Of superstitions, antiquated deities, and free thinking
So I've finished my first week (and then some) of my physics class. I'm enjoying the material itself for the most part, though I'm not particularly fond of homework format.
I've never cared for online homework, and this is some of the most pain in the ass yet. I have a limited number of attempts at the answer to get credit, and the margin of error is rather small. For example, I got a problem wrong for only taking it out to two decimal places instead of three. So if I were to input Pi, 3.14 would be wrong, but but 3.141 would be correct. That and the questions require logical jumps not explained in lecture - nor do the questions even necessarily relate to the lecture or reading...
But aside from all that I am enjoying the class. I can genuinely find the stuff interesting, I'm just not quite so thrilled about the math involved.
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"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
Aside from my curriculum, I've been researching science, philosophy, and history on my own to a certain degree just trying to make sense out of it all. The age old question "life, the universe, and everything." I've been mainly reading random articles online, watching documentaries, and reading the occasional book. Lots o' wiki articles as well, but it's best to take those with a grain of salt.
Being raised in a christian home, questioning one's faith wasn't exactly encouraged. Naturally, science was only considered accurate when it was in line with a literal interpretation of the bible. So I grew up think the big bang theory and evolution were schemes cooked up by inferior scientists trying futilely to deny the existence of God, and there wasn't any real proof for any of it. The bible on the other hand, now that was infallible. No contradictions, and science could back everything up. After all, some christians are scientists.
I probably quit being a christian sometime in middle school, but I didn't officially renounce my faith until my sophomore year of high school. I was hoping to get out of going to church, but I was informed that just meant I needed to attend church even more. I'll skip the details of all the battles I had in this area, but I was the only open non-christian in my youth group. Oddly, I was probably the most honest one there.
Interestingly, the idea of being an atheist never really occurred to me. At first it was more of "now I can look at all the other religions." My initial problems with christianity were more targeted at the church itself then the actual beliefs. I still assumed there were supernatural forces at work. I explored neo-paganism for a couple of years and initially liked it quite a bit, but eventually ran into all the same problems I had with christianity. Just because something is older and more original, doesn't make it true. Besides, most of them were just doing little more than live action roleplaying so thoroughly they even had themselves fooled. Since then I've jokingly said that I've been "between religions." I've read a little here, a little there, kind of liked taoism (the religion of being non-religious), but still had some differences with it. In the end I still had problems at some level with pretty much any religion I explored.
So recently I've become very interested in the natural world, everything from the world we live in to the cosmos itself. As I've been researching, I've been astonished at how much we actually understand. Evolution has actually been proven, we have an incredibly good knowledge of the origin of the universe and earth (two different events), and we're learning more everyday. What fascinates me is these brilliant scientists come up with these theories, predict what they should find, and look for them. Sometimes their theories are wrong, but that's ok, it's back to the drawing board. Other times their theories are right and we learn more about the world we live in. If new information is found that contradicts it, then it is either revised or trashed.
How unlike religion that begins with the answer, pieces together what it can, and attributes the rest to magic. Unless it fits the established answer, the data is trashed no matter how legitimate.
I could go on and on about all the fascinating things I've been learning, but I wouldn't be capable of doing the subjects justice. It's just astonishing realizing how much of my youth I spent believing in what amounts too little more than glorified fairy tales.
It's also interesting when you put the bible itself under the microscope. I think some people who attempt to rip the bible apart end up attacking anything they can without researching and over emphasize things that can be explained and accounted for (for example, references to the earth being flat). However there are plenty of other areas that are loaded down with contradictions, poor logic, and outright impossibilities, let alone some of the sheer ethics and philosophy used. Genesis alone is absolutely absurd and thoroughly ripped apart by science (even with evolution out of the picture).
Here is an interesting verse:
"If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him. Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you. You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst." (Deuteronomy 13:7-12 NAB)
That sounds like it would be more more at home in the Koran, not the bible. Sure the OT God was known for being harsh, but that's just absurd. It's also evidence that christians pick and choose what parts of the bible to enforce, and what to ignore. So, we can try to dictate national policy based on a handful of OT verses, but completely ignore anything inconvenient.
I think two quotes by Karl Marx can sum up my opinion on religion (all of them):
"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand."
"Religion is the opiate of the masses."
The first quote was the original point behind religion. How else could primitive man make sense of the world? As time wore on, we understood more and more, but religion was still a necessity to deal with what it couldn't understand. Over time it's become obvious that just because an explanation can't be found doesn't mean that it is non-existent. For example, we understand exactly what lightening is now. However, primitive man did not and thus associated it with Zeus, Thor, or a myriad of other forgotten deities. Just because they were incapable of finding the natural explanation did not definitively make the supernatural true. Likewise with the mysteries that remain to us.
Another factor in the first quote is that science is very intimidating. Do you want to try to explain radiometric dating to the average person? Understanding any field of science thoroughly reacquires years of study, not something you can get from a few sentences. Simply attributing it all to the supernatural is much easier. No need to bother investigating, the bible says it's true, so good enough. Besides, there are some educated people who have found proof right? There you go. Anyways, If any problems arise, well I have FAITH. Faith isn't a virtue, it's idiocy. You have to really wonder about a religion that likens its followers to sheep. "Blessed is he that has not seen and believes." Wait a minute... blindly believe, unquestioningly and absolutely? That would really come in handy for...
...the point of the second quote. Religion is a tool for controlling the masses. The catholic church used to be masters of it, they could tell Kings how to rule their countries with the threat of hellfire. Look at the theocracy in the middle east. And look how religion was used to manipulate people here in the US for a war in Iraq for the sole intent of financial gain. The same story, told again and again.
But how can one have moral grounding without religion? The bottom line is we all rely on each other to survive. Strength in numbers. Virtually every religion involves a moral code that allow for proper communal living. By having a proper code of ethics we can not only function as a society, but also thrive and progress. Religion isn't necessary for that. One shouldn't require the threat of hellfire and damnation held over them to keep them peaceable with others.
In the end, I've found the best religion to be the total lack and absence of one. We're fortunate enough to live in a day and age were we are capable of understanding so much of the world around us. But that is all for naught if we continue to destroy ourselves and subscribe to a doctrine of lunacy and ignorance.
I've never cared for online homework, and this is some of the most pain in the ass yet. I have a limited number of attempts at the answer to get credit, and the margin of error is rather small. For example, I got a problem wrong for only taking it out to two decimal places instead of three. So if I were to input Pi, 3.14 would be wrong, but but 3.141 would be correct. That and the questions require logical jumps not explained in lecture - nor do the questions even necessarily relate to the lecture or reading...
But aside from all that I am enjoying the class. I can genuinely find the stuff interesting, I'm just not quite so thrilled about the math involved.
~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------~
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
Aside from my curriculum, I've been researching science, philosophy, and history on my own to a certain degree just trying to make sense out of it all. The age old question "life, the universe, and everything." I've been mainly reading random articles online, watching documentaries, and reading the occasional book. Lots o' wiki articles as well, but it's best to take those with a grain of salt.
Being raised in a christian home, questioning one's faith wasn't exactly encouraged. Naturally, science was only considered accurate when it was in line with a literal interpretation of the bible. So I grew up think the big bang theory and evolution were schemes cooked up by inferior scientists trying futilely to deny the existence of God, and there wasn't any real proof for any of it. The bible on the other hand, now that was infallible. No contradictions, and science could back everything up. After all, some christians are scientists.
I probably quit being a christian sometime in middle school, but I didn't officially renounce my faith until my sophomore year of high school. I was hoping to get out of going to church, but I was informed that just meant I needed to attend church even more. I'll skip the details of all the battles I had in this area, but I was the only open non-christian in my youth group. Oddly, I was probably the most honest one there.
Interestingly, the idea of being an atheist never really occurred to me. At first it was more of "now I can look at all the other religions." My initial problems with christianity were more targeted at the church itself then the actual beliefs. I still assumed there were supernatural forces at work. I explored neo-paganism for a couple of years and initially liked it quite a bit, but eventually ran into all the same problems I had with christianity. Just because something is older and more original, doesn't make it true. Besides, most of them were just doing little more than live action roleplaying so thoroughly they even had themselves fooled. Since then I've jokingly said that I've been "between religions." I've read a little here, a little there, kind of liked taoism (the religion of being non-religious), but still had some differences with it. In the end I still had problems at some level with pretty much any religion I explored.
So recently I've become very interested in the natural world, everything from the world we live in to the cosmos itself. As I've been researching, I've been astonished at how much we actually understand. Evolution has actually been proven, we have an incredibly good knowledge of the origin of the universe and earth (two different events), and we're learning more everyday. What fascinates me is these brilliant scientists come up with these theories, predict what they should find, and look for them. Sometimes their theories are wrong, but that's ok, it's back to the drawing board. Other times their theories are right and we learn more about the world we live in. If new information is found that contradicts it, then it is either revised or trashed.
How unlike religion that begins with the answer, pieces together what it can, and attributes the rest to magic. Unless it fits the established answer, the data is trashed no matter how legitimate.
I could go on and on about all the fascinating things I've been learning, but I wouldn't be capable of doing the subjects justice. It's just astonishing realizing how much of my youth I spent believing in what amounts too little more than glorified fairy tales.
It's also interesting when you put the bible itself under the microscope. I think some people who attempt to rip the bible apart end up attacking anything they can without researching and over emphasize things that can be explained and accounted for (for example, references to the earth being flat). However there are plenty of other areas that are loaded down with contradictions, poor logic, and outright impossibilities, let alone some of the sheer ethics and philosophy used. Genesis alone is absolutely absurd and thoroughly ripped apart by science (even with evolution out of the picture).
Here is an interesting verse:
"If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him. Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you. You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst." (Deuteronomy 13:7-12 NAB)
That sounds like it would be more more at home in the Koran, not the bible. Sure the OT God was known for being harsh, but that's just absurd. It's also evidence that christians pick and choose what parts of the bible to enforce, and what to ignore. So, we can try to dictate national policy based on a handful of OT verses, but completely ignore anything inconvenient.
I think two quotes by Karl Marx can sum up my opinion on religion (all of them):
"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand."
"Religion is the opiate of the masses."
The first quote was the original point behind religion. How else could primitive man make sense of the world? As time wore on, we understood more and more, but religion was still a necessity to deal with what it couldn't understand. Over time it's become obvious that just because an explanation can't be found doesn't mean that it is non-existent. For example, we understand exactly what lightening is now. However, primitive man did not and thus associated it with Zeus, Thor, or a myriad of other forgotten deities. Just because they were incapable of finding the natural explanation did not definitively make the supernatural true. Likewise with the mysteries that remain to us.
Another factor in the first quote is that science is very intimidating. Do you want to try to explain radiometric dating to the average person? Understanding any field of science thoroughly reacquires years of study, not something you can get from a few sentences. Simply attributing it all to the supernatural is much easier. No need to bother investigating, the bible says it's true, so good enough. Besides, there are some educated people who have found proof right? There you go. Anyways, If any problems arise, well I have FAITH. Faith isn't a virtue, it's idiocy. You have to really wonder about a religion that likens its followers to sheep. "Blessed is he that has not seen and believes." Wait a minute... blindly believe, unquestioningly and absolutely? That would really come in handy for...
...the point of the second quote. Religion is a tool for controlling the masses. The catholic church used to be masters of it, they could tell Kings how to rule their countries with the threat of hellfire. Look at the theocracy in the middle east. And look how religion was used to manipulate people here in the US for a war in Iraq for the sole intent of financial gain. The same story, told again and again.
But how can one have moral grounding without religion? The bottom line is we all rely on each other to survive. Strength in numbers. Virtually every religion involves a moral code that allow for proper communal living. By having a proper code of ethics we can not only function as a society, but also thrive and progress. Religion isn't necessary for that. One shouldn't require the threat of hellfire and damnation held over them to keep them peaceable with others.
In the end, I've found the best religion to be the total lack and absence of one. We're fortunate enough to live in a day and age were we are capable of understanding so much of the world around us. But that is all for naught if we continue to destroy ourselves and subscribe to a doctrine of lunacy and ignorance.