kriadydragon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kriadydragon) wrote2012-11-20 09:17 pm
kriadydragon) wrote2012-11-20 09:17 pm
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No, it doesn't have to be one or the other
Okay, so maybe this is simply a matter of me being a lot more aware of certain issues than I used to be but I feel like there's been a steady increase of the attitude that "All religious people are superstitious idiots who think science is evil." I mean, I know the debate of science vs. religion and you either believe in science or you believe in God has been around forever, but I've always considered it one of those incredibly stupid and pointless arguments because while, yes, granted, you do have your religions who totally reject science, as usual it is not the case with every single religion out there.
My faith, for example. We don't see God as some magician who waved his hand and, poof, there was the Earth. We believe he works in natural ways just as much as mysterious ways (as a religious teacher of mine once put it, God has a Ph.d in everything). For us, science doesn't disprove anything, instead it explains a lot. There are scientists out there who believe in God, and instead of their faith being diminished by science, it's increased. Speaking for myself, I adore shows that explore how the Earth might have been made, or the moon, or the galaxy, because it's so fascinating and reminds me just how awesome God's creations are. As for those bits and tiddles of science that I don't agree with... for one, I just don't worry about it. For another, come on, scientists disagree about stuff all the time, and what's fact today may be disproved by tomorrow. Thus why I don't worry about it.
So, yeah, don't give me this crap about it's either science or religion and you can't be a scientist and be religious, or that being religious stifles the need to ask questions and make discoveries. It's sort of like with that Baptist church who protests funerals - they do not represent religion and religious people as a whole. So just because someone says they're Christian don't even assume that means they reject science. And just because someone's a scientist does not automatically mean they don't believe in God.
I've been on this major "don't judge a religion by the fanatics" kick lately. Or, more accurately, "quit it with the religious-shaming" kick. I feel like anti-religious feelings (and I mean really nasty anti-religious feelings) have been sky-rocketing, lately. Then again, I feel there's been a drastic increase of having no respect for other people's opinions and beliefs, period. That it's gone from let's agree to disagree, to you don't agree with me therefore you're stupid, to you don't agree with me therefore you are evil and must be verbally ripped to shreds and shunned (something our family had a personal experience with just last month, thank you very much politics :P I won't go into it except to say that something hurtful and insulting had been said, simply because our political opinions differed from that of someone else).
My faith, for example. We don't see God as some magician who waved his hand and, poof, there was the Earth. We believe he works in natural ways just as much as mysterious ways (as a religious teacher of mine once put it, God has a Ph.d in everything). For us, science doesn't disprove anything, instead it explains a lot. There are scientists out there who believe in God, and instead of their faith being diminished by science, it's increased. Speaking for myself, I adore shows that explore how the Earth might have been made, or the moon, or the galaxy, because it's so fascinating and reminds me just how awesome God's creations are. As for those bits and tiddles of science that I don't agree with... for one, I just don't worry about it. For another, come on, scientists disagree about stuff all the time, and what's fact today may be disproved by tomorrow. Thus why I don't worry about it.
So, yeah, don't give me this crap about it's either science or religion and you can't be a scientist and be religious, or that being religious stifles the need to ask questions and make discoveries. It's sort of like with that Baptist church who protests funerals - they do not represent religion and religious people as a whole. So just because someone says they're Christian don't even assume that means they reject science. And just because someone's a scientist does not automatically mean they don't believe in God.
I've been on this major "don't judge a religion by the fanatics" kick lately. Or, more accurately, "quit it with the religious-shaming" kick. I feel like anti-religious feelings (and I mean really nasty anti-religious feelings) have been sky-rocketing, lately. Then again, I feel there's been a drastic increase of having no respect for other people's opinions and beliefs, period. That it's gone from let's agree to disagree, to you don't agree with me therefore you're stupid, to you don't agree with me therefore you are evil and must be verbally ripped to shreds and shunned (something our family had a personal experience with just last month, thank you very much politics :P I won't go into it except to say that something hurtful and insulting had been said, simply because our political opinions differed from that of someone else).
no subject
And this is despite the fact that my mom tried her best to raise me to believe in the most anti-science positions taken by Christians aside from the "dinosaurs-didn't-exist" position. Although she did try to keep us away from dinosaur stuff on the basis that we might learn too much about evolution *eyeroll*
That said, my answer is that from a scientific standpoint, it's theoretically possible that beings that exist outside our space and time dimensions would be able to fit all the criteria for most deities and other spiritual beings. And, since we don't have the capacity or technology to measure it, then we should leave it as an open question until then.
no subject
But that doesn't have to be the case and, in fact, shouldn't be the case at all. Science doesn't disprove God just as God doesn't disprove science. You can be a scientist and believe in God, and watch those nifty shows about how the universe was created and have your faith strengthened instead of demolished. You don't have to choose one over the other.
Plus, what we don't know now we'll know eventually, like the role dinosaurs played ;)