| Reader Response |
| Message Forums Home Atheism About Me The Bible Jesus God Islam The Wall Evolution Polls News Quotes Humor Encounters Hate Mail Nice Mail Fa.v Links Webrings FAQ Misc. Contact Pray 4 Me |
| This is a response to "Let's outgrow fairy tales" by James A. Haught, written by Aaron Crofut. Mr. Crofut's words will be in bold. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The supernatural spectrum is immense: Gods, goddesses, devils, demons, angels, heavens, hells, purgatories, limbos, miracles, prophecies, visions, auras, saviors, saints, virgin births, immaculate conceptions, resurrections, bodily ascensions, faith-healings, salvation, redemption, messages from the dead, voices from Atlantis, omens, clairvoyance, spirit-signals, spirit-possession, exorcisms, divine visitations, incarnations, reincarnations, second comings, judgment days, astrology horoscopes, psychic phenomena, psychic surgery, extra-sensory perception, telekinesis, second sight, voodoo, fairies, leprechauns, werewolves, vampires, zombies, witches, warlocks, ghosts, wraiths, poltergeists, dopplegangers, incubi, succubi, palmistry, tarot cards, ouija boards, levitation, out-of-body travel, magical transport to UFOs, Elvis on a flying saucer, invisible Lemurians in Mount Shasta, Thetans from a dying planet, etc., etc., etc. We could also add in evolution, the Big Bang, abiogenesis, punctuated equilibrium, star formation, galaxy formation, and the string theory amongst others. All these magical beliefs have a common denominator: They lack tangible evidence. You can't test supernatural claims; you're supposed to accept them by blind faith. Their only backup is that they were "revealed" by a prophet, guru, astrologer, shaman, mullah, mystic, swami, psychic, soothsayer or "channeler." Your idea that I am a theist on “blind faith” is far from correct. http://www.tektonics.org/whatfaith.html gives an accurate account of what faith really is, according to the Bible. There is nothing “blind” about it, unlike some supposedly “scientific” theories (such as the Big Bang and abiogenesis which have not been replicated in laboratories). That's sufficient proof for billions of people. Most of humanity prays to invisible spirits and envisions mystical realms. Most politicians invoke the deities. Supernaturalism pervades our species, consuming billions of person-hours and trillions of dollars. Millions of prayers to unseen beings are uttered every hour, and millions of rituals performed. This extravaganza requires a vast array of priests and facilities. The cost is astronomical. Americans give $70 billion a year to churches and broadcast ministries - more than the national budgets of many countries. Other investment is enormous: Americans spend $300 million a year on psychic hot-lines. Angel books and end-of-the-world books sell by millions. Only $300 million on psychic hot-lines (an anti-biblical activity by the way)? That’s very small in comparison to this countries budget for pornography. Furthermore, we have many institutions spending millions of dollars in fighting people’s beliefs (for what purpose I cannot imagine). Of course, one must realize that much of the money donated to churches is given back to the community through dinners, clothing and feeding the less fortunate, helping those who go through tragedies, and other projects. Amid this global mishmash, I want to offer a lonely minority view: I think it's all fairy tales. Every last shred of it. The whole mystical array, from Jehovah and Beelzebub to Ramthis and the Lemurians, lacks any type of proof - unless you count weeping statues. My hunch is that every invisible spirit is imaginary. Therefore, the planet-spanning worship is expended on nothing. Ok, let us accept this position for a moment. Where did everything come from? Where did life come from, and how come scientists are having such a rough time replicating what chance did? Wouldn’t you think the addition of intelligence would make progress easier, not more difficult, in creating life from non-living materials? I think that most intelligent, educated, scientific-minded people suspect that the spirit world doesn't exist. But they stay silent, because it's rude to question people's faith. However, what about honesty? Aren't conscientious thinkers obliged to speak the truth as they see it? Aren't logical people allowed to ask for evidence? Oh, I would not be so quick to say some scientists are afraid to say there is no spirit world. Richard Dawkins of Oxford University in the U.K. is quite a vocal opponent of Christianity, and the late Stephan Jay Gould was certainly no proponent. I would also advice caution in saying that most scientists do not believe in the spiritual world. “However, we must note that in public questioning Hawking insists that he is not an atheist. And I am told by eyewitness observers that in recent years Stephen Hawking has appeared "once or twice a month" in an Anglican church with his second wife.” (http://www.leaderu.com/offices/schaefer/docs/bigbang.html). There is a rather large list of Ph.D. scientists who believe in the Christian God at http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/default.asp. I’m distressed by some of the assumptions made by Mr. Haught. Some researchers recently concluded that the human species is "wired" for faith, that our DNA includes coding for mystery. Maybe - but what about exceptions like me and similar doubters? Why doesn't our wiring cause us to swallow the supernatural? Where did you pick up this idea? Our future is not written in our DNA (I would absolutely love to see some evidence for this claim). Moreover, even ardent believers see absurdity in rival religions. Consider these examples: Millions of Hindus pray over statues of Shiva's phallus. Ask Presbyterians if they think there's an unseen Shiva who wants his anatomy utilized in worship. Catholics say that the Virgin Mary makes periodic appearances to the faithful. Ask Muslims if it's true. Mormons say that Jesus was transported to America after his resurrection. Ask Buddhists if they believe it - or if they even accept the resurrection. Jehovah's Witnesses say that, any day now, Satan will come out of the earth with an army of demons, and Jesus will come out of the sky with an army of angels, and the Battle of Armageddon will kill everyone except Jehovah's Witnesses. Ask Jews if this is correct. Florida's Santeria worshipers sacrifice dogs, goats, chickens and the like, tossing their bodies into waterways. Ask Baptists if the Santeria gods want animals to be killed. Unification Church members say that Jesus visited Master Moon and told him to convert all people as "Moonies." Ask Methodists if this really occurred. Muslim suicide bombers who sacrifice themselves in Israel are taught that martyrs go instantly to a paradise full of lovely female houri nymphs. Ask Lutherans if past bombers are now in heaven with houris. Millions of American Pentecostals say that the Holy Ghost causes them to spout "the unknown tongue," a spontaneous outpouring of sounds. Ask Episcopalians if the third member of the Trinity causes this phenomenon. Scientologists say that every human has a soul which is a "thetan" that came from another planet. Ask Seventh-day Adventists if this is true. Aztecs sacrificed thousands of victims - cutting out hearts, killing children, skinning maidens - for various gods such as an invisible feathered serpent. Ask any current church if the invisible feathered serpent really existed. There are many false beliefs out there. The Bible even pointed this out, especially with the Canaanite deity Baal. However, I fail to see how this disproves Christianity. After all, there are many competing atheistic versions of how everything evolved or where matter came from, but I’m willing to bet Mr. Haught would not say this is evidence to disproving atheism. During the witch hunts, inquisitor priests tortured thousands of women into confessing that they flew through the sky, changed into animals, blighted crops, copulated with Satan, etc. Ask any current church if the execution of "witches" was based on reality. About the same time you ask Stalinists whether Christianity was so terrible that the state was “required” to “liquidate” millions and millions of Christians. I fail to see how these people followed Christian theology. People can claim to be Christians without being a Christian, just as I could claim being short compared to most people when I am over 7 foot tall. You see, most believers realize that other religions are bogus. Why do they think their own theology is different? I'm calling for the final step to honesty. If some magical spirits obviously are imaginary, it's logical to assume that others are similar. I believe in my own because 1. there is no “scientific” explanation for life or the existence of everything, 2. there is ample evidence to support the historical reliability of the Bible, 3. there is ample evidence for Christ outside of the Bible, 4. I believe in objective morals (which require an objective, omniscient being to prescribe them to us), amongst other reasons. The western world is turning more rational, more scientific. Education is dispelling superstition. Most advanced nations in Europe are abandoning belief in gods, devils, heavens, hells. Church attendance there has dwindled to a tiny fringe. America remains a bulwark of churchgoing -- but educated Americans don't really expect divine intervention. If their children get pneumonia, they trust penicillin over prayer. A tiny fringe? I’m not sure what nation you live in, but 4 in 5 Americans believe in Christianity, with another 10 percent believing in other forms of deity. The atheist is in the minority. Oh, penicillin is becoming impotent to many different diseases; are you sure your faith is in the right place? You’re “education” (indoctrination) doesn’t really impress me, especially when I raise challenges to atheistic theology such as the Big Bang and evolution and don’t receive any answer whatsoever. As for the familiar contention that supernatural beliefs make people more moral and humane, do you really think that Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are ethically superior to non-religious Americans? No, and you clearly do not understand Christian theology. All men are sinners before God, and that is what matters. I have to wonder how well you’ve studied the field you are critiquing. Polls find that the more education people have, the fewer their religious convictions. Therefore, the educated are the natural group to break away from magic. I'd like to see a revolt by the intelligent against myths. I’m a dual major at a state college with an A average, and my convictions have only been strengthened. Again, http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/default.asp gives you a very large list of educated individuals who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Of course, this is not a complete list of those who have a college education and still believe in Christianity. Generally, the educated class laughs at quacko miracle reports, but not at the prevailing majority religion. However, there's no logical reason to consider one supernatural claim superior to another. No matter how much it's cloaked in poetry and allegory, religion consists of worshiping spooks - imaginary ones, in my view. Well, that’s beautiful, but you have shown absolutely no reason for me to change my opinion (ad hominems are not logical arguments). Just maybe, I think you are a quack for believing material appeared out of nowhere, as did life. The time has come for thinking Americans to say, publicly and bluntly: There's no reliable evidence of invisible spirits. Worshiping them is a waste of time and money. Instead, let's use our minds to improve life for people here and now. Fairy tales came from the primitive past, and they have no place in the 21st century. Ah, yes, we can start improving life in the here and now by, what, eliminating the “weaker” people? Do you believe this is good: “Illiterates, thieves, the insane, Abenaki Indians, paupers, alcoholics, epileptics and anyone who seemed inferior due to their economic or physical conditions were targeted for forced sterilization to prevent ‘undesirables’ breeding.” (http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4182cen_d1999.asp). Somehow, Mr. Haught is of the opinion that destroying the base of societies morals is going to improve the “here and now.” I think Mr. Haught is delving too deeply into his own superstitions too much. What information did Mr. Haught bring against Christianity? None. Did he bring forth a single piece of scientific, historical, anthropological, or literary evidence? No. Argument by outrage, and a poor one at that, as Mr. Haught is outraged that we would have a belief in something good in this world. Aaron Crofut |