Re: atheism

Spudboy100@aol.com
Mon, 8 Nov 1999 11:21:42 EST

In a message dated 11/08/1999 7:32:39 AM Eastern Standard Time, rob@hbinternet.co.uk writes: 

> Basically, it turns out that humans are lizard GTI, and that virtually

> nobody has any interest whatsoever in matters beside those directly
> applicable to the animal. I have become what they claimed to be - and now I
> find myself alone. From this perspective, try and imagine how grating the
> zealous rant of the religious really is, when they have the potential for
so
> much more.

Well stated. Your point regarding about (I'm paraphrasing) rekigious/social leaders using religion as a means of societal control are historically accurate. My contention is that not every inter-action between religion and science is not a re-do of the Scopes trial or even poor Galileo. At every AAAS conference there is a lecture given to science and religion, focusing on dialogue. Although religion (Christianity) of the 19th and the Fundamentalists of the 20th century have played the zero-sum game; there's no causal reason why this must ever be so.

Don't be surprised with every scientific discovery achieved, that it gets utilized by the religious, I mean, why not? Religion as practiced by the non-fundamentalist is a form of social inter-action, and also an "opiate" to quote Marx. When life is painful, painkillers are frequently the treatment of choice, while the underlying cause of the pain is tackled.

Interestingly enough, if one reads magazines such as Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer; they only thing the readers of that magazine have in common with most of this list's members is Atheism or Agnosticism. They generally have dumped on such demonstrated concepts as nanotechnology; join Scientific American (1997) magazine in terming it a "Cargo Cult" up there with cold fusion and zero point energy devices.

Not everyone who dares to hope, even for a God, is a book-burner; a disuader of searching for answers, or a hypocrite. Such people may be mis-guided in that hope, but its their right. Just as it is your right to say 'its all bullshit, <God> gets in my way, I don't wanna hear any lies'. Fair enough.