I was just talking with someone online that admitted she was attempting to brainwash her kids by taking them to Sunday School. I was pretty surprised that she so openly used that terminology. She defended this by saying it was for their good, and she asked me what harm there is in raising your kids by brainwashing them to follow your beliefs?
I was taken aback by such a question. Isn't the answer obvious? There is something wrong with attempting to brainwash children! In such a case, parents are teaching them what to think, not HOW to think. They are teaching them to just swallow what is put in front of them instead of being skeptical until all of the available evidence is looked over. They are teaching them to blindly follow rather than question. They are teaching their children to make decisions about an issue before investigating it and educating themselves on it.
One of the best gifts you can give your children that will help them to succeed and to truly benefit the world is the ability to think critically. Indeed, those who have had the greatest positive impact on our world shared this one quality.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Why is evolution important?
Someone recommended the Nova documentary, "Judgment Day" to me the other day. I spent some time viewing it over the past couple of days. Many would probably be uninterested in this documentary because they feel that views regarding evolutionary theory are unimportant and irrelevant to their lives. But, the reality is quite to the contrary.
I could now go into the beauty and elegance that I sense as I view the world through the lens of evolution. I could explain the peaceful connectedness I feel with the earth that my understanding of evolutionary theory has given me. But, I admit these experiences are entirely subjective and would not necessarily be experienced by others.
There is another issue, however, regarding views about evolutionary theory that indeed does affect everyone quite profoundly. Evolutionary theory is largely at the core of a big problem that exists between American society and the field of science. It represents a distrust of the field of science that ought not be there. Scientists are often visualized as the mad professors conducting heinous experiences in their basements or as conspirators joining together to cause great harm to people. For this reason, people often feel threatened by scientists and the advancements they are seeking to make.
People have always been very slow to accept scientific discovery. People were killed for suggesting the world was actually round rather than flat. Convincing people that infectious agents and genetic errors are the driving force behind disease rather than sin or demons has been no small accomplishment. The largest "new" scientific discovery being fought against is the theory of evolution. I use the term "new" lightly in that it is 150 years old. But, the overwhelming evidence for evolutionary theory is quite new when compared to the length of human history.
The evidence for evolutionary theory is indeed overwhelming. And yet, roughly half of American citizens reject it. It goes against the way they have always thought about how human beings came to be, and many feel threatened by this. The rejection of evolutionary theory pushes the idea that scientists are not out to do good and are happy to trick and deceive people. After all, why else would they say something is true if there is no evidence that it is? It also pushes an undeserved disrespect for the scientific process and the scientific method. This affects the funding available for many areas of important research and even affects the kinds of research that are legally allowed to be conducted.
But, getting down to business, why does this matter? Why does it matter if someone wants to believe that evolutionary biologists are conspirators out to destroy man's belief in God and that the stories in the first couple of chapters of Genesis are true? Isn't this a harmless belief? I contend that it is not harmless.
Science has provided so much for us. For many of us, it has saved our lives. I would not be alive right now were it not for a medication science developed about 10 years ago. When we read about human history and the large and frequent plagues of terrible and terrifying diseases that regularly swept across the globe, it becomes clear how few of us would actually be alive if it weren't for scientific advancements. A friend of mine has a 9-year-old son living with leukemia. If he had been diagnosed with leukemia 20 years ago, he would have already died a painful death, leaving his parents in devastation. Instead, because of science, he is receiving treatment that offers him a 90% chance of a full recovery. Computers, etc. have dramatically increased our ability to keep in touch with loved ones that we would have otherwise been forced to be distant from for years at a time. It allows us to travel to places in the world that we otherwise would have never even known about.
Science has done so much for us. And yet, people approach it with great fear and distrust. I remember Sarah Palin making a negative comment about useless scientists doing research on fruit flies and many people, including those who couldn't even stand Sarah Palin, echoed their support of this criticism. They didn't know that we are learning so much about our own genes and genetic disorders and cures for these genetic disorders through this research on fruit flies. Anti-evolutionists charge scientists with questionable motives for advancing evolutionary theory, casting doubt in roughly half of Americans as to the sincerity of almost all scientists and the validity of the scientific method in spite of all that these scientists and the scientific method have provided for them.
This baseless idea inhibits scientific research that can save lives and improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands...and eventually, millions upon millions...of people. It is in our grasp to develop means of giving everyone an organ transplant that needs one long before they have to wait on very long waiting lists while severely ill, hoping they get one before they die. Diabetes, various forms of cancer, and autoimmune diseases (an area that covers a very large number of disabling diseases) could be a thing of the past. But, getting support, funding, and even permission to conduct these studies has proved difficult due to the distrust in science that many people hold that is spread to others and confirmed through the anti-evolution sector. It is literally costing lives. This is an issue that matters.
I could now go into the beauty and elegance that I sense as I view the world through the lens of evolution. I could explain the peaceful connectedness I feel with the earth that my understanding of evolutionary theory has given me. But, I admit these experiences are entirely subjective and would not necessarily be experienced by others.
There is another issue, however, regarding views about evolutionary theory that indeed does affect everyone quite profoundly. Evolutionary theory is largely at the core of a big problem that exists between American society and the field of science. It represents a distrust of the field of science that ought not be there. Scientists are often visualized as the mad professors conducting heinous experiences in their basements or as conspirators joining together to cause great harm to people. For this reason, people often feel threatened by scientists and the advancements they are seeking to make.
People have always been very slow to accept scientific discovery. People were killed for suggesting the world was actually round rather than flat. Convincing people that infectious agents and genetic errors are the driving force behind disease rather than sin or demons has been no small accomplishment. The largest "new" scientific discovery being fought against is the theory of evolution. I use the term "new" lightly in that it is 150 years old. But, the overwhelming evidence for evolutionary theory is quite new when compared to the length of human history.
The evidence for evolutionary theory is indeed overwhelming. And yet, roughly half of American citizens reject it. It goes against the way they have always thought about how human beings came to be, and many feel threatened by this. The rejection of evolutionary theory pushes the idea that scientists are not out to do good and are happy to trick and deceive people. After all, why else would they say something is true if there is no evidence that it is? It also pushes an undeserved disrespect for the scientific process and the scientific method. This affects the funding available for many areas of important research and even affects the kinds of research that are legally allowed to be conducted.
But, getting down to business, why does this matter? Why does it matter if someone wants to believe that evolutionary biologists are conspirators out to destroy man's belief in God and that the stories in the first couple of chapters of Genesis are true? Isn't this a harmless belief? I contend that it is not harmless.
Science has provided so much for us. For many of us, it has saved our lives. I would not be alive right now were it not for a medication science developed about 10 years ago. When we read about human history and the large and frequent plagues of terrible and terrifying diseases that regularly swept across the globe, it becomes clear how few of us would actually be alive if it weren't for scientific advancements. A friend of mine has a 9-year-old son living with leukemia. If he had been diagnosed with leukemia 20 years ago, he would have already died a painful death, leaving his parents in devastation. Instead, because of science, he is receiving treatment that offers him a 90% chance of a full recovery. Computers, etc. have dramatically increased our ability to keep in touch with loved ones that we would have otherwise been forced to be distant from for years at a time. It allows us to travel to places in the world that we otherwise would have never even known about.
Science has done so much for us. And yet, people approach it with great fear and distrust. I remember Sarah Palin making a negative comment about useless scientists doing research on fruit flies and many people, including those who couldn't even stand Sarah Palin, echoed their support of this criticism. They didn't know that we are learning so much about our own genes and genetic disorders and cures for these genetic disorders through this research on fruit flies. Anti-evolutionists charge scientists with questionable motives for advancing evolutionary theory, casting doubt in roughly half of Americans as to the sincerity of almost all scientists and the validity of the scientific method in spite of all that these scientists and the scientific method have provided for them.
This baseless idea inhibits scientific research that can save lives and improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands...and eventually, millions upon millions...of people. It is in our grasp to develop means of giving everyone an organ transplant that needs one long before they have to wait on very long waiting lists while severely ill, hoping they get one before they die. Diabetes, various forms of cancer, and autoimmune diseases (an area that covers a very large number of disabling diseases) could be a thing of the past. But, getting support, funding, and even permission to conduct these studies has proved difficult due to the distrust in science that many people hold that is spread to others and confirmed through the anti-evolution sector. It is literally costing lives. This is an issue that matters.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Evil at the core?
I was reading a post by a fundie last night in an online forum. He said that humans are incapable of doing anything good, and they are evil at the core. I remember being taught this. It's the idea that we are all born so depraved, there is nothing good within us. Our only inclinations are toward evil things. The only way someone could possibly do something good is if they allow God to enter them and implant his goodness within them. Then, they can do good things. But, even then, they are not good, it's just God being good in them. So, even if someone is out making all kinds of sacrifices for the benefit of others, they still aren't considered a good person. That is all a result of God doing good things through them because there is nothing genuinely good about people themselves.
I have two thoughts on this. First, there is pretty solid evidence against this. Most of us do appear to have a natural inclination toward good things and an aversion to bad things. Most people don't need to be taught to not kill other people. In fact, most people are traumatized after being put in a position in which they must kill another human being, such as situations of war or self defense. The average person does not need to be taught to not molest little children and most of us are naturally appalled when we hear of someone that did. In fact, it seems when there is a child molester or a serial killer, etc., the person has something wrong in their brain that causes them to be that way. In other words, when our brains are working right, we have an aversion toward causing great harm to other people. Likewise, we get a good feeling when we help someone else out. Most people feel very good and even invigorated after providing help to someone else in need regardless of their religious or spiritual perspective.
Now, there is the side to us that is aimed only at our survival. We all have a level of selfishness. I don't believe this is a bad thing or that it is a bad side to us. If we weren't at least a little bit selfish, we wouldn't be able to survive. We'd be giving away our food to starving people as we starve ourselves or failing to provide for our children as we give our complete all to others. We have to be somewhat selfish. The problem occurs when we allow this part of us to get out of balance. But, the existence of this side of us is not automatically "bad."
So, there is plenty of evidence that there is indeed goodness in each of us, and it does seem that the only time we see people doing things that we call evil, the person has some sort of dysfunction in their brain. We are not all evil at the core. There is no war between our spirit and our flesh like many Christians propose. It is just a matter of keeping our various interests in the proper balance rather than a struggle to completely eliminate one side of us.
My second comment is more of a question. Is it healthy to teach this idea to children? Is it healthy to tell children that they are evil and incapable of goodness? That the goodness we see coming out of them isn't even from them, but from someone else projecting his goodness through them?
Fundies often say that a person cannot feel valuable until they have turned their lives over to God and found the truth. But, this "truth" teaches them that they are 100% evil...and somehow, this is supposed to make us feel better about ourselves? Fundies teach their children that none of us deserve love, but God loves us anyway. It is taught that we all deserve nothing other than unimaginable, eternal torture, but because God is so merciful, he will grant us otherwise. This furthers the idea that we all basically suck and are awfully lucky that God is good so he can fix all of us helplessly evil beings. I don't see how these principles are good for children to learn.
One thing I have noticed as an ex-Christian is how much better I feel about myself. I believe there is goodness in me that is very much a part of who I am. And I believe I have the capacity to foster that goodness so that I can become a better and better person over time. I value myself more than I ever have. And I feel more empowered to spread goodness in the world than I ever did as a Christian because I know that the power to do that is a part of me...I don't have to wait and ask for someone else to use his power to do that through me and hope he answers...I can do it myself.
And herein lies a theme you will find in this blog. While people generally think of Christianity as a good thing that makes people better, there are many things about it, particularly fundamentalist Christianity that not only don't make people better, but can actually be harmful and take away from their lives. I am not launching a campaign against Jesus or anything of the sort. I intend to speak plainly about the negative ideals that the fundie perspective gives to people, and to offer a critical evaluation of these ideals.
I have two thoughts on this. First, there is pretty solid evidence against this. Most of us do appear to have a natural inclination toward good things and an aversion to bad things. Most people don't need to be taught to not kill other people. In fact, most people are traumatized after being put in a position in which they must kill another human being, such as situations of war or self defense. The average person does not need to be taught to not molest little children and most of us are naturally appalled when we hear of someone that did. In fact, it seems when there is a child molester or a serial killer, etc., the person has something wrong in their brain that causes them to be that way. In other words, when our brains are working right, we have an aversion toward causing great harm to other people. Likewise, we get a good feeling when we help someone else out. Most people feel very good and even invigorated after providing help to someone else in need regardless of their religious or spiritual perspective.
Now, there is the side to us that is aimed only at our survival. We all have a level of selfishness. I don't believe this is a bad thing or that it is a bad side to us. If we weren't at least a little bit selfish, we wouldn't be able to survive. We'd be giving away our food to starving people as we starve ourselves or failing to provide for our children as we give our complete all to others. We have to be somewhat selfish. The problem occurs when we allow this part of us to get out of balance. But, the existence of this side of us is not automatically "bad."
So, there is plenty of evidence that there is indeed goodness in each of us, and it does seem that the only time we see people doing things that we call evil, the person has some sort of dysfunction in their brain. We are not all evil at the core. There is no war between our spirit and our flesh like many Christians propose. It is just a matter of keeping our various interests in the proper balance rather than a struggle to completely eliminate one side of us.
My second comment is more of a question. Is it healthy to teach this idea to children? Is it healthy to tell children that they are evil and incapable of goodness? That the goodness we see coming out of them isn't even from them, but from someone else projecting his goodness through them?
Fundies often say that a person cannot feel valuable until they have turned their lives over to God and found the truth. But, this "truth" teaches them that they are 100% evil...and somehow, this is supposed to make us feel better about ourselves? Fundies teach their children that none of us deserve love, but God loves us anyway. It is taught that we all deserve nothing other than unimaginable, eternal torture, but because God is so merciful, he will grant us otherwise. This furthers the idea that we all basically suck and are awfully lucky that God is good so he can fix all of us helplessly evil beings. I don't see how these principles are good for children to learn.
One thing I have noticed as an ex-Christian is how much better I feel about myself. I believe there is goodness in me that is very much a part of who I am. And I believe I have the capacity to foster that goodness so that I can become a better and better person over time. I value myself more than I ever have. And I feel more empowered to spread goodness in the world than I ever did as a Christian because I know that the power to do that is a part of me...I don't have to wait and ask for someone else to use his power to do that through me and hope he answers...I can do it myself.
And herein lies a theme you will find in this blog. While people generally think of Christianity as a good thing that makes people better, there are many things about it, particularly fundamentalist Christianity that not only don't make people better, but can actually be harmful and take away from their lives. I am not launching a campaign against Jesus or anything of the sort. I intend to speak plainly about the negative ideals that the fundie perspective gives to people, and to offer a critical evaluation of these ideals.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
In the beginning...
So, this is where I will share my story as briefly as possible. During my very early teen years, I was invited to a church camp. If you have ever seen the documentary "Jesus Camp," that is the type of church camp I attended. While there, I firmly believed that I had found God. That one week had such a profound impact on me that it would set the course of my life for the following 15 years.
Throughout my adolescence, everything in my life was about God. I was extremely active in my church youth group, spending at least half of my evenings at church for one reason or another. I ensured that the majority of my close friends were Christians...and those who weren't Christians, it was my goal to make them become Christians. I studied the Bible ravenously, taking detailed notes, which I organized into binders. I prayed, and I fasted regularly.
There was also considerable pressure in our youth group regarding "the call." Many Christians believe in this thing called "the call," which just means that God has told you that you are to be a full-time minister. As a teenager, this call was an extremely positive and serious matter. It wasn't long before I began to feel that I was called into the ministry.
After graduating from high school, I went to Bible College to pursue what I believed was God's call to ministry. It was a horrible 4 years of my life, and I daily dreamed of the day that I would graduate and move on from that time in my life. That's not an exaggeration. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that every day, in the shower, I would imagine myself walking across the stage at my graduation. While I was very interested in learning about God, I wasn't very interested in theology. Yet, that was what I was studying all day long.
Finally, graduation day came. I then worked as a children's pastor in a church for several years and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed working with the children and with families. Over those years, I developed a strong interest in psychology. I had some developing interest while in Bible college, which lead me to do some reading on the subject in the years after I graduated. This interest grew over time and finally reached the point that I decided I would take a couple of classes in psychology. I had no intention of leaving the ministry or anything at that point. It was just something to pursue out of personal interest.
That first semester I took statistics and The Biological Basis for Human Behavior. Statistics was rather boring. But, my other class was so fascinating. I fell in love with behavioral neuroscience that semester. I also experienced the planting of a seed that semester...a seed that would take many years to take hold and blossom. I had been taught that evolutionary theory was absolutely ridiculous and had no evidence whatsoever to support it. My class that semester referred to evolution very briefly, but enough so to catch my attention. I also began to see how much our biology influences our behavior. I had viewed humans as spiritual beings housed in a physical body. What I learned in that class heavily contradicted that view in many ways. For the first time, I experienced some doubt regarding my beliefs. They weren't doubts that I took very seriously at first. But, in time, they grew.
The following semester I took Research Methods. That class was as life changing as my week of Jesus camp. It all just made so much sense to me, and it felt as though something that had been sleeping deep inside me for years had finally awakened. I made the decision to leave the ministry and to pursue a degree in psychology full time. I wasn't planning on permanently leaving the ministry, though. I believed that upon completing my education, I would return to the ministry, but would do more counseling, etc.
But, during this time, those tiny doubts had gotten just a little bit bigger...just big enough to become bothersome. For the first time, I began to consider that my faith wasn't actually correct...I felt pretty sure that wasn't the case...but, the possibility was finally there in my mind. I decided that since I was going to school full time, I would take the time to study evolution so I could make a decision about it once and for all. I took a class called Genetics and Evolution and entered the class with no expectations either way. Either I would see that evolution was indeed silly and unsupported or I would see that it is a valid theory that really does have evidence supporting it. I had no idea which direction it would go. By the end of the semester, it was clear that the latter was the case.
It wasn't so much that I decided "evolution is true, therefore, Christianity is wrong." What really struck me was that I had been taught so strongly for many years that evolutionary theory was a completely baseless theory designed by scientists to deceive people into turning against God. It became quite clear that that was just not the case. Yet, I had believed that that was the case for a long time without really researching the matter further. I began to wonder what else I had put my faith and belief in simply because I believed the person that told me rather than investigating the issue first. It was that idea that made me begin to question my faith entirely.
I spent a couple of years feeling as though I was a small boat in a huge ocean being tossed about uncontrollably by waves from all directions. My whole world was shattered. Everything that I had believed about myself, about the world, and about life was thrown into question. If my faith was true, could I ever go back to believing it as solidly as I had before? If my faith was not true, how could I begin my life again without living in total devastation? I prayed and prayed that God would grant me faith. I sought counsel from Christian friends and leaders. But, I was ultimately left with no real answers.
Over a long, long process that lasted about 5 years, I finally reached the point in which I could renounce Christianity permanently. I had feared that my life would lack meaning or that I would never have peace. I have found just the opposite. My life is so much more satisfying and fulfilling. I began to fully embrace life for the first time after turning from Christianity. I have more respect for myself and for other people. I have a greater appreciation for what I have and experience in my life each day. Not knowing what happens after we die has pushed me to savor every moment in my life and to fear wasting any of them. I have become a far more moral person and have gained a much, much better (as in, not ancient) understanding of morality, ethics, and human nature.
And I continue on in my education studying behavioral neuroscience. After taking Genetics and Evolution, my love for biology was extremely clear, so I added that component to my studies...and I am loving every minute of it. For the first time, I feel that I am truly following my dreams and becoming the person that I really am. In other words, I feel that I have finally discovered myself...and that is well worth the journey.
Throughout my adolescence, everything in my life was about God. I was extremely active in my church youth group, spending at least half of my evenings at church for one reason or another. I ensured that the majority of my close friends were Christians...and those who weren't Christians, it was my goal to make them become Christians. I studied the Bible ravenously, taking detailed notes, which I organized into binders. I prayed, and I fasted regularly.
There was also considerable pressure in our youth group regarding "the call." Many Christians believe in this thing called "the call," which just means that God has told you that you are to be a full-time minister. As a teenager, this call was an extremely positive and serious matter. It wasn't long before I began to feel that I was called into the ministry.
After graduating from high school, I went to Bible College to pursue what I believed was God's call to ministry. It was a horrible 4 years of my life, and I daily dreamed of the day that I would graduate and move on from that time in my life. That's not an exaggeration. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that every day, in the shower, I would imagine myself walking across the stage at my graduation. While I was very interested in learning about God, I wasn't very interested in theology. Yet, that was what I was studying all day long.
Finally, graduation day came. I then worked as a children's pastor in a church for several years and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed working with the children and with families. Over those years, I developed a strong interest in psychology. I had some developing interest while in Bible college, which lead me to do some reading on the subject in the years after I graduated. This interest grew over time and finally reached the point that I decided I would take a couple of classes in psychology. I had no intention of leaving the ministry or anything at that point. It was just something to pursue out of personal interest.
That first semester I took statistics and The Biological Basis for Human Behavior. Statistics was rather boring. But, my other class was so fascinating. I fell in love with behavioral neuroscience that semester. I also experienced the planting of a seed that semester...a seed that would take many years to take hold and blossom. I had been taught that evolutionary theory was absolutely ridiculous and had no evidence whatsoever to support it. My class that semester referred to evolution very briefly, but enough so to catch my attention. I also began to see how much our biology influences our behavior. I had viewed humans as spiritual beings housed in a physical body. What I learned in that class heavily contradicted that view in many ways. For the first time, I experienced some doubt regarding my beliefs. They weren't doubts that I took very seriously at first. But, in time, they grew.
The following semester I took Research Methods. That class was as life changing as my week of Jesus camp. It all just made so much sense to me, and it felt as though something that had been sleeping deep inside me for years had finally awakened. I made the decision to leave the ministry and to pursue a degree in psychology full time. I wasn't planning on permanently leaving the ministry, though. I believed that upon completing my education, I would return to the ministry, but would do more counseling, etc.
But, during this time, those tiny doubts had gotten just a little bit bigger...just big enough to become bothersome. For the first time, I began to consider that my faith wasn't actually correct...I felt pretty sure that wasn't the case...but, the possibility was finally there in my mind. I decided that since I was going to school full time, I would take the time to study evolution so I could make a decision about it once and for all. I took a class called Genetics and Evolution and entered the class with no expectations either way. Either I would see that evolution was indeed silly and unsupported or I would see that it is a valid theory that really does have evidence supporting it. I had no idea which direction it would go. By the end of the semester, it was clear that the latter was the case.
It wasn't so much that I decided "evolution is true, therefore, Christianity is wrong." What really struck me was that I had been taught so strongly for many years that evolutionary theory was a completely baseless theory designed by scientists to deceive people into turning against God. It became quite clear that that was just not the case. Yet, I had believed that that was the case for a long time without really researching the matter further. I began to wonder what else I had put my faith and belief in simply because I believed the person that told me rather than investigating the issue first. It was that idea that made me begin to question my faith entirely.
I spent a couple of years feeling as though I was a small boat in a huge ocean being tossed about uncontrollably by waves from all directions. My whole world was shattered. Everything that I had believed about myself, about the world, and about life was thrown into question. If my faith was true, could I ever go back to believing it as solidly as I had before? If my faith was not true, how could I begin my life again without living in total devastation? I prayed and prayed that God would grant me faith. I sought counsel from Christian friends and leaders. But, I was ultimately left with no real answers.
Over a long, long process that lasted about 5 years, I finally reached the point in which I could renounce Christianity permanently. I had feared that my life would lack meaning or that I would never have peace. I have found just the opposite. My life is so much more satisfying and fulfilling. I began to fully embrace life for the first time after turning from Christianity. I have more respect for myself and for other people. I have a greater appreciation for what I have and experience in my life each day. Not knowing what happens after we die has pushed me to savor every moment in my life and to fear wasting any of them. I have become a far more moral person and have gained a much, much better (as in, not ancient) understanding of morality, ethics, and human nature.
And I continue on in my education studying behavioral neuroscience. After taking Genetics and Evolution, my love for biology was extremely clear, so I added that component to my studies...and I am loving every minute of it. For the first time, I feel that I am truly following my dreams and becoming the person that I really am. In other words, I feel that I have finally discovered myself...and that is well worth the journey.
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