Skeptical Inquirer Magazine
Ann Druyan Talks About Science, Religion, Wonder, Awe ... and Carl Sagan, her deceased husband.
What I find disappointing about most religious beliefs is that they are a kind of statement of contempt for nature and reality. It's absurdly hubristic. It holds the myths of a few thousand years above nature's many billion-yeared journey. It says reality is inferior and less satisfying than the stories we make up.
Why does the message of science not grab people in their souls and give them the kind of emotional gratification that religion has given to so many?
This is something that I think we have to come to grips with. There's a confusion generally in our society. There is a great wall that separates what we know from what we feel.The Bible says that the Earth is flat. The Bible says that we were created separately from the rest of life. If you look at it honestly, you have to give up these basic ideas, you have to admit that the Bible is not infallible, it's not the gospel truth of the creator of the universe. So what did we do? We made a corrupt treaty that resulted in a troubled peace: We built a wall inside ourselves.
Cosmas Indicopleustes' world picture - flat earth in a Tabernacle."Lactantius (245–325), after his conversion to Christianity and rejection of Greek philosophy, called it "folly" because he thought that people under the opposite side of the sphere would not "obey" gravity. He asked,
"Is there any one so senseless as to believe that there are men whose footsteps are higher than their heads? That the crops and trees grow downward? That the rains and snow and hail fall upward toward the earth? I am at a loss what to say of those who, when they have once erred, steadily persevere in their folly and defend one vain thing by another."
Wikipedia
POINT OF INQUIRY
Ann Druyan - Science, Wonder, and Spirituality
September 15th, 2006
In this discussion with DJ Grothe, she stresses the point that people can have a sense of awe and wonder about the universe without having to believe in God or the supernatural, discusses the work of Carl Sagan and his lasting impact, examines the growing need for scientific literacy in our society, and shares why, despite the current cultural war against science, she is optimistic about the future.
The Carl Sagan Foundation
METAXY Cross-reference
No comments:
Post a Comment