Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Religion VS Science

One thing I've learned from the university:
Don't trust anybody, not even your lecturer and your parents. Go find it out yourself. Do research, go online and find multiple sources to convince yourself. Don't just listen to one side of the story. Yes, I agree and have become somewhat good at it

What is science?



Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge that is capable of resulting in a correct prediction or reliable outcome.

Via this definition, we can conclude that if we execute a given method, the outcome would always be similar, regardless of the person who executes it.

In layman term; if we all throw an apple upward into the sky, it will eventually fall to the ground, no matter who does it.

Religion, on the other hand, is not so simple.

Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe.

In religion, there could either be one god, or multiple gods. And these gods act randomly; ie there is a probability of a miracle happening right there and then, but it will not always be the same, and it doesn't happen to everyone.



That's the most fundamental problem with religion. Religion claims that everyone is equal in god's eyes, well I think everyone IS EQUAL in science. Miracle doesn't happen to everyone, but whoever throws an apple upward will end up being hit by the apple on the head.



Religion is a very effective/potent weapon. Religion could trigger war, for example the war between the crusaders and the Ottoman empire. Religion caters for the most vulnerable aspect of mankind; emotion, and that is why there are so many emotional people gathering around sacred places seeking advice on how to handle stress and other emotional problem. Because we are an emotional creature.



And because of this, religion has never fallen short of pilgrims. There are always people who are willing to do what it takes to please the gods. For example Jihad; war to defend the religion from filthy hands. The extremists claimed that they were doing jihad against America, by killing innocent people? That's one pretty extreme thinking. I agree that some people are bad, but not all people from a particular race are bad, that's racist, and that is what Adolf Hitler believed in.



True enough, religion also suppresses human behavior. Without religion we are no better than animals, or are we? In fact there is no homosexuality in the animal kingdom(except for some highly intelligent animal, eg dolphin), no incest, no child sacrifice. But with the emergence of religion, in the Mayan and Chinese civilization for example, child sacrifice became popular as a way of pleasing the gods. Cannibalism were integrated into spiritual ceremony, for example the Druids of ancient Britain, and again the Mayan civilization.

Today, however, religion has skewed away from its proper path. Today I read a news about a church in Florida that plans to burn copies of Koran on 11 September in memory of those who perished in the event. I thought the bible teaches us to forgive our brothers, and to love our enemies. Are they not deviated?



Also a news about the spiritual leader of a Buddhist sect who claims to be the Living Buddha. He claimed that he was endorsed by the Dalai Lama as an authority in Tibetan Buddhism, which was later denied by sources close to the Dalai Lama. He was accused of raping one of his female disciples in 2000. I don't wish to publish the website address here. I may not know the whole story, and I shall not judge solely by listening to only one side of the story. I'll leave it to you all. But when a person is caught lying, it might be just the tip of the iceberg, you may never know how much he has been lying all these years...



The same is happening in Singapore, where a pastor of a glamorous church gets probe over alleged mis-usage of church fund. Good job~ bro, you just put a stain on the banner of Christ.

Racism aside, religious dispute is by far the worst crisis that hits modern humanity. Religious tension are making our everyday headlines now. Given the freedom in cyberspace, people are free to make fun of other religion, and become really good at it.

So... with so much problem plaguing religion, why has nobody turn to science?

For most people, science is something too technical to handle. For lawyers, for example, science is just beyond their comprehension(according to my sister who is a lawyer).

Well the truth is, science is fun. And it is simple, logic and easily comprehensible, given that you are taught by an instructor of Richard Feynman's calibre.



And there are some religious people who thought they knew everything, trying to dispose the atomic theory and laugh it off by offering a much simpler explanation, and at the same time making fun of the mechanism of car engine, fan, mechanical stuff. Well for those of us who are in the field of expertise, we would regard this dude as another moron making a clown of himself.



Moreover, scientific frauds are easily detected. Every theory and law can be proven via experiment. Whereas in religious matter, no one knows when are u gonna get healed from your sickness, and no one can be sure about divine intervention. That is why the allegedly-corrupted spiritual leaders thought they could wipe away their shit stain by using the RELIGION banner; raping disciple and misusing church fund. Whatever they say is deemed correct by their fanatic followers.

For example the case above, the buddhist master is still at large, convincing his followers of his innocence in the sex scandal. Since they all are intoxicated by his words in the first place, they would probably nod hysterically at whatever he says.

One thing I've learned from the university:
Don't trust anybody, not even your lecturer and your parents. Go find it out yourself. Do research, go online and find multiple sources to convince yourself. Don't just listen to one side of the story. Yes, I agree and have become somewhat good at it =P



Malcolm

2 comments:

  1. "Religion caters for the most vulnerable aspect of mankind; emotion, and that is why there are so many emotional people gathering around sacred places seeking advice on how to handle stress and other emotional problem. Because we are an emotional creature."

    That was just golden, dude.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why do you set up religion and science as mutually exclusive... They refer to two different domains of human existence and complement each other in the pursuit of truth. A bit simplistic...

    ReplyDelete

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