Christianity’s Future
The meme here came from a reader/friend who is both a Christian and an extremely senior chemist/physicist.
FWIW, I disagree with his assessment; I see no evidence that our civilization is becoming more scientific in its thinking, or more likely to apply reason in its problem-solving.
And it’s not like we have to strain to find examples of this. After all, we have Israel, followers of Judaism, bombing the bejeepers out of Islamic fundamentalists whose terrorist tendencies are based on the self-evident truth that Allah is superior to the God of Abraham.
Here in the U.S., we have a Speaker of the House who claims that his guiding principles as one of our top lawmakers are found exclusively in the Bible.
At every turn, we are beset by anti-vaxxers, climate deniers, and, of course, Trump supporters.
Those who believe in the actual teachings of Jesus: peace, compassion, mercy, kindness, will not fall weaker from the attacks of rationality.
So; to be clear — to you at least: — figuring out how to continuously produce “over-unity” electric power is not becoming more scientifically centered?
I guess that as a Neanderthal — that would be the case — when you think rubbing two sticks together to (hopefully) make fire is the greatest thing in the world.
John Shelby Spong, who sounds like “Frank” in the movie “Mash” when he and “Hot-lips” got together for the first time — probably also believes that the “old way of thinking about things (as espoused in his meme) will save his “sorry position” concerning “Religion”.
He’s irritated because more and more “individualistically thinking people; who are “thinking for themselves” — horror of horrors — are coming to the conclusion that the Bible is just another book.
Here are some “inconvenient / scientific facts about the Bible.
There are over 250 versions of the Bible that have been written.
Which one “has the truth”?
And “after the fact”: who has the right to discard anything associated with the subject?
Each major Religion has been doing a “bang-up job” of “keeping out what it didn’t want included” — because it “keeps it’s ‘flock'” — (like your religious friend) “in-line” to indoctrinate youngsters into believing “theirs” is the only true Religion.
There is no difference between that; and a bunch of rutting Bull Elk rounding up as many as female Elk as they can each mating season so that they can “father” more young Elk for their own “herd”.
IT’s good old “man on top / get it over with quick” thinking –which is as old as dirt.
There is a reason for various “Religions” to use terminology like “shepherds”, i.e., “Priests / Preachers / what-ever) tending their “flocks” (of dim-witted ‘sheep’).
The “sheep” are molded into believing they are “protected”.
From what — no one knows.
It really hurts sometimes — to hear / read the truth.
The Bible is simply a series of books; written over time; about an “idea” — about some un-proven “happenings” — nothing more.
It is various people’s “story” about a time and place that has been proven to have physically existed.
However — there is no physical proof — anywhere — that the main protagonist / subject of the Biblical story; in reality: ever physically existed.
It will remain “just an idea”, at least to people that have the personal “where-with-all” to think for themselves.
And it will remain so until it is undisputedly / physically proven that “a ‘real man’ walked, unaided, on water” and that “a ‘real man’ fed 6000 people with a few fish”.
“Hate to bust the bubble” — but “Miracles” just – don’t – happen.
As for Gaza.
Exactly what did the Palestinians in Gaza expect would happen to them: when their duly elected — but terror based Government — pulled a “Pearl Harbor” on Israel.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if you “prod a bull — your going to ‘get the horn’ “.
There are over 2,000,000 Palestinians in Gaza — and for decades: those people allowed a bunch of terrorists, i.e., Hamas — a religious terrorist group, not any kind of governmental body: to create the situation – by the group’s constant terror raids into Israel — that caused Israel “to wall them in”.
What did they think Israel would do — just play Koom-Bah Ya” — especially after the barbaric brutality of this last attack?
And what is the real basis behind Hamas’s cowardly attacks? — It’s “their” self-picked decision to believe that they have the “God-given “Right” and “Duty” –to destroy Israel/ and impose “their” self-picked version of the Islamic Faith — on the world.
That’s their aim.
Good luck with that.
There is a really good novel (science-fiction) that is completely apropos to the Hamas – Gasa / Israel situation, that
was pulbished in 1974.
Although the time in the novel is in the far future — the “situation” –is now.
There is a proven / scientific truth: you can only kill a snake by cutting off it’s head — not it’s tail; but it’s head: because it will almost always will grow another tail.
It is apparent to those that are either leaving, or has left Religion; that if / when Religion is eliminated; letting “believers” either to “…just fade away…” as General MacArthur found out; after President Truman “handed him his ‘self-righteous’ head on a platter” by summarily firing him near the end of the Korean War): or literally totally eliminating them by “cutting off their head” when necessary for the greater good (because they will never “change their mind” – as they’ve been drinking the “cool- aid”): a major cause behind a major portion of the trouble that this world has experienced in it’s history — will be eliminated.
“Religion is nothing but a “crutch” for those that are “sheep of the flock”.
Hey Craig.
As promised, I am here. (A little late, but still..)
After a little more thought about your post… I see what you are saying, insofar as “you see little evidence that our society is becoming more scientific”.
The rise of the anti-vaxx bioterrorist morons is a clear example..
But much of your perception here may be the result of shifting goal posts.
Think about how many fewer people you know – in your personal experience – who discuss stuff like “astrology”, and “psychics”, and “tarot cards” with anything other than irony.
A simple look at the polls on some highly politicized hot-button issues (vaccines, global warming, and nuclear power), may not show rapid movement towards scientific literacy within society… at least not on a pace that we would desire… But in the blazingly obvious – literally only the truly uneducated/mis-educated idiots among us could possibly believe level nonsense, I suspect that we would see considerable generational differences. Sadly, Google is so awash with blaring headlines showing that “40% of Americans believe the Earth is 6000 year’s old”, that you cannot find a generational breakdown. (This is especially problematic for Google because the nonsensical idiocy is known as “Young Earth Creationism”, and involves “x year’s old”, so young and old, and virtually all relevant synonyms, are useless for filtering results.)
But I’ll keep an eye out for an actually useful and relevant report the next time “American scientific illiteracy” is discussed in the news..
🙂
This comment is greatly appreciated, as is your willingness to keep an eye out for more material on the subject. Thanks.