A recent conversation on Google+ got me to thinking about a dialogue between Christians and Atheists.\u00a0 The OP was wondering if the 7-day creation myth could be reconciled with science, would it make a difference to me.<\/p>\n
I had a couple of responses to that and most of them ended with “nope”.<\/p>\n
First, the only way to ‘reconcile’ the Biblical creation myth with science is to remove it.\u00a0 There is no part of either creation myth in the Bible that can, in any way, be considered an accurate description of reality.\u00a0 It’s a myth, a fictional story, and that’s all it ever can be.\u00a0 If one chooses to believe in that myth over reality, then there can be no dialogue.\u00a0 If one chooses to ignore one’s holy book (on that point), but continues to hold to other impossible issues (Jesus rising from the dead, for example), then one could be accused of cherry-picking or hypocrisy.<\/p>\n
Second, the issue with religion isn’t that atheists don’t want to talk about it.\u00a0 I’ve had a number of relatively pleasant conversations with Christians about science and\/or the Bible.\u00a0 The issue is that the Christians, ultimately, have a goal.\u00a0 That goal is to make sure that everyone is believing in the same delusion that they are.\u00a0 That’s the whole point of evangelism.\u00a0 To bring the Word of God to the sinners or kill them.<\/p>\n
Yes, I exaggerate slightly here.\u00a0 But I can be forgiven my exaggeration because that’s what we see on the news.\u00a0 These are the Christians that are speaking out, not the quiet people who just want to go to church.<\/p>\n
Third, my issue with religion is not only that it ignores science and forces belief over the scientific method, but there are so many other issues involved with it.\u00a0 The person who started the discussion didn’t seem to realize that Jesus advocated for slavery.<\/p>\n
Finally, my issue is with the OPs assumptions about atheism, starting with atheism equals science.\u00a0 For the hundred billionth time, atheism is only a lack of belief in gods.\u00a0 The fact that being an atheist and the ability to use science reasoning and critical thinking are highly correlated does not mean that they are the same.<\/p>\n
So, can atheists and Christians have a dialogue?<\/p>\n
Sure, why not.\u00a0 But it will likely end up in two people talking past each other.\u00a0 They don’t use the same definitions.\u00a0 They don’t have a common understanding about (almost) anything.\u00a0 It’s like a tiger shark and a flea arguing about Top Chef.\u00a0 It might be interesting for a while, but it’s ultimately useless.<\/p>\n
The atheist will require evidence and the Christian can’t understand why the Bible and personal experience aren’t sufficient.\u00a0 The Christian wants to spread the word of a life changing experience and the atheist can’t understand how a myth can be life altering.\u00a0 (That’s a good question really.\u00a0 Have you ever read or watched something fictional that still had a major impact on your life?)<\/p>\n
Here’s my take on this.\u00a0 I really enjoyed a particular science fiction series (up until the final chapters of the final book, but I digress).\u00a0 Within this book, everyone on Earth finally came to the conclusion that religion was harmful.\u00a0 A pact was formed called The White Covenant.\u00a0 There were only two rules and it was quite simple.\u00a0 The religious cannot evangelize and everyone follows the same laws.<\/p>\n
I think that’s a pretty good starting point.\u00a0 If someone wants to worship God, Allah, Thor, Cthullu, the FSM, Hecate, Satan, or Christina Applegate, I surely don’t care.\u00a0 But that doesn’t mean that person should be allowed to attack people who don’t follow his beliefs.\u00a0 He should be allowed to claim religious exemption for anything because of his beliefs.\u00a0 And, for sure, he should not be allowed to commit (otherwise) illegal acts because of his beliefs.<\/p>\n
Further, I don’t think that myths have any place in determining policy… in any environment; business, government, hospital, or home.<\/p>\n
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