THE RATIONAL THINKER'S UNDERSTANDABLE IMPATIENCE

Why would God endow human beings with a marvelous instrument like the Mind, yet prohibit its use? He wouldn’t and He doesn’t. There’s nothing in the Bible or any other holy book that says it’s a sin to try to figure out how things work. The idea that: 1) There is no proof; you have to take it on faith, 2) It was a miracle, 3) Because God says so, 4) Some passages of the Bible are to be taken “literally,” others “metaphorically,” others must be “interpreted” (and only a cleric can tell which is which), 5) The Bible is full of contradictions of itself, and 6) The Word of God is often one man’s interpretation of a ‘vision’ he had, are some of the reasons science has lost all patience with religion. Who can judge which visions are “holy” and which insanity? Two people looking at clouds may see two entirely different shapes there. How much do you trust someone else’s interpretation over your own? It might be fun to try to see what they see, but it shouldn't obliterate your own perceptions!

Christianity contradicts itself with such force and regularity that any reasoning person must be alarmed. According to Luke 10:25-28, salvation requires "right living." But John 3:17-18 says it only requires "belief." But then a little later John 5:28-29 says it's "right living" again. Not only can they not agree on their story, they can't even agree with themselves.

Christians would have us believe that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, and evidence to the contrary is put here to test our faith. Come on, doesn't faith get enough testing in your own life without planting a lot of unnecessary dinosaur fossils all over the planet?

Science takes more of a show-me stance, preferring to figure out how things work rather than waiting for or relying on Divine revealment. They reasonably wonder how the religious can base their beliefs on what someone (whom we can’t question) said God told them thousands of years ago (and for whose words there is no eye-witness corroboration). The logical mind may be somewhat puzzled by the fact that such information is used to justify homicide and even genocide. What is the difference between religious war and, say, Hitler's campaign of terror? Hitler believed that he'd been given a mission by God to wipe out people who were not like him (Hitler was Catholic). His plan to destroy the Jews we all acknowledge to be heinous and evil in the extreme, but how can a non-religious person differentiate between that and the desire of the religious radicals who want to destroy all Muslims or all homosexuals? It seems like Divine revealment doesn't have to make sense. Science does have to make sense.

And again, why give us a mind, then ask us to believe on "faith" things that can't be proven in any way (especially by thinking)? If that's also a test, then there's some completely mad, obsessive-compulsive proctor handing out way too many exams!

Nobody seems to have any comments? I've never had so many of you all agree with me all at the same time before - what a treat!