in frustration. Why, because no amount of concrete evidence is enough to change their minds any such evidence to them was obviously the work of the "devil".
If you try to explain a position of reason to these people they will assume you are arrogant and going back to what I said a bit earlier if you don't have all the answers then everything you say is invalid. I watched a video recently about a man going to the holy land to investigate why people have bought into the religious scene and I was honestly afraid for this guy because it's like going to africa and poking a bee nest with a stick.
When I see overly religious people talk on TV it's shocking and appalling seeing how they react.
You may ask why then do I celebrate certain holidays? Simple, It's because those holidays have gone beyond their original meaning and are a family tradition. I am free to participate in family activities that I see fit. I would only stop if there is concrete evidence that it is harmful. I however don't think it's harmful for a family to get together to enjoy each others company.
"But here’s the cool thing: at least you are a dot. I am a dot, too. This means that, though we are insignificant to the cosmos, we are incredibly significant to each other. We and our fellow dots. What should we do? Don’t be afraid. The lack of a deity is not an opening for chaos. It is a call for responsibility. Besides, there are some really smart dots over there that have figured out how to learn and they can teach us how to survive. It’s all really quite amazing. Did you know that this rock is over 300 million years old?"
You know what is one thing I really don't like about religion. It tries to keep you in a particular faith through fear and manipulation. Mostly fear... fear that your family may disown you if you have different beliefs than them. Fear that society may shun you if you don't follow the "flock". Fear for your life if someone discovers you aren't in their religion they may go so far as to kill you and so on. When you think about it some of the most violent places on earth where people have the least amount of freedom are also the most religious places.
I believe in sense and reason and religion is the polar opposite of it. A true scientist is open to new evidence that a certain hypothesis may be true or false... I heard recently about a story of a man who had been working on a theory for at least thirty years and a new scientist came along and helped prove that theory wrong and the man thanked him for helping him conclude that he was wrong all those years.
Now take religion on the other hand.. religion needs no reason. If you ask for reason they will most of the time just point to the bible and say there is the literal truth right there... or in other words just because "god" said so.
The reason in my opinion why a lot of people have gone for religion is it's a whole lot easier to throw your hands up and say such and such is so because of god than to delve into the nitty gritty of investigating, studying, observing, veryfying, re-examining, learning new ideas, disproving old ones etc.
They deal in absolutes.. if a certain system of reasoning can't explain absolutely everything then it is invalid and superstition is the answer. They also make crazy assumptions like they think evolution states that everything happens by accident but that's lack of understanding. Everything that happens in evolution has a reason like a desirable trait that gets passed on to a new generation of an organism. Things like your genes aren't a product of an accident they are the result of many many years of various people breeding and handing down mixes of their DNA and that's a part of evolution in action.
Religion is also a very social thing and people want to believe that they are a part of something. They also want to believe that there is more to life than just the life they are leading right now. But a lot of what is going around right now is irrational and quite frankly dangerous. I choose not to go around arguing with people who are devout religious because it's an exercise in frustration. Why, because no amount of concrete evidence is enough to change their minds any such evidence to them was obviously the work of the "devil".
If you try to explain a position of reason to these people they will assume you are arrogant and going back to what I said a bit earlier if you don't have all the answers then everything you say is invalid. I watched a video recently about a man going to the holy land to investigate why people have bought into the religious scene and I was honestly afraid for this guy because it's like going to africa and poking a bee nest with a stick.
When I see overly religious people talk on TV it's shocking and appalling seeing how they react.
You may ask why then do I celebrate certain holidays? Simple, It's because those holidays have gone beyond their original meaning and are a family tradition. I am free to participate in family activities that I see fit. I would only stop if there is concrete evidence that it is harmful. I however don't think it's harmful for a family to get together to enjoy each others company.