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Freud believed that religion was a necessary evil pretty much on the basis that you bring up. I can hardly disagree with that conclusion.
Its kinda strange really. On one hand you've got pastors telling you that you are worth nothing, but from the love of god, you will be blessed.
Evolution tells us we are "nothing", but there is no blessing of ultimate love from a higher being.
The two aren't as far apart as you'd think. In fact, there is nothing to keep people from thinking a form of reincarnation isn't true. Life could continue after the death in this life. Who knows? Well the Shadow knows, but he's indisposed right now.
More importantly, though, your point seems to carry some merit, but for a different cause. As stormcrow points out, we shouldn't be more affinitive to theories that make us feel better about ourselves. I don't like taking movies as examples, but in Clear and Present Danger, Darth Vader tells Patrick Ryan that he has an obligation to determine the ugly truth. He took an oath. The people that elected the administration he worked for couldn't do it for him. That was his job. So even when you don't want to learn something, that doesn't mean you shouldn't. That would be like me doing an example in a book and never looking at the answer key to make sure I was right.
What I hate, and I don't hate too much in this world, is YEC. The "scientists" that run the YEC heist are all criminals, to put it bluntly. How many YEC websites exist that aren't selling something? Could you find me geological theories that have been tested or even fully conceived of by YEC proponents? Can you find me any theories that are part of a larger model for a young earth? You couldn't, they haven't made them. You go to the websites, and all they do is try to poke holes in Old Earth science. They never do research. They never publish in the scientific journals. They rarely admit error. And now they've invented the new phrase Intelligent Design (ID) to try and promote their YEC views. Luckily they failed in my home state just recently.
YEC teaches to accept on faith. Not to scrutinize with details. Science is about critical thinking. YEC involves nothing of the sort.
Granted, god and science can go together. I got my engineering degree at a very good catholic college. I was taught pure science there, all god fearing folks. They believed in science and god. Evolution is not void of god. YEC is not void of god, but it is void of science. |
