The irony of religion is that because of its power to divert man to
destructive courses, the world could actually come to an end. The plain
fact is, religion must die for mankind to live. The hour is getting very
late to be able to indulge in having in key decisions made by religious
people. By irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state
not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a
chicken. George Bush prayed a lot about Iraq, but he didn't learn a lot
about it. Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking. It's nothing
to brag about. And those who preach faith, and enable and elevate it are
intellectual slaveholders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and
nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction.
Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don't have all
the answers to think that they do. Most people would think it's
wonderful when someone says, "I'm willing, Lord! I'll do whatever you
want me to do!" Except that since there are no gods actually talking to
us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions and
limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just
know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don't. How can I be
so sure? Because I don't know, and you do not possess mental powers that
I do not. The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the big
questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of
religion, but doubt. Doubt is humble, and that's what man needs to be,
considering that human history is just a litany of getting shit dead
wrong. This is why rational people, anti-religionists, must end their
timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves. And those who
consider themselves only moderately religious really need to look in
the mirror and realize that the solace and comfort that religion brings
you actually comes at a terrible price. If you belonged to a political
party or a social club that was tied to as much bigotry, misogyny,
homophobia, violence, and sheer ignorance as religion is, you'd resign
in protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife, for the
true devils of extremism that draw their legitimacy from the billions of
their fellow travelers. If the world does come to an end here, or
wherever, or if it limps into the future, decimated by the effects of
religion-inspired nuclear terrorism, let's remember what the real
problem was that we learned how to precipitate mass death before we got
past the neurological disorder of wishing for it. That's it. Grow up or
die.
Penny: Oh big deal. Not knowing is part of the fun.
Sheldon: "Not knowing is part of the fun". Was that the motto of your community college?
~
This is where the old mountain goat lives. He hangs out here and has a good time. B. R.