Randolph With apologies to Gary Larson for the title, I originally wanted to put “The Christians are restless”, but decided against it at the last second (and I’m too lazy to change it now).
Latest news is that the Royal Society (the one founded by Sir Isaac Newton) is asking the British government to ban the teaching of creationism as a scientific theory. Since we all have zero evidence that God exists (or doesn’t, as the case may be), there is no way the Creation can be considered a scientific theory. I agree on this count.
In a related story, teachers themselves are asking the British government to ban funding for so-called “faith” schools, which I can only assume are those based on religious faith. I disagree on this count.
Now what’s interesting is that at my primary school, the headmaster would pray at every assembly, do a reading from the Bible, and close off with “Hear the Word of the Lord, glory be to God. Amen.” We also had a subject called “Bible Studies” which eventually was renamed to “Religious Instruction” or “RI”, which we attended weekly. This subject even found its way into high school, as far as Grade Ten. In other words, we were slowly being brainwashed into taught the Christian way.
BUT, and I say this with conviction, it was NOT the fault of the school. Our parents CHOSE to send us to a government school where this subject was taught. Our parents AGREED to us being fed this religious dogma. Why? Because they thought it was GOOD and RIGHT, because they were taught the same thing.
Eventually, my father and I had a conversation about this a few years later (after I was brainwashed encouraged by the Assembly of God into renouncing my parents and accusing them of being Satanists), and it was decided that he would prefer his children to keep an open mind about issues of faith, than to narrow-mindedly follow a cult or religion. He died shortly afterwards, and although that isn’t really a factor, it did make me question my belief system.
The whole point of this post today is that parents should give their children the right to decide for themselves, and not be forced to do something through mass action or government policy. Faith in a belief system should be a personal thing. While I don’t believe in the God of the Bible, I am acutely aware that many people do, and I don’t necessarily hold it against them. I just wonder why it is necessary for religion to be followed blindly because people are scared of an invisible force that no one can see.
I am NOT scared of being struck down by lightning. Nor am I scared of going to hell, because I don’t believe it’s possible. The image of the Evil and the Devil has changed over the last few centuries anyway.
Remember, this is my website, with my point of view. If you don’t like it, go elsewhere. No one is forcing you to read this.