23rdSeptember

Christianity Is No Science

The Nature of Belief

Christianity, like any religion, is based on faith. It is essentially comprised of a community of personal beliefs, all of which derive from a single source called the Bible. The Bible describes Christianity, but it is senseless to say that it forms a foundation for rational belief. Christianity is irrational, which is why faith is required.

This makes it all the more strange to see Christians debating their beliefs. Those beliefs are irrational by nature, so there is no hope of making them rational. In fact, if any Christian thinks about it, he or she will realize that Christianity cannot become rational or it will cease to be a religion. It will, instead, become a philosophy, which people would then be free to take or leave without any significant consequence.

A Ridiculous Comparison and Conclusion

This makes it all the more ridiculous to see Christians arguing that Christianity is a rational alternative to science. It does not matter what is being compared to Christianity. It is enough to notice that one is comparing something to a religion and that all religions contain irrational beliefs.

In the case of Christianity, the number of irrational beliefs is astounding. Three examples will suffice. First, it is ridiculous to argue that the creator of the universe, in effect, wrote a book. Second, it is ridiculous to argue that God would punish his creations for making them a certain way when God is supposedly omnipotent. Third, it is ridiculous to argue that God was forced to send another version of himself down to Earth to be voluntarily tortured and killed, only to rise from the dead after a weekend in Hell. None of these things make the slightest sense and, yet, most Christians continue to believe all three.

Whatever shortcomings science might have, it is at least based on reason. Christianity, or any religion for that matter, has no business trying to compete with science as a plausible explanation of our existence. Movements like Intelligent Design and Young Earth creationism simply have no place in the marketplace of credible ideas.

That Christians want their religion to be scientific suggests not that Christianity might be scientific, but that Christians desperately want to resolve their religious beliefs with science. And this suggests that Christians find some value in science that their religion fails to provide.

5 Comments

rowen says 23rd September @ 2:58

the two can go together you know, to me we can learn about god from what he revealed in the bible and from science. Science shows us how things are made but not why thy are made.

UK says 23rd September @ 11:20

As I see it, you cannot reconcile a belief that the creator of the universe wrote a book with reality. As I mentioned in my post, start there and, if you are honest with yourself, you will realize how irrational Christianity truly is. It has to be believed on faith, not reason. And science is all about reason. So, science and Christianity do not get along, even when answering supposedly different questions, which are in fact not so different after all.

ESVA says 27th September @ 5:55

Rowen: I used to believe that Christianity and science were compatible. I believed in theistic evolution, etc. I eventually realized, however, that every time science made a significant advance, religion had to be modified to account for that. Similarly, every time humans made humans rights advances, i.e., slavery, womens’ rights, etc., religion had to be modified. Moreover, since Christians claim that the Bible is an historical document that records historical events, those events, and the reliability of the Bible can be examined via science, anthropology, history, etc. More often than not, the Bible’s accuracy has been challenged. I now realize that Christianity is the same as all other religions, a body of belief that does not adequately answer the questions it sets out to answer.

bipolar2 says 2nd October @ 10:07

** “Obviousness” ain’t enough **

Again, you’ve got to up your level of sophistication here. I suggest to you that you find a good Catholic website — you won’t outwit Jesuits by pointing out how “obvious” xian irrationality is.

In fact try out First Things Magazine — consider dealing with Avery Cardinal Dulles on evolution:
http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6038

As a secular humanist, I appreciate the good Cardinal’s attempts. Perhaps you’d care to take him on.

It’d do you a world of good.

bipolar2
copyright asserted 2007

kevin smith says 27th May @ 9:14

As I read through blogs of this nature, it becomes increasing clear how thankless and ultimately futile the discussion of religion has always been. While the “nay sayers” are busy exercising their clarity and wit, the “religious” glance suspiciously at their own kind in an effort to sniff out heresy. There is so little to gain, but it does provide an opportunity to rub virtual shoulders.

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