While contemplating the ludicrous scribblings of an apologist, I had an epiphany. Creationists, and other people who allow religion to limit their thinking, do not only fail to have any curiosity (because their religion already has all the answers), but they persecute anyone who is curious. Consider the whole concept of a geocentric universe: Once you believe a story that says a magic invisible man created Earth for humans and gave us a light bulb called the sun, you’re all done. There’s no need to consider the sun rising in the morning or setting in the evening. Obviously the sun is a mere accessory for Earth — we are the center of the universe as we know it.
Then some guy has the nerve to make observations, write things down, do some math, and ask questions. With nothing other than solid evidence to back him up, he claims that Earth orbits the sun. What happens? The Catholic Church persecutes him and places him under house arrest until his death.
Of course, now that the fact is completely indisputable, the church has apologized. But that’s not the point. That they were completely wrong is not the problem at all. People are wrong all the time, and they disagree with others all the time. What is so aggregious about their behavior is that they forced their self-imposed limitations on others. It’s like being afraid of the monster under the bed, but refusing to turn on the light and look. Silly, sure. But when it becomes evil is when you punish your brother for trying to check under the bed himself.
For those who choose to limit their sphere of knowledge, that is a sad thing indeed. But inflicting your ignorance on others is just evil.
While trying to explain to a theist why it isn’t their fault that they were raised irrationally, I hit upon a fantastic rule of thumb. Basically, it goes like this: “The less likely you would have been to believe something if you had heard it from an unknown source, the more you need to examine it before accepting it.”
Parents force religion onto their children before they learn to think about something before accepting it as true. For young children, accepting their parents’ words without question is vital — it keeps them from getting hit by cars and burning themselves in the kitchen.
The same idea applies to anyone we trust. Spouses, parents, teachers, and friends have undue influence on us. So the next time someone tells you about some government conspiracy, a new-age “alternative” to medication, or a UFO sighting, consider the facts before believing them — even if they are someone you love.
As time passes, the whole idea of religion just gets sillier to me. We live in a world where most people believe in something they can not see. The results of their prayers are indistinguishable from random chance, good things are attributed to their favorite deity, and bad things are written off as beyond our understanding.
Not a single person has a sound reason for their religious beliefs. If such a reason existed, they would have spread it and large numbers of people (if not everyone in the world) would have converted to their religion. Instead, each religion has a set of teachings which were written by people who didn’t know that germs cause illness and that washing your hands prevents the spread of disease.
It’s just a thing people do. Like becoming obsessed with a favorite TV show or celebrity. Some people are so into a video game that they dress up as characters from it and go to national conventions. Humans are a social species, and we like to find others to identify with to become part of an in-group. Religion fills that need very well. The problem is that it comes with a lot of baggage which cause people to do harm to one another.
Basically, being a devoted member of a religion isn’t any different than being a devoted Star Trek fan who speaks fluent Klingon and goes to all the conventions in costume. It’s all a lifestyle choice. So if you have a pet religion at the moment, take a look at it. Ask yourself why you believe it, and what reason you would give someone else so that they can believe in it. You’ll find that it all comes down to the fact that you choose to accept it without reason because you feel like you’re accepted somewhere. You can find that in many other places without all the built-in guilt, fear, and tales of eternal hellfire.
