~ The more you can make fun of something, the less right it is, right? ~
At times, I let people know conversationally that I do not believe in god(s). This has led to very interesting speculation by people who do - the largest jump ever taken was, "Doesn't that mean you worship the devil?"
Hold on, really? For reals? That's where your mind takes you when you contemplate life without god(s)? Oh, right, religious leaders and particularly the bible likes to state that if you aren't for 'em, your against 'em.
Those leaders like to narrow your choices, so for them it's either god(s) or the devil. It seems the message is that it's easier when you have less options, that way the "right" answer is more clear. It is similar to the way you would offer options to a small child - less equals more success. They leave out another choice: life free from that particular superstition. It should be a right to be informed of that option.
Very commonly, religious folk that tend to like to banter with me or have friendly discourse with me contend that science, especially the theory of evolution, exists simply to contradict their own religion. I find that a very conceited thought progression.
To wit: several years ago, while out with dinner with a group of acquaintances, I let on in conversation that I do not subscribe to religion. I was asked by a Christian in our group, "Well, what do you believe in, Science?"
I don't know if I even suppressed my laughter at the stupidity of that question. Lack of faith in god(s) means I have to have faith in something else? Belief in science (haha) - science is a structure or process for seeking answers to questions, so... kind of, sure. But really, with science, the hope is that there will be evidence to support a theory. Your theory is roughly the answer you have in mind to a question, usually a logical assumption that you think you can prove (again, with facts).
Take for example: Someone was murdered. You theorize it was committed by a person, because it happened with a weapon commonly used by people, but that would be difficult for a cat (the only other possible suspect) to use. Then you find a trail of evidence that proves it was a person! That process is usually called forensic science.
Science is a method of inquiry, not something to be believed in, or have faith in. You can disprove theories using science, too. I believe fact; I have faith in facts. Provable, evidence-based reality.
After a much shorter response than that, the same person then asked if I believed in evolution. Well, as a matter of fact, it also isn't something to believe in. It is a theory, those are hard to believe in, because theories are more a path of inquisition. A theory, then, is also not a belief structure. It is pretty easy to believe in the evidence provided by scientific inquiry, though. Again, provable stuff, real stuff.
As far as science goes - I think the investigation and resultant discoveries are fun! Science is like permission to play, from childhood throughout life, with questions and answers. Tossing around proverbial balls. And then, with something that can be proven, and is proven, I am prone to believing it. Not IN it, I just believe it.
Back (again) to this gal. She then proceeded to pose another stupid question, "So, you think we all descended from monkeys?"
- I should qualify here that I call her questions stupid because they show a huge lack of any sort of understanding for the things she was trying to mock me with. And stupid because they were designed more to mock than create discourse. When she looked around at our dinner crowd, guffawing with self-congratulation at her witty line of questions to a non-believer, patting herself on the back for a win that wasn't, it was pretty ridiculous. You get the idea. -
Evolution does not state that we descended directly from monkeys any more than horses and zebras all descended from, I don't know... let's say donkeys. If you want more information about something, look it up - and don't make assumptions based on questionable information given to you by someone who has motivation to lie and make fun of alternatives to their belief structure.
Evolutionary theory is a scientific study of the diversity of life on the planet and the path that life took to get from as far back as we can study to now. It is tracing a path of identifiable, real, tangible evidence to answer the question of where all this diversity of life came from, and how it came about. It's not that complicated - but it is a lengthy thing to discuss and does not at all coincide with the biblical statement that god made the earth in 7 days.
So, in summary, science and Evolutionary Theory are not in response to religion. They seem to me the logical steps a society enlightened by written historical record, shared information, technological advances and improved methods of study would take. These intellectual advancements will hopefully make superstitious behavior overwhelmingly passé.
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