h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Religion

Posted Oct 2, 2000

There was a message posted on Dec 3, 1999 by Courier the Bold that really bothered me a lot. I'm new to h2g2, and only ran across it while looking around and seeing what it's all about. At first I was really angry at Courier, but now I'm only sad. There are a number of things I need to react to, though.

1. Courier asserts that organized religion has perverted faith. What is faith? Faith wasn't around until the beginnings of organized religion, which was established because the people needed something to explain the world. Besides, if you are faithful but not religious, what are you faithful to? What do you believe in? Yourself? I think Courier needs to do some thinking about his rash words, because if a little time and thought is invested in them, they really don't make any sense.

2. Killing is motivated by religion. Well, yes, that's true. But most are motivated by the hate of religion. Like Courier, for example: I wouldn't be surprised if I learned he murdered two Christians just for their faith. True Christians don't commit murder- if they murder and claim it's because God told them so, they're not Christians. If you research and look into almost every event throughout history, you will find that most murders stem from a nonreligious sect.

3. This one really angers me. Courier tells us that religious people are gullible. I'm a Christian, and I'm very proud of it. That doesn't mean I don't listen to other people or take controversial classes or read unreligious articles. Take the controversy over evolution, for example: I've struggled with that issue, because it goes directly against my faith, so I've spent many hours reading about evolution and its scientific basis. I've come to the conclusion, of my own free will, that evolution could not have happened on its own. Nobody made me believe that. In fact, I have fellow believers who believe that evolution did occur. To say that the religious people are gullible is to be gullible yourself: how can you make a judgement on an entire group of people based on one little prejudice? Talk about discrimination!

4. He mentioned something about 2000 years of greedy, power-hungry politicians. The 2000 years thing makes me think that Courier's referring directly to Jesus Christ, who died approximately 2000 years ago. But to refer to him as a greed, power-hungry politician only shows how narrow-minded Courier is. In every major world religion, except Satanism (which I don't call a religion), Jesus is seen as an important preacher- a good guy, like Moses or Confucious. He preached things like "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If any can find fault with these words, more power to you. Also, consider the sacrifice He made: whether or not you believe it to be significant, it is a fact that Jesus died on the cross, with nails pounded in his hands and feet, and he didn't get any money or power out of it. If Jesus had been out for that stuff, he wouldn't have died for us.

5. According to Courier, the big bang theory has been both proven and accepted by the church. Bull. The beauty about the beginning of earth and life as we know it is that *we *do *not *know. The Big Bang has not been proven, nor is it likely ever to be. Think about it scientifically: science says that matter can not be created or destroyed, right? So, if there was this huge thing floating in space that suddenly exploded, how did it get there in the first place? This is where time becomes a really scary thing, because it's infinite. The piece of rock must have been there a long time. Besides, another rule of science is that matter progresses naturally from order to disorder: it prefers entropy, if you will. What are the chances that a huge explosion in outer space that sends billions of tons of rock spinning off into nowhere would create a world as profoundly beautiful as this one? I won't even venture a guess. Furthermore, the Christian church, while it has been wrong and misguided at times, as only been so because of the people who ran it, not the religion itself. I dare you to find one passage in the Bible that says "Thou shalt believe that the earth is the center of the universe." They just assumed that, and were wrong. But if the church came out and agreed with the Big Bang, I'd be skeptical. The center of the universe is one thing; the question of God's power is quite another.

6. Finally, Courier suggests that we need faith and hope in something positive, but he hates organized religion. I won't bring up the subject of faith again- I think I've made my point. But without something to belive in, what hope is out there? Positive hope, I mean. The world is a nasty place that seems to defy all hope. I, as a Christian, can hope for a better place some day, a place where I can believe in something without being criticized for it, a place full of love and peace with a benevolent God ruling over us. What can you look forward to?

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Latest reply: Oct 2, 2000