|
| |
Faith, Logic & Religion
The Dilemma of Religion
by Jan A. Larson
The nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, the on-
going acts of terrorism by Muslim extremists and the debate
over the teaching of "intelligent design" in public schools are
just three current issues that have a religious component.
Religion is, at its heart, a personal matter. One's faith is largely
learned and not independently determined. If a person's parents
are raised Catholic, Hindu or Buddhist, then it is extremely
likely that he or she will hold similar beliefs. This in itself, from
a purely academic viewpoint, calls into question the validity of
any particular religious faith. Without the constant questioning
of one's faith, religion is little more than indoctrination.
Religious faith is not based in logic. Faith is really nothing more
than a personal belief in things that cannot be proved or
disproved. Faith provides a mechanism for the human mind to
rationalize the unknowable.
There are two realms of religious faith – the first realm includes
those beliefs that arise from ignorance. Scientific research
eliminates such beliefs from this realm over time. An example
of a phenomenon that was once viewed from a religious
perspective but later explained by science is the lunar eclipse.
Ancient peoples thought that a god or gods or other mythical
creatures were responsible for eclipses and that those eclipses
had specific (albeit non-scientific) significance. We now know
that simple orbital dynamics cause eclipses on a predictable
schedule.
The second realm of faith centers on things that are not only
unknown, but also are unknowable. This is where religion gets a
bad name. Any crackpot movement can come up with some
religious angle based on the unknowable and get the naïve or
feeble-minded to follow them, witness the mass suicide in
Guyana in the late 70's, the "Heaven's Gate" mass suicide in
1997 and the Muslim extremists' recruitment of suicide
bombers.
The pronouncements by terrorists that they plan to "eliminate the
infidels, God willing" are simply twisted uses of religion to
achieve their goals and constitute a false religion.
Unfortunately, religious fundamentalism does nothing to deter
those that dismiss all religious people as crackpots. People of
faith are often lumped in with zealots by those that would prefer
that all religion be eradicated from American society.
Ironically those that would dismiss all religious beliefs as
foolhardy and rooted in ignorance are demonstrating their own
ignorance given that there are things that are absolutely
unknowable. Is there a Creator that masterminded all that we
see or have ever seen? Is there an afterlife? No one knows with
absolute certainty. It requires faith to believe that there is a
Creator and an afterlife. However, it requires just as much faith
not to believe in a Creator or an afterlife.
The human mind is almost certainly incapable of comprehending
and understanding all there is to comprehend and understand.
Similarly, science is almost certainly incapable of deciphering
all of the mysteries of the universe.
The problem of separating religious zealotry or false religion
from religions that merely attempt to reconcile the unknowable
with mankind's limited ability to comprehend such things
constitutes the religious dilemma.
There will always be religious crackpots. There will be those
that practice a false religion. There will be those that will
commit the most heinous atrocities in the name of religion. On
the other hand, atheists can be crackpots as well and atrocities
are not the exclusive domain of the religious. Religious zealotry
on the part of a few is no more reflective of people of faith than
Ted Kennedy is reflective of all men named Ted.
The bottom line is that the human experience demands a certain
amount of faith. The belief in a higher power or the afterlife is
not indicative of zealotry or ignorance. It is simply reflective of
our humanity in which the human mind is limited in its
capabilities and that science will never provide all of the
answers.
-----
Jan A. Larson publishes a weekly commentary, “What is the Deal?” at
http://www.pieofknowledge.com. His
work also appears on NewsBull, OpinionEditorials, American
Daily, ChronWatch and The Conservative Voice.
-------------------------------------
These incredible books by A.O. Kime are available here!
~ purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Authorhouse ~
 |
Wisdom from the Golden Ages!
As the ancients did, learn how to discover the secrets of life... |
 |
The real story of the Stone Age!
Learn we didn't evolve from an ape nor crawled from the sea...
|
Ask your bookstore for titles by A.O.
Kime
~ America's finest metaphysician and philosopher ~
click here to read some of his great articles
Don't forget
to check out our featured Guest Authors
This website and contents are explained in our Introduction
>TOP
>HOME
... the place of smoke signals from
the spirit world
| |
A.O. Kime
articles
—AGRICULTURE
Biocontrols
Bio-oddities
DDT ban
Family farmers
Family farms
Farm socialism
Kansas Settlement
—ANTIQUITY
American cavemen
Ancient history
Ancient pyramids
Caveman facts
Caveman story
Cavemen-cultural
Charles Darwin
Cumbemayo
Evolution
Kennewick Man
Montezuma Castle
Neanderthals
Pre-Clovis cultures
Shoofly Village ruins
Stone Age history
Stone Age timelines
Stone Age tools
—METAPHYSICAL
Bodhisattva
Death
Divine
intelligence
Dreams
Enlightenment
Ethics
Guardian angels
Hope
Imagination
Immortality
Instincts
Land (the)
Matrix (real)
Metaphysics
Mnemosyne
Muse
Phenomena
Plotinus
Poetry
Polytheism
Semantics
Sixth sense
Spiritual soul
Spirit world
Subconscious mind
Suicide
Supernatural
—SOCIOPOLITICAL
19th Century
Arrogance
Civil wars
Civilization
Coolness
Economic injustices
Establishment
Foreign policies
Freedom
Globalization
Grand Jury
Herodotus
Int'l Criminal Court
Majority rule
Megalomania
Politesse
Proposition 203
Power lust
Rule of law
Sovereign immunity
Tobacco taxation
War criminals
World wars
|
METAPHYSICS·
ANCIENT HISTORY· SOCIOPOLITICAL ISSUES· AGRICULTURE· DIRECTORIES
