Religion Isn't Really Harmful, it Helps One Grow Power

By Xah Lee. Date:

watch this video.

Richard Dawkins Interviews Creationist Wendy Wright (Part 1/7)

fights over religion is ancient news. If you are a atheist (which, like gay, is not a harassed group these days), you'll find this Wendy painful to watch. (there are 6 parts to the video, you can see on youtube)

however, the interesting thing is that, it's like that about human animals. Just imagine when you discus some political issues with someone you disagree with. No reason can be had.

worse, it's not just political issues, it's so on technical and scientific issues too. For example, emacs keybinding, keyboard, programing language. Many or most of these issues, there is a clear, irrefutable, scientific answer or approach to answers, but people will not believe, and insist their view.

that is the story of human animals, and i don't really see a solution.

when do human animals make progress? actually, am not so sure there is moral progress. Scientific and technological progress happen, because old generation with their habits just die off.

we, as animals, are constrained by our nature, biology, or DNA. First of all, we need food. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that will make us believe no food is good, because such people will just die off. Then, we are constraint, to survive, and multiply ourselfs. If logic, or science, gets in the way, they must be do away with, as a imperative. We, have psychology, that evolved to help us do our imperatives. So, for example, we tend to only believe things that are advantageous to us. This is built in our brain, in our perception system. Who's to say A is right or B is wrong? If it isn't of advantageous to me, it is not science. This is how we roll.

you see, this Wendy animal, the science minded guy might say, she's actually harming herself or her community. Actually, not really. You see, USA, is Christian nation, believes in god, in its 200 or so years of age. Yet, it's the most powerful. This Wendy, is she really hurting her children? Not sure, actually. Because, even Christians, it doesn't meddle with their science when something really matters, such as inventing bigger bombs. The heart of the matter is, there's nothing that actually control how one weasel with “beliefs”. For example, let's say i don't believe 1+1=2. But, that does not actually prevent me from being the greatest mathematician or scientist. When i do science, 1+1 is 2, as usual, but i say it's wrong and don't believe it, i say it's mysticism, i say, i use it only to get around the bullshit mathematician want to force onto us. And, i'm so good with math that i discover and made theories that other normal mathematicians use, yet i harbor and grow a community that says 1+1=2 is a myth that normal mathematicians created to deceive us. What can you do? That is the case with Christian or other religion, on modern society. It has become more of a clothing we wear, a part of political structure.