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No. 20 - Science & Religion

  Ever since Edward Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, scientists and secularly-minded scholars have been predicting the ultimate demise of religion, but if anything, religious fervour is increasing across the world.   An underlying reason is that science treats humans and intentions only as incidental elements in the universe, whereas for religion they are central.  
   Science is not well-suited to deal with people’s existential anxieties, including death, deception, loneliness or longing for love or justice.   It cannot tell us what we ought to do, only what we can do.
  Religion thrives because it addresses people’s deepest emotional yearnings. -  Scott Atran, Anthropologist, University of Michigan.

   The Secretary of the M.E. & U. Party was brought up on the conventional Sunday School route to Christianity and, due to enlightenment chose the Pick & Mix style of religious belief in order to avoid becoming a zealot.  The parables are a good example of how one should behave towards one’s fellow man.   Church music is inspiring and gives one the desire to continue to maintain this goodwill to all men (persons !).   The Ten Commandments place extreme demands on a society which is constantly changing and therefore calls for some compromise if the church is to continue to attract parishioners to it’s doors.   We see today couples co-habiting, males marrying males, females marrying females not to mention the damage to young lives because of the high divorce rate within our society.

  There appears to be little action, either by the church or the state to try and rectify some of the ills of our society other than stopping people smoking, hunting, speeding etc...     At the same time, when we have record numbers of people dying through cirrhosis of the liver the government legislates to increase the hours of opening !

  It seems that in the 21st century we have two options: we either adhere fairly closely to religious ideals or we become a police state.    The less attendance at church seems to be leading to more crime and more surveillance on our high streets.    We have cameras sited almost over the entire centre of our towns and video recording equipment in our banks etc....    We are all stars in our own right nowadays since we appear on someone’s screen as regularly as the stars of Coronation Street and Eastenders.    Unfortunately we don’t get paid for our appearances !

  The question becomes, is it reasonable to use this Pick &  Mix adherence to some form of religious belief or are we unwelcome in the Christian community if we don’t accept all the mumbo-jumbo of our religious services.  The secretary of our party has argued for some time that the greatest printing error of all time was the omission of an “O” in the word GOOD, i.e. GOD  !     
   The second point that the secretary has argued for some years that HEAVEN is not in some far away place up in the sky but very much here on earth in the minds of those we leave behind when we die.   If we leave good memories we will be remembered by our friends, relatives and, if we were famous such as film or television stars or successful personalities in the public domain they will be remembered by the public.   We can argue that we went to heaven.   
   On the other hand there are those that spread misery in the world including characters such as Al Capone, the present day drug barons if they are exposed, and others such as mass murderers who will have effectively gone to HELL in the minds of the living.   This probably explains the lack of guilt of those engaged in such activity since they couldn’t give a damn about the fate of others, only their own acquisitions and, in their view, success.    
   There is an expression “ There but for the grace of God go I”.   Perhaps some of those speculating in property should ask themselves the question “Is it necessary for so many to suffer because of my greed ?”     I am referring of course to the massive increase in property prices during the last 8 years where prices have doubled.    Even housing in areas where there is no employment the properties have increased beyond the range of the local inhabitants.
  Should the government have made some attempt to stop this inflation in house prices ?   Could the government have introduced some measure to limit the profits on property speculation in order to prevent an effective housing shortage in the local communities for the young marrieds after leaving school  ?  Should the government be allowing reduced council tax liability on second homes ?    These are surely moral questions since they have a serious effect upon our society.

Conclusion  If we wish to go to heaven when we die then we need to make sure that someone knows about us !    If we live the life of a hermit then, unfortunately we are more likely to finish up in purgatory.    
Solution      Get out and about; join a local club or institution such as the W.I., British Legion, local activity groups, further education, or, how about, if you like music, attending the local church occasionally and get to know the congregation.

Addendum: Do we want a police state or is their another way.  George Orwell in his “1984” predicted the former but at the end of the day it is our choice, both in the politicians we choose and the methods of solving our daily problems.   There is much to be done if we are not to continue going round in circles without solving societies problems.

Definitions - Oxford Concise English Dictionary

The Enlightenment - the 18th century philosophy emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.

Zealot - n. 1 an uncompromising or extreme partisan; a fanatic.  2 (Zealot) hist. A member of an ancient Jewish sect aiming at a world Jewish theocracy and resisting the Romans until AD70.

   On the 3rd January the Daily Telegraph published an article by Roger Highfield, Science editor, which included the following quote from Scott Atran, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan under the heading “Science encourages religion in the long run (and vice versa)” ......................