Religion

So, here I am wondering what to write as my first post for my blog – talk about writer’s block – sheesh! It’s not easy. I wanted my first post to be witty and informative; but I guess things will improve with practise – and so will my rusty grammar!

Perhaps a good place to start would be a short explanation to friends and family who may read the opinions and beliefs that I express here, and be surprised at what I have to say as I’m not usually outspoken about many of the topics I’ll cover here. I find writing a much more comfortable medium and an easier means of expressing myself.

So what is it that you may find surprising about me? Well, I’m an atheist and a skeptic, I have been for a long time. Now, before any of you start praying for my salvation or decide that you no longer wish to socialise with me because I don’t follow a religion, there are a few points you need to remember:-

1. I’m still the same person; the morals and values that I subscribe to are exactly the same as the ones I’ve always upheld.

2. This isn’t a passing phase or some sort of “fad” I’m going through. It’s the culmination of years of introspection and the studying of various faiths that has brought me to this point in life.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to add my criticism to what I see as the beginning of another Dark Age of Ignorance that is slowly and insidiously sneaking up on society. Unless we start teaching our children to think critically and teaching them to tell the difference between fact and fantasy; future generations will be doomed to failure through ignorance. I feel that religion is interfering more and more in education, in politics and in science; in other words, in places where it does not belong. While we are not experiencing the same problems with religion in schools here in South Africa like they are in the USA, there have been a number of schools that have shown creationist dvds to our kids – J’s old school being one of them, (Which I will discuss in another post.), it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing the same thing happening here.

Religion does not belong in schools. To teach children that “creation science” is an alternative theory to evolution, or as an explanation of how the planet was formed, is an abuse. Creationism has no basis in fact. Religion and creationist stories should be confined to Sunday school; it should not in any way form part of a general educational curriculum.

Religion does not belong in politics. One does not have to go very far back into history to see that religion and politics do NOT mix, a quick example: the Taliban.
The slightest possibility that someone like Sarah Palin (see here and here), a woman who believes that she will witness the second coming of Jesus in her lifetime, may one day have her trigger finger poised over the button that controls one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world is a terrifying prospect.

Religion does not belong in science. Science is a discipline that requires reason, critical thinking and evidence to support its theories. Science is a way of sorting the truth from a whole lot of guesses, suppositions, and assertions. Religion doesn’t even attempt to sort the facts from the fiction; it would rather manipulate scientific facts to fit its explanation of the origins of the universe and humanity.

You will see by the buttons on my blog page that I support the OUT campaign, the James Randi Educational Foundation, and to The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.  I support any initiative that promotes science, reason and critical thinking; and it’s important to encourage these same ideas in our children.