Journal lateralus's Journal: On religion + wine 2
Religion, like many other of life's simpler facets, is an open book to me.
I can understand it thoroughly. Here is a little bit of what I see.
Whence religion? Religion was to the ancient world what politics is to the modern world. The only way to gather people into a coherent group therefore gaining, defensive power, offensive power and survivability. As a natural born leader would be drawn to politics today, born in biblical times he/she would gravitate to clerical duties.
I have often remarked that "I do not have enough faith to be an Atheist". Besides brushing off people who demand to place me on their spiritual "map", there is more to the statement.
I have never been happy with the manner in which atheists blanket all religious believers as stupids. The basic atheistic mannerism considers anyone who believes in a supreme being a throwback, a Neanderthal, a person who needs a crutch to deal with life's difficulties, a person who is holding back science or a person too lazy to study the physical and mathematical models that are supposed to replace said religion.
I practice Aikido, a highly spiritual and religious martial art. I do not believe in Kami-Sama(the God that Aikido's founder believed in) nor in any other God or being. I do not even believe in my own consciousness since it is definitely not falsifiable and therefore not in the realm science.
One can practice religion with science (many scientists believe in God) without exhibiting any of the stigma associated with them.
The truth is that if a person is a stupid, ignorant and intolerant throwback to the dark ages then he or she will be so as a nuclear scientist or a pastor. Religion does not inherently make you an asshole any more than practicing Aikido makes you a Buddhist monk.
Automatically making the connection between religion and primitive violence (such as the murderous Islamic Jihad) is as wrong as making the automatic connection between science and benevolence (Eugenics anyone?). Both assumptions are wrong. It's the Islamic Jihad that use religion to try and thinly veil their simple prehistoric barbarianism with a higher cause. Being the most visible they become the representatives of their ilk. Similarly Eugenics allowed racism to be veiled in science and allow the trains to Auschwitz to be rationalized.
It is Atheists, the men and woman of science and logic that should be the at the forefront of objecivism often are as busy with preconceptions as their theocratic counterparts.
Where does that leave me? I stand where I have always. Firmly rooted at an arbitrary point on any map you wish to draw, watching it all go by.
-----------------------
On a completely unrelated note, the 2000 Jamiesons Run, Coonawarra, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot is a mature south Australian wine worth picking up. It's a mix of grapes you don't always see.
Have You... (Score:2)
....read Dan Denett [tufts.edu]'s book Darwin's Dangerous Idea?
I also can't proclaim all religious people as stupid, since that would be nearly all of my ancestors. Nor can I claim that I am free of all deluded thoughts. I will say however, that fundamentalist religion, of whatever tradition, is deluded.
I could go further, but I think it best to get back to work...
Re:Have You... (Score:2)
Thanks for the heads-up. The books sounds fascinating and is now a proud member of my Amazon wish list [amazon.com].