superbug religion and iPads
Not so long ago, Life on the Frogstar did an excellent post warning all us rational thinkers about the potential rise of a superbug religion, impervious to logic, that may sweep through the world sucking up all our superstitious genes in its path. In order to combat this, it seems sensible for atheists to procreate in larger numbers, or to support the weaker forms of religion, such as Christianity, which, although problematic, discriminatory and sometimes harmful to society, may be the better option.
Let’s for a moment explore the possibility that the world’s fastest growing religion, Islam, could be that foretold superbug religion. I think it’s fair to say that with its current record for violence and serious gender discrimination, it’s a concern for anyone interested in freedom and equality that Islam is spreading so quickly. I’m open to hearing more moderate interpretations of Islam, but it’s obvious that the fundamentalist interpretation is somehow seductive in its charms, and is there to be exploited by many political agendas.
So, what is the most effective way of stopping any superbug religion in its tracks? I would suggest this may be achieved by promoting rational thinking, science, philosophy and, ultimately, atheism. I’m all for a conspiracy theory, so I’m wondering why, instead of assisting with damaging and violent wars that are always inconclusive and breed yet further problems, the constantly meddling western powers don’t meddle via useful indoctrination, via education, via rational thought.
There is so much news coverage currently asking if it is time to arm the rebels in Syria. Haven’t we been through this a million times before? Why do ‘we’ want to give weapons of murder to people, which inevitably lead to helping them kill themselves and their families in struggles that ultimately never have a satisfying conclusion? Look at Afghanistan, look at Iraq. Further back, look at what meddling in power struggles in Vietnam resulting in, look at what meddling in power struggles in 1950s Iran has brought that country to today. Giving people weapons cannot be the answer. Removing weapons is part of the answer, economic pressure is part of the answer, and provision of education (or effective indoctrination) is a huge part of the answer.
So, I propose that the budget allocated to militarily meddling in foreign affairs is used to distribute millions of iPads so that people can read what happened in civil wars throughout history, so they can read about the futility of hate and revenge, so they can read atheist blogs and wonder why they believe the religion they were born into, and not a different religion they weren’t born into. Give them iPads, so when they get bored of philosophical and historical research, they can play Angry Birds and forget how angry they are, then listen to soothing music and forget how painful the world is.
Religion no longer needs to be the opium of society. We now have mindless entertainment at our fingertips that brings the added bonus of brushing up on the combined knowledge of the entire human race down through history. If we can’t free people with knowledge and the paths to critical thinking, we can at least distract them with shiny toys that can suck up a whole day, before you get even a minute to think, “Now, where did I put that grenade?”
Religion no longer needs to be the opium of society. We now have mindless entertainment at our fingertips
The idea of the mass media as a substitue for relgion intrigues me as a political scientist. It might explain why western societies has become secularized, for example our famous actors/actresses/musicians/artists are more like the ancient greek gods godesses then the saints of catholicism (I tend to consider catholicism as a henotheistic rather than a monotheistic religion).
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As soon as the celebrities get round to healing the sick and making wishes come true, the transition will be complete.
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John Malkovich saved a mans life in Canada yesterday…. It’s happening!!!
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Wow, if any celebrity was going to kick off the trend, it would be the man whose head we can whoosh into!
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Ah, so you too have found floor 7½ 🙂
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It relocated to Argentina. What did you think I was doing over there?
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Sowing the seeds of the next revolution….. which means distributing pots and pans.
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Excellent video on evolution. If you know this stuff skip to the last ten minutes where Jerry Coyne discusses this topic (critical thinking) and reveals some very interesting stats concerning religion/god belief /creation and a country’s stability,happiness,violence etc etc. The States lies 33 out of 34 technologically advanced nations. Fascinating.
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I really want to watch it, but an hour is not something I have up my sleeve at the moment. I’ll file it in my head for later. The stats about the US do sound interesting – because obviously access to information isn’t a problem there and yet there is a scarily high and seriously strong religious headcount.
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I didn’t listen to all of it either as Coyne covers many similar aspects but uses numerous examples, so I fast-forwarded to around 48 minutes and watched the next ten then skipped the last 5 mins of Q& A.
The survey and stats he shows (which originally had nothing to do with religion, this came out at the end!) were of particular interest because quite a few religious types promote the belief that religion, and in particularly Christianity, promotes peace, inner-feelings of self worth and goodwill to all men etc.
While I concede this may be true of a few individuals, especially those who may have been addicts or victims of abuse in one form or another, it does not seem to apply to huge chunks of society.
Deconversion stories, such as Nate’s also paint an entirely different picture re: this supposed peace and harmony hogwash and it also flies in the face of what dickheads like Unklee write on his blog.
Coyne’s summary suggesting the way to rid society of religion not by fighting it toe to toe (though he admits he enjoys this) but by introducing critical thinking at primary school level and his ‘call to arms’ regarding a more loving, caring society is an indictment of everything that religion purports to be.
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Oh my goodness! He must have stolen that from one of my posts! 🙂
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I should have a word with him in that case.
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yeah its a good video,
like coyne…my suggestion for dealing with the issue of religion and the super bug is scientific education. In the video, coyne shows a direct relation between scientific education and religious dogma. That the more scietificially educated a person is, the less religious he is.
He also has a great video on -Are religion and science compatible? I enjoyed it so much, i ended up creating a three part series on how religion and science contradict. I am almost finished with it. Will probably have it out by the end of the month.
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Sounds really interesting! Look forward to reading it.
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Surely everything in this world, Religion included, has a purpose.Unfortunately, large number of us ascribe meanings and motives which may really not be there. The criticism that Religion promotes delusional mindsets arises from this.
Shakti
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Thanks for your comment! I agree with you that all our traits have (or had) a purpose in terms of our evolution. Superstition is linked to the desire to find answers for the unknown, and the propensity to follow organised religions surely builds stable, stronger and ultimately more successful societies. I feel like we’ve reached the point where we can acknowledge the roots of these tendencies and come to the logical conclusion that the existence of invisible deities is highly improbable.
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Jimmy Carr: Send arms to Syria now, and we’ll have to send legs and wheelchairs later. World spending on arms is $1.75 trillion. The US spends £809bn on education, and $682bn on arms.
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It’s a sad world when Jimmy Carr talks more sense than our politicians. I’m actually surprised that the US spends more on education than arms (not that I feel any better looking at those figures …)
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I know you like nutcase Christian blogs. Here is a Catholic, who thinks that those baptised Catholic who believe gays can get married are all going to Hell. http://aconvertedheart.net/2013/06/09/score-one-for-the-holy-goalie-bishop-thomas-paprocki-stands-up-to-hostile-crowd/ I think the clue is in the word “converted”- converts can take things a wheen too seriously sometimes.
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Haha, thanks, I think. I had to read the post three times to understand the angle. I wonder if I’ll make it through moderation …
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I see that you did. He argues a very simplistic view, which enables him to be logical within his own closed system. Oh well. The post and comments show what a marvellous ideology Constantine made Christianity for his own control.
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Absolutely! It really is frightening – makes you realise that no rational argument could even begin to get them questioning. I was considering going down the empathy for young people angle, but after reading the comments I realise that would be lost on all of them. The Christians who are more than happy to accept that their god is horrible are impossible to deal with. I think I might do more lurking round that site if I get time though, it’s an interesting find!
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Ahem…
I DID NOT say that. What I said was much more nuanced, and tempered with recourse to the Divine Mercy. Putting forth straw men does not an argument make.
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You did, Mark. There you were blathering on about “goats” and when I pressed you, you mentioned Matthew 25 just in case it was not entirely clear. That you later contradicted yourself, talking of what mortal sin is, does not take away from what you said. Repent!
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You wrote,
“The Church teaches what she teaches. One is free to accept those teachings or not. Those who do are Catholic; those who do not are not Catholic. Simple as that. To advocate for same-sex marriage after Christ himself already said what marriage is, is to stand at odds with the Church that he established, and that’s the Bishop’s point. As for the Church shrinking over this, that’s a good thing. Even Jesus said that many are called, and few are chosen. In the end, it’s not about numbers. As Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said by way of paraphrasing St. Augustine, “the truth is always the truth even if no one believes it, and a lie is always a lie even if everyone believes it.” The Church, that is, the real Church, is indeed shrinking and that’s a good thing, for at the end of the day the Lord’s work of separating the sheep from the goats will be made all the easier.” (my emphasis)
You stand revealed as a monstrous nutcase, Mark. Goats, indeed. For accepting God’s blessing of gay unions- God blesses them, though your church does not.
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Friend, all I can say is that I invite you to read the Gospels and Christ’s own words on the subject of marriage. And with that, I’m going to bow out and leave the rest of this all in the hands of the Holy Spirit. God bless..
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By the way, now that I’ve earned my “monstrous nutcase” merit badge, will you make up a T-shirt and send it to me? Seriously. Actually, I’d rather have Catholic Monstrous Nutcase kitchen apron. Maybe you could put something together on Cafepress and send it across the pond? 🙂
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The arrogance of the man. Damning most of the world to Hell, and then demanding that I make a t shirt for him, Mark, if you understood anything, especially the Bible, you would be so ashamed. Again I say unto you, Repent!
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You know, this conversation will be a lot more productive if you will be intellectually honest about what I actually said. I DID NOT damn “most of the world” to hell. In fact I didn’t damn anyone, if you read my comments CAREFULLY, more than once I said it’s not up to me, it’s up to Christ, and that we should never underestimate the depths of Divine Mercy. Now, you don’t get from there to me “damming most of the world to hell” UNLESS you have already decided in advance that this is the conclusion you want to make. All the claims I see on this page about “rational thinking” are just that, claims. Straw men and ad hominem attacks are not arguments. I’m starting to wonder, do you actually have reasoned argument, or is shouting at the rain all you are capable of?
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What did you mean by ” The Church, that is, the real Church, is indeed shrinking and that’s a good thing, for at the end of the day the Lord’s work of separating the sheep from the goats will be made all the easier.”? Or referring to Matthew 25 when I asked you to elucidate?
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I meant that Christ himself spoke of a time where the righteous will be separated from the wicked. But…he is the one who will do the judging not me, not you, not Bishop Paprocki and not anyone else. That there will be those who are damned is certain. We know this because Christ has told us so. But it is not our place to decide who that is, because none of us can peer into the depths of a human heart and know with divine omniscience what is there. But there is always hope in the Divine Mercy and there is no sin so great that God cannot forgive it, over and over, and over again. But that Mercy does not mean that everyone is going to heaven because, as Christ tells us, there will be some who will not accept that mercy and who will not amend their lives accordingly. If you have issues with that, then you need to take that up with God, not me, because I don’t make the rules. And…for the record I didn’t “demand” a T-shirt, I asked, kind of tongue-in-cheek. There’s no reason we can’t have a little humor here is there?
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Sigh. You can give humour but not hear it yourself. Perhaps the word “arrogance” was too close for comfort for you. But- that comment. You backtracked later, but what you said first (in total) was
(Sigh) Where to start? Well, first of all, Bishop Paprocki doesn’t want to “get rid of” people. What he is advocating for is a degree of intellectual honesty wherein people exercise the courage of their convictions. If one disagrees with the Church on core issues of theology and doctrine, then what does it mean to call one’s self Catholic? Not much. The Church teaches what she teaches. One is free to accept those teachings or not. Those who do are Catholic; those who do not are not Catholic. Simple as that. To advocate for same-sex marriage after Christ himself already said what marriage is, is to stand at odds with the Church that he established, and that’s the Bishop’s point. As for the Church shrinking over this, that’s a good thing. Even Jesus said that many are called, and few are chosen. In the end, it’s not about numbers. As Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said by way of paraphrasing St. Augustine, “the truth is always the truth even if no one believes it, and a lie is always a lie even if everyone believes it.” The Church, that is, the real Church, is indeed shrinking and that’s a good thing, for at the end of the day the Lord’s work of separating the sheep from the goats will be made all the easier. Bishop Paprocki is not trying to “get rid of” anyone. The Church is for all who believe and accept her teachings. Those who don’t believe, and don’t accept those teachings need to seek life elsewhere.”
I am delighted if you recognise that is wicked rubbish, but object to you reading the opposite meaning into it.
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And as far as understanding the Bible goes, again, read the Gospels and Jesus’ teachings marriage. Seriously, actually read it.
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Jesus’ teachings refer to straight divorce. Have a look at http://www.gaychristian101.com/did-jesus-define-marriage-as-only-between-a-man-and-a-woman.html
As they say, it is “101”- there is nothing complex about this.
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Yeah, I’m aware of this site. This is a quintessentially Protestant problem. Scripture can be spun in a variety of different directions, it’s not hard. I could very easily make the Bible preach atheism. It would simply be a matter of stringing the right passages together in the right order. Again, it’s not hard. The reason Christ established a Church with an infallible teaching authority is, at least in part, to provide a proper interpretive context for understanding scripture. Absent that context, one can make the Bible say anything one wants and exhibit A are the literally thousands of Protestant denominations worldwide (most of whom are no larger than a single congregation) each with radically divergent interpretations of scripture. The folks over at 101 interpret Christ’s teachings in this way because that’s how they want to see it. An atheist might interpret those teachings differently because that’s how he want to see it, and so on. Catholics understand that the Magisterium of the Church interprets scripture correctly, because it’s teaching charism is safeguarded from error by the Holy Spirit. Now, I’ll admit that a lot of people think that’s a bunch of nonsense, but there it is.
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This is the kind of thinking that led to the child abuse cover-up. Constantine established your church, not Christ. Yours is a closed system: you can say all that ridiculous rubbish about people who do not oppose gay marriage being “goats” in the Matthew 25 sense because you do not care about truth.
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🙂 Ahhh… the ol’ I-don’t-have-a-rational-argument-so-I’ll-resort-to-bringing-up-the-sex-abuse-scandal-where-it-isn’t-relevant-and-hope-that-no-one-notices tactic. It’s an oldie but a goodie isn’t it? The sex abuse scandal really is a kind of ecclesial jelly-of-the-month club, it’s the gift that keeps on giving… I was wondering how long it would take before you brought that up. What it has to do with Christ’s teachings on marriage escapes me, but then I’m middle-aged and my mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be.
As for Constantine establishing the Church, that too is a common tactic but it doesn’t stand up serious scrutiny. Go read the early Church fathers from the 1st and 2nd centuries. I heartily recommend St. Ireneus’ Adversus heresus. The point being, the further back you go, the more Catholic it gets.
You mentioned the Episcopal Church. Who started that? Why, good ol’ fornicating, adulterating, Henry VIII who murdered Anne Boleyn and then went all over your country killing anyone who didn’t agree with his declaring himself the head of the Church. Great way to start a church! Really, c’est magnifique…
Look, it’s been a gas, but it’s 1:00 here and I’m going to go get some lunch. This discussion has now devolved to the point where I’m bored, so I’m going head out and “grab a bite” as you British say. No hard feelings…God bless…
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Run away, run away. At least I am glad that you denied the rubbish you spouted earlier about people being damned.
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Wow. Spending even one tenth of the military budget on increasing the quality of people’s lives? That’s sheer genius!
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I wonder if it would work …
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