Faith Part 2

We all have the ability to reason, to figure things out logically based on observation, logic, and tested assumptions. This is the ability that gets us through life, enables us to learn and be productive, to solve problems and understand ideas. It is what has brought us human advancements and civilization, all the technology we enjoy and need every day to carry on our lives. Our capaity to employ intelligent thought is what separates humans from other animals and has allowed us to be the dominant species on the planet.

Why toss this aside and replace it with faith -- "Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence" according to dictionary.com? Yet, when it comes to religious belief, that is exactly what most people do. For the most part, people do not believe in extraordinary claims without strong evidence, but in religious matters, they do, and they are proud of it. A quick review of available evidence will tell you that there are numerous religions in the world, and at most only one can be correct, so what are the chances it's yours?

If you think the evidence for Christianity is better than it is for other religions, consider this: Before Jesus was ever born (if he existed at all), there were other gods in other religions that had similar characteristics. Walked on water, raised people from the dead, were resurrected themselves, died on a cross, born of a virgin, were the son of god, fed the masses from a few loaves of bread, etc., etc. What an astounding, remarkable, unbelievable coincidence that people told those stories about other people for centuries, then they actually happened to Jesus! There is no way you can believe that without abandoning reason altogether and choosing to believe the opposite of what your mind tells you must be true.

Why do most people choose faith, why have most people chosen it throughout history? I think the reason is that faith equals hope. I hope I will never die; I hope that when something bad happens, there is a reason, and it will all work out in the end; I hope that my life has a purpose; I hope my loved ones who died are not really gone forever; I hope someone is listening when I pray. The truth of life is not very cheerful; religion offers a more optimistic possibility, and we hate to let go of that.

Religion definitely is more optimistic. As an atheist, I can offer you only this when you die: It's over, and you are gone. You will never see your children or your grandchildren get older. Your time has passed, you're dead and that's that. And, as a bonus, unless you are Abraham Lincoln or some other noteworthy person, after a century or less it is likely that no one will ever think about you again.

So faith equals hope, but it does not equal truth. The very concept of faith is one we have to reject; that we should simply choose to believe wildly unlikely stories, rather than use our superior mental abilities to a least question and test them, is unacceptable. Religion cannot offer proof and so says "Just trust me", and people do. We don't make other decisions on such unquestioning trust, only decisions about the nature of the universe, right and wrong, what to teach our children, how to behave toward each other. Only some of the biggest questions we will ever face.

Faith is the problem.

Fox "News"

If I had to point to one institution in the US that has caused our politics to degenerate into partisanship and irrational viewpoints, I would choose Fox News.



Prior to Fox News, all of the major news networks tried to report the news objectively, not providing their own political slant. Yes, conservatives like to jabber about a liberal press, but studies show that this is not true, and honest conservatives (an oxymoron?) have admitted sometimes that the whole "liberal press" canard is more of a strategy than an honest complaint. The truth is, major networks tried to remain even-handed.



Fox News changed all that. For the first time, a major network was devoted to pushing one point of view no matter what, and that point of view is an extreme conservative one. (If you do not believe this, see my previous post. You do not know what you are talking about.) Fox News and other conservative outlets, like Rush Limbaugh, create a forum where conservatives can listen only to their own kind and hear only one side of every story. This pretty much guarantees that, on any issue, there will be a large conservative contingent that believes their side of the story, no matter how ridiculous, because a large organization with plenty of resources and a big viewership will push that story while pretending that they are actually reporting news, giving it credence in the minds of the gullible.

This constant advocacy has allowed us as a nation to debate the most clear-cut issues, such as whether torture is OK if the US does it, or whether experience as a small-town mayor qualifies you for Vice-President. It has allowed a large group of people to lose touch with reality and adopt positions that simply don't make sense. These people are what is left of the Republican Party.

Faith, Part 1

I have a salt shaker downstairs, with a race of tiny people living inside. These tiny people cannot be detected by any scientific means, and they do not do anything that can be detected by any scientific observation or experiment.

However, they have the power to do amazing things. For example, they created the entire universe, and they created life, and they can give you eternal life, so that you never have to die. Sometimes they may even grant your wishes; or not -- you can never tell for sure. The thing is though, you have to believe in them. If you don't, they won't grant your wishes of course (since you won't ask them to), and although you will still live forever, you won't like it much, because you will be tortured for eternity. So it's really important that you believe.

My neighbor on one side is absolutely certain that I am completely wrong about this, and doesn't believe in the tiny people (too bad for her.) Instead, she thinks there are fairies in the teapot that do basically the same thing. My neighbor on the other side is quite sure that we are both wrong, but he believes there are leprechauns in the sugar bowl. Both of them are of course badly mistaken and will be tortured forever after they die.

Oh, and you don't really have to give 10% of your money to the tiny people, but if you don't, you are kind of stealing from them. And if you want evidence, I don't really have any -- nothing you would call evidence anyway. You just have to believe.

You do believe in them, don't you?

If you are religious, that's your story. And that's all you've got.

This is called faith.

Sarah Palin

First, good riddance.

Next, I am one of the people who believes that she resigned because something is about to come to light that would have made it difficult or impossible for her to continue as governor. If she had just decided to leave politics and get back to her family life, why not take the time to prepare a good statement and go out with some style? Instead, she assembled a press conference with limited notice and gave a rambling, strange statement that was obviously not well-rehearsed. It doesn't make sense. It also does not make sense, if you have political ambitions, to give up the very visible position you already have. I'm expecting more revelations.

She actually said that staying on in her job would be quitting, and that by quitting her job she was doing what winners do. I don't know what her real reason was for quitting, but it couldn't have been that.

For any future ambitions she may have, this killed them. I just cannot imagine anyone voting for her for anything, knowing that she may not choose to complete the job. Any speculation to the contrary, that this may be shrewd move of some sort, is nonsense. Her fans won't care, because they are divorced from reality, but she won't be able to build broader support.

John McCain picked this woman to be Vice-President of the United States. What a blunder.