This website is a ‘living book’ in defense of Religion — and MAGIC
Unfortunately, this ‘book’ is still being written — and re-written
No telling how often it’s been re-written so far
My suggestion is that REALITY is, in fact, “magical” and “ultimately meaningful” — and, that the social-cultural systems that we call “Religions” are attempts to reveal the magic and promote the meaning
I’m suggesting that religions are NOT just wishful thinking, and that the MAGIC to which they refer is REAL – that SOMEHOW, CAUSE AND EFFECT DOES NOT RULE
Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.… Wikipedia
It is easy to conclude that religious belief is simply WISHFUL THINKING
In order to be truly happy, we humans need to believe in immortality and some sort of “ultimate meaning”
We can’t be truly happy if we think we’re only mortal or ultimately meaningless
And religions tell us that we ARE immortal and ultimately meaningFULL
Whereas modern science doesn’t accept either claim
The suggestion HERE however, is that religions don’t make sense to us well-educated homo-sapiens for several MISGUIDED reasons:
Human intelligence is probably in its EVOLUTIONARY CHILDHOOD – WE’RE NOT NEARLY AS SMART AS WE THINK WE ARE
Our public schools are somewhat reasonably — but unfortunately and also unwittingly(?) — teaching our children that CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RULES, and indirectly, that religious beliefs ARE foolish! (If cause and effect DOES rule, religious beliefs ARE foolish — no getting around it)
The significant evidence AGAINST religion is OBVIOUS
The significant evidence FOR religion is NOT
(Note that, on this site, I’ll be discussing WESTERN religions – EASTERN Religions may be easier to defend, but I don’t know enough about them to try)
So, in other words, our Western schools are (for the most part, unknowingly) teaching our kids DETERMINISM… the doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will.
And consequently, our kids have been leaving Religion in droves
In other words, for the sake of reason and honesty, our public schools are undermining our kids’ happiness
I’m all for reason and honesty — and respect the schools’ motivation — but MY BELIEF is that OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS just haven’t recognized the significant evidence FOR Religion, and are consequently doing our kids an enormous disservice…
OUR CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES aren’t doing much better— they tell us a lot about WHAT to believe, but offer very little as to WHY to believe
My aim here is to show that there IS, at least, one SERIOUS reason to BELIEVE in MAGIC
And probably, I’m just touching the surface…
I’m NOT SURE that magic is real — but I BELIEVE that it is because I seem to have stumbled upon some magic STARING US ALL IN OUR FACES – we just don’t recognize the implications
That’s where I’m going — come along…
Unfortunately, the significant evidence FOR religion isn’t NEARLY as OBVIOUS as is the significant evidence AGAINST religion – and consequently, religious parents and teachers of religion are not able to argue their cases very effectively
And, if we parents want our kids to be happy, we need to learn about the significant evidence FOR, and pass it on to them — probably, all by OURSELVES
The OBVIOUS PROBLEM we have with Religion is that what makes a “social-cultural system” a RELIGION is an underlying belief in “MAGIC”
And most of us well-educated, western parents do not believe in magic.
Or at least, most of us do not THINK that we believe in magic.
But then, most of us actually do — we just haven’t made the necessary logical connections…
For instance, reality is either a deterministic machine – or, it is (at least) somewhat “magical”
There is no other possibility.
And, if there is such a thing as FREE WILL, reality is NOT a deterministic machine.
In other words, if you believe in free will, you already believe in magic.
Keep that in mind as you judge western Religion
If you DON’T believe in free will YET, keep thinking…
