Faith in Science

An atheist conference called for science to destroy religion.

Science must ultimately destroy organized religion, according to some of the leading atheist writers and intellectuals who spoke at a recent atheist conference in Northern Virginia. God is a myth, and children must not be schooled in any faith, they said, at the "Crystal Clear Atheism" event, sponsored by the Atheist Alliance International.

The two keynote speakers seemed to have slightly different views about religion in general. One said all religions are the same while the other marked differences. One basically said there are no moderate religions just ones who haven’t decided to blow themselves up yet, while the other just felt that believers just need to smarten up. One got a standing ovation while the other received a polite clap.

The black and white and highly popular Dawkins did have two interesting quotes. The first one, I think he is on to something but then loses it in the end.

"Religion is not the root of all evil, but it gets in the way of [determining] how we got here and where we find ourselves," Dawkins said. "And that is an evil in itself."

Religion can be used in evil way without a doubt. The Spanish Inquisition jumps right out in my mind, followed by suicide bombing in the name of Allah. I could go on to name endless examples on how evil was done in the name of religion but then again I could also list evil after evil where religion had nothing to do with it. The evil comes from a lust for power. There are many tools used to gather that power such as money, political influence, physical strength, knowledge and religious doctrine but it all boils down to becoming your own god. That is the point I think he is missing, he is blaming the tool.

The second one I happen to completely agree with him but probably not for the same reason.

Dawkins was particularly critical of parents who raise their children as a "Catholic child" or "Protestant child." Children must not be labeled as subscribing to a particular religion, he said, and should be allowed to examine the evidence and determine their beliefs for themselves.

Becoming a Christian is a choice that each person should make on their own. Parents, as Christians, do have a duty to expose their children to words of God but they should not try to force anything upon them.

Many of the attendees seemed to have developed an aversion to religion from
conservative, Protestant Christians. Several of the atheists Cybercast News Service spoke to complained of living under fundamentalist parents who frowned upon any questioning of the Bible or any activity condemned in Scripture.

Each and every person should be free to question the Bible. As for activities condemned by the Bible, there is not a Christian out there that hasn’t committed an activity condemned by the Bible. It is called sin and everyone does it no matter how holy they pretend to be (which in itself is a sin). There is a fine line between condemning the sin and condemning the sinner and it is a line that is cross a lot. When that line is crossed, there tends to be negative effects. Nobody likes to have a finger pointed at them even if they are in the wrong.

This wouldn’t be Mutt Lounge if I didn’t make one dog reference in such a long post. When house training a puppy, one can beat them in to obedience but there are some very negative effects. A beaten dog is never as affectionate and is more likely to bite. They tend to be less loyal and run away when given the chance.
Lastly, I will make one Biblical reference. King David (from David and Goliath) is repeated called “a man after God’s own heart” and even he committed adultery and murder.

Church and State