This, is by far one of the best polemics against Creationism that I have read in recent times. Aah, I wish that I could imbibe some of this razor sharp wit and the skill to hit the nail on the head with precision! As usual, for people who don't want to read the entire thing, I shall leave some excerpts.
1.
Two gentlemen, both with what one might term a mild delusion -- they are deeply involved with people who don't exist. Both spend a lot of money on this obsession. Both can recite, at length, the putative words, thoughts, and deeds of their fictional obsessions. Both have allowed the ideals expressed by these non-existent beings to shape their lives, and both proudly proclaim their allegience in a sect of followers. Despite this odd obsession, both men hold down jobs, have families, pay taxes, and commit no more than trivial crimes, such as jaywalking, or speeding, or ripping the tags off of mattresses. One of these men, though, has a serious problem -- he won't acknowledge the fictious nature of his fantasy friend. The other one has no such difficulty distinguishing between reality and fantasy.
Yet, in our society, the former is considered normal and healthy -- while the latter is, at best, a figure of mockery, at worst, a reviled outcast.The former man, you see, is a 'Christian', and the fictious being he admires is called 'God'. The latter is a 'Trekker' and his fictional focus is called 'Mr. Spock'.
2.
Given how unhealthy and destructive religious beliefs are, you would think fandom would be lauded and praised. No fan of Star Trek ever went to court to demand that warp drive theory be given 'equal time' with the theory of Relativity, as Creationists have done with Evolution. No matter how vicious the Internet flame wars between fans of Star Wars and Star Trek, no one has yet been burnt at the stake for heresy. Not even the most fanatical follower of Mr. Spock would voluntarily limit himself to sex once every seven years (if the opportunity for more frequent matings ever arose), yet thousands of followers of Jesus voluntarily suppress the most fundemental, basic, human urge for their entire lives. Some women even claim to be the BRIDES of this fictional being, living forever in an unconsummated relationship with a man who does not exist. Compared to that, two Trekkers getting married in Klingon garb is postively wholesome. At least the 'Klingons' will probably have sex at some point.
3. This one is my personal favourite:
Religion is needed to inspire men to do good deeds? If a man chooses pacifism because Yoda said that anger is the path to the dark side, rather than because Jesus told him to turn the other cheek, is he any less of a pacifist? Marcus Welby undoubtedly inspired many to become doctors;Perry Mason, many to become lawyers. The usefulness of incarnate ideals to serve as our guides and inspirations is beyond doubt -- but there is grave danger when we forget these incarnations are just the creations of other men.
5 comments:
Somehow I cannot open the original article, yet the excerpts are extremely pointed and witty.
There are two major differences between accpeting your ideal as God or another fictional character.
1)( with ref to your last para) God, as an ideal, has passed the test of time and millions and millions of scrupulous eyes. He has been attributed the maximum of powers and the gentlest of qualities and the noblest of endeavours. No fictional character ( as far as i am aware) is bestowed with such qualities. The mere reason for this, is that a fictional character is but a human creation. So when a man idolizes God, he pushes himself to the limit( which is infinity, since God is the standard against which all qualities have been defined) On the other hand, if a man idolizes say Batman, there is a history, there are mundane responsibilities, there are huge failures,love,sex... a very human side attached. Hence, the idol is chosen as someone who surpasses all the daily routine activities and becomes a limit to achieve.
2) Secondly, in order for the human self to be controlled( which otherwise can lead to devastating consequences for the church), it had become necessary that the link between the present day man and the creation of his species be broken, so that man learns to respect the "force" that led to his creation and not just dismiss it as nothing but a linear combination of genes that created the world.
So Gos IS the ultimate superhero. The ultimate "fictional" "character" who serves as the disconnected idol everyone can blindly follow :)
@Dash- First of all, what I have quoted is not 'my' ideal as God or another fictional character. The only reason I quote the text is that I consider it a witty satire of the kind of stupidities that prevail in this world when it comes to religion.
Secondly, my point (or the author's for that matter) was never to place batman or yoda as a better candidate in place of god. He was just comparing the level of irrationality involved in any form of idolization.
I'm still trying to figure out the tone of your second point - evangelical, satirical or (more dangerously) apologetic? I confess to being an atheist, for the record :)
Factual :)
Also satirical.
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