John Griswold
Sep 8, 2018 · 1 min read

A not particularly articulate and wishful examination of the inevitable clash between the irrational belief systems that reveal so little about our universe and existence and the scientific method that has revealed almost everything that we know with any degree of certainty. Choosing Iran, Turkey, India, Israel and Algeria as indicators of the march of religion rolling back the forces of secularism is laughable. Three are majority or exclusive Islamic nation/cultures, one has a long standing conflict between religious cultures, and one is secular.

As human animals we have a hardwired yearning for shared cultural myths and explanations of the phenomena we observe in our world. These yearnings are reinforced by neuro-chemical reward circuits and almost always lead to “religious” systems of belief that invoke the existence of supernatural forces to explain the things which mystify us. While scientific research can explain more and more of our experience in testable ways it’s nearly certain that the remaining mysteries will outnumber those that we can explain. Nearly as certain is the reality that limited human intelligence will not allow any widespread understanding of the explanations that science can render. Religion will persist simply because it CAN provide simple, if inadequate answers to difficult questions and because it CAN unite groups of people in shared mythological beliefs. This is one more way that the human race will divide into exclusive groups that share little agreement on the “meaning of life” or the nature of existance.

    John Griswold

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    Master carpenter, watercolor artist, beat up old jock and somewhat reluctant care giver, owned by Black Lab Bo who considers two tennis balls a minimum mouthful