"What will you do if evolution is disproven?" says the usually misinformed religious person to the typical person of no faith.
So what? This is the nature of science. Science requires no belief on the part of those who accept its virtues; science merely requires a basic understanding of reality and the ability to experience with one's own senses. Put simply, if evolution is ever disproved, then most non-religious people will simply move onto the next accepted theory. If the next great discovery in science uncovers incontrovertible evidence of creation by deity tomorrow, then the majority of atheists are intellectually honest enough to pursue that thread wherever it leads, even if it leads -- ironically -- to religious belief.
In stark contrast, despite the fact that most tenets of religion have not stood up well to scrutiny, religious believers remain as faithful as ever. It seems that each successive scientific discovery extends the cloud of doubt over religion, yet religious faith remains as strong as ever. In fact, the religious take that faith as "the evidence of things unseen;" i.e., the belief in a phenomenon in the face of overwhelming evidence against a phenomenon is taken as "evidence" of that phenomenon! With reasoning like this, Santa Claus would be as real as the parents who are actually responsible for providing children with Christmas presents every year!
Yes, there are questionable hypotheses out there regarding the genesis (sorry) of the universe, but they are just that, hypotheses, "what-ifs," thought experiments. Some are cockamamie (like panspermia), others are mathematically viable (string theory, multiple universes), and others have been largely disproven (accordion theory), but that is the nature of science. Science is not an end-result; science is a journey of truth. Religion, on the other hand, is a collection of ancient mythologies posing as the end truth of all things. The scientist says he does not know enough; the religionist says he knows all he needs to know. Which are you?
Oh, my dear old friend. Will you ever see this comment? I returned to my 2013-2014 blog (http://ascendedapprentice.com) after several years of hiatus and getting clean and sober, for a number of years at least. For some reason, I found our old conversation on an ancient post of mine, and connected to this blog from a link you provided.
ReplyDeleteI guess I take exception with the idea that there are "religious people" and "non-religious" people. Of course, there are just "people." Well, I don't take exception really, but I do wonder if how your journey has progressed over the past five years. Do you still not believe that the Universe in conscious? She really is. She'll talk back to you if you come to her correctly. But religion keeps going because it fundamentally alters people for the better, for the most part. People get off drugs, find happiness, find purpose, find community, all through religion. It's more than "faith." It's a very real connection to a Higher Power than yourself that will communicate with you a billion different ways to prove to you it exists. it doesn't even take "faith," not really. It takes "willingness to be wrong" or a "willingness to test the hypothesis that supreme consciousness exists."
Do you think the Earth is just a dead thing you can claim? She is conscious too. The planets and stars are macroconsciousness, existing for billions of years. The galaxies are even bigger consciousnesses, existing even longer. This Universe, as most call Her, is multidimensional containing realms upon realms, and yet it is still only a small piece of the actual All-That-Is Omniverse. It's actually too big for a human mind to understand, legitimately. But I think it's fun to try, anyway.
People you call "religious" are people who have more than a bias for their faith. They have experiential existence that shows them billions of ways it exists. But, at the time you wrote this, you were convinced there was nothing beyond the physical because you couldn't "see" it. You see, what, 1% of the EM spectrum? Don't you think there could be parts of unknown amidst the other 99%?
Trust me, there are. I walk them everyday. I exist multidimensinoally and have met you 100 different places beyond the physical. Do you believe me? Do you even remember me? Do you think I am lying to you to try to get you to prescribe to some faith? Why in the world would I do that? Why would I take the time in 2022 to sit here and write this comment that I'm pretty sure you might never see - all just to see if you woken up to some sort, any sort, of greater truth? It's a convoluted existence of infinite realities all existing "here and now" to you, a linear organism having a human experience.
Do you remember me? I'm at my blog again, or I'm on Twitter (http://twitter.com/HugheyWrites). Let me know you're still alive if you ever happen to see this.