Troubling science worship

There is zero evidence to suggest that the mind and the brain are one and the same. (consciousness)

There is zero evidence to suggest that the soul and the body are one and the same. (afterlife)

There is zero evidence to suggest that the laws of causation are wholly applicable to the universe. (what caused X?)

There is zero evidence to suggest that past events is indicative of any certainty in the future. (induction)

There is zero evidence to suggest that probability is indicative of anything in the future. (predicting the future)

There is zero evidence to suggest that there is such a thing as truly random. (quantum mechanics)

There is zero evidence to suggest that the laws of nature are truly laws that cannot be broken. (quantum mechanics)

There is zero evidence to suggest that all creations in the universe are truly and only material. (love)

There is zero evidence to suggest that all figuratively intangible creations in the universe are truly tangible. (faith)

There is zero evidence to suggest that all creations in the universe are truly measurable. (God)

There is zero evidence to suggest that evidence must be evident in a material, tangible, and measurable way. (scientism)

Cut the dogma. Cut the illusions. Cut the worship. Be rational.

So called freethinkers, start actually freethinking.

“O people of th…

“O people of the Book, do not be excessive in your religion” — Al-Qur’an (4:171)

Interpreting Scripture

People seem to insist that it is okay to take a divine command of scripture, and then carry it out by means the scripture criticizes. This is literalism.

People seem to insist that it is okay to have presuppositions and then force those presuppositions onto scripture. This is arrogance.

People seem to insist that it is okay to pull a quote out of scripture and leave the context of the scripture. This is cherry picking.

People seem to insist that it is okay to give timeless and placeless scripture a time and place. This is playing God.

Henry VII did all four. John Locke did all four.

Al-Qaeda does all four. Robert Spencer does all four.

Rush Limbaugh does all four. Karen Armstrong does all four.

Elijah Muhammad did all four. Archbishop John Carroll did all four.

Quit the crap. Please. Take it for what it means or don’t take it all. I don’t confess to know the truth of every holy book, but I’m not going to make up my own truth depending on my mood.

When you interpret scripture and tell it to the world, as a preacher or a pastor, an imam or a guru, you are signing on behalf of God. Pay attention.

I Know why the Terrorists Terrorize (Part 4/4)

Crisis of Islam

Bernard Lewis is an interesting Middle Eastern scholar who I will surely talk about more when I get into Orientalism. This book, Crisis of Islam, is about the utter chaos the Islamic World has experienced in the last century. The book explores the history of the Islamic World and the modern context it is now. The book discusses the various edge groups and their opponents in the modern world – from the Salafis to the hidden secularist liberals. This is an extraordinary read that is well worth, insightful, easy to understand, and scholarly.

Professor Lewis is quick to explain that Islam is not inherently linked to terrorism. He goes through the historical roots of terrorism and the history of violence in the Islamic World, and thoroughly demonstrates the lack of relationship between the two. Terrorism has “no antecedents in Islamic history, and no justification in terms of Islamic theology, law, or tradition.” Nevertheless, the terrorist of the Muslim World justify themselves through their religion in an incredulous way. Dealing with the Middle East has thus become so difficult – that the fanatics believe wholeheartedly that they are correct, and that killing them is only good for them.

The crisis of the Islamic World and the rise of extremism can be attributed much to the decline in Islamic thinking, which occurred a little before colonialism  and after the fall of the Mongols as a reaction to the Renaissance (the public perception suddenly became that the roots of Islamic decline are because of too much thinking and too little dogma, and this led to only more decline). This was not helped by colonialism centuries later, which destroyed the academic institutions (theological, philosophical, and scientific) forever. In modern times, oil has both been crucial and destructive to the Arab world in particular. Lewis has a famous quote where he flips the common American quote: “No representation without taxation”. The oil rich gulf states have traditionally had almost no taxes on its citizens- the wealth of the nation was generated entirely by oil resources. Their was no need for a parliamentary system to develop a taxation system, and thus the monarchies established themselves permanently, and are only replaced if ever by ruthless tyrants.

His book after explaining what I have said so far in much more details concludes with a solution. The purpose of the text was not really to provide a solution, so it doesn’t focus too much on it, but his conclusion is that the only solution to the Middle East is non-secular democracy (secular preferably, but that is asking for too much too quick). America is a necessary component for reviving the Middle East (Lewis was a big advocate of the Iraq war…before it happened). I won’t comment on what I think about his conclusions, but I am content to say that his identifying of Middle Eastern and Islamic problems was excellent, and his analysis of their roots essential.

I Know why the Terrorists Terrorize (Part 1)

This was originally going to be a poem modeled after I Know why the Caged Bird Sings. But I couldn’t get passed the first line, and I wouldn’t want to kill a good idea to a time when few will see it. So instead I will talk about what I know.

Yesterday I talked about what the “mainstream” really is. On one side we have the extreme right: Westboro. Al Qaeda. Bodu Bala Sena. But we have another, less violent, forgotten, extreme: Jesus Seminar Philosophers, the NOI, the secularists. In the spectrum of religion, the outward and inward ones, we have a massive middle ground that is lost. Some of them take on secular liberal worldviews. Some of them take on nationalist terrorist worldviews. Most of them a mix of the two. A stupid, incoherent mix that doesn’t make sense. This is the view of everyone I know. Honestly, everyone I know has a stupid, incoherent world view so mashed between a dividing line they think exists between reason and faith: “I don’t take it too far!” “I am modern!” To them, I say: on the contrary.

We are told today in the Modern West, reason and faith collide! Religion shall not publicized! Just be good, be moral, be happy! We are bombarded with secularist dogma: religion should be practiced lightly. Stop believing in hell. Ancient texts are no longer relevant. To them, I say: on the contrary.

The other day I was discussing religion to a far-right friend, and I asked him: should America be a Christian Nation? He said no. That would mean other religions would be oppressed. I talked to another liberal friend. He said no. Church and state should not mix. He probably doesn’t even know what that means. I asked another, about the applicability of the Old Testament. Old Jewish guys from back then were crazy, apparently. This is coming from Jesus loving Americans. As if Jesus would respond that way.  To them, all of them, I say: on the contrary.

I am not saying the church and state should be one. I am not saying we should revive Biblical criminal justice. But we must ask ourselves why we refuse to even consider things because we are told not to. We must ask ourselves the relevancy of religion in the public sphere, earnestly, honestly. We must ask ourselves what church and state really are and what they mean, and how they build on each other, and how they compete against one another. We must ask ourselves how ancient texts play a role in the modern world, or how they should play a role, or if they should play a role. To claim the instantaneous answers most of  is to say the very things we all spout from what we are indoctrinated to believe. We are told from day 1 in the west that they have no relevance, that religion should be private, that secularism is the way to go.

I ask you to question this, to go beyond our childish preconceptions and really question what should and should not be done about these issues. You may arrive at the same conclusions – but the journey of thinking must be taken.My questions must be toiled, by all of us, lest we fall into the trap of backwardness in following secularist dogma and refusing progress because we are told that is what is best. Should we not question, or should we take answers prematurely, we hit an extreme view on the spectrum without realizing even why. This is what the terrorists do, and that is why the terrorists terrorize.

TO BE CONTINUED.