“Imagine the people who believe such things and who are not ashamed to ignore, totally, all the patient findings of thinking minds through all the centuries since the bible was written. And it is these ignorant people, the most uneducated, the most unimaginative, the most unthinking among us, who would make themselves the guides and leaders of us all; who would force their feeble and childish beliefs on us; who would invade our schools and libraries and homes. I personally resent it bitterly.” — Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
You can't deny the man's brilliance or the fact that he had the most badass mutton-chops in all of literature. He wore his facial hair like a GOD.
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9 comments:
I don't want my beliefs forced on anyone else. But he calls believers ignorant, childish and uneducated. I've been in science classes in university where they teach something as if it is written in stone. The next year that same fact has been proven wrong by more tests and more science. I'm thinking specifically of at what age the brain stops maturing. They had to change the texts for the next year's classes. Science is not perfect truth. I just cannot believe science has the answer for everything. If it does, it is a cold comfort.
I like how you bring these things up for discussion. I find it interesting and challenging. However, "Methinks he(you) doth protest too much."
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18
"The wisdom of this world is foolishness before God." Chap.3
If anything, expressing my viewpoints gives me pause because it insults people like you who I respect. I see how religion is a comfort to a great many people, my mother included. A great deal of my venom comes from the fact that I am not in the group that is comforted. I only see the bad side, the division and the hatred. I can't live with the extreme views of others in the exact same way that they cannot live with mine. Maybe one day I will find a middle ground but for now I can only say that if your faith comforts you and you are not forcing it on another person or using it to deny someone else the rights they deserve then I applaud your use of religion as a powerful force for good that it is. Just don't wait up and expect me to stop fighting the parts of religion that are truly evil. Pray that I always know where that line in drawn.
Belle makes a good point about science, but that is only because people confuse science with faith. Science is not something to be "believed in" and you put your faith in science at your peril. Science is a shifting thing that changes (or at least it should) with each new discovery. Paradigms are shattered constantly and those who have too much faith in one idea soon find themselves defending it in the face of contrary evidence with the zeal of an evangelical.
Faith is different. Faith is a belief in something that cannot be reconciled with evidence or proof. If it could, then it would not be faith. What good is faith in something that can pe proved empirically? No good at all.
People of faith can do evil things. So can people of science. Whether you have a faith or not we should all shun evil and condemn those whose acts are hurtful and self serving. I can profess my faith and perhaps be denigrated for that. That is a wrong done to me. But if I profess my faith and try to force others to conform to it then that is a wrong I do to all, including the faith that I espouse.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with faith (yes, even Christian faith) nor is there anything intrinsically wrong with discovering the nature of the universe using science. It is how humans go about those two pursuits that can make it a good or a bad thing.
That having been said, and despite his mischaracterizing of genuine people of faith, I have the utmost respect for Doctor Asimov and his divine mutton chops.
Jesus fought against the religious people of his day because of their cruelty, exclusiveness and hypocrisy. He was an amazing person who would probably be rejected and persecuted if he came back here to live.
I saw the movie, "The Gospel of John," and the actor who portrayed Jesus said he was surprised at what a forceful personality Jesus had. He alone is the one to look at, not at people who say they follow him.
I don't take offence at what you say about religion or God. You have perfect freedom to believe whatever you want.
I took Asimov's quotation as referring only to Fundamentalist Christians who (1) profess literal belief in every word of the Bible and who (2) want to impose their religious/social views on society. I personally resent them too.
But faith as a private and personal matter is not a threat to anyone and does much good for the believer. Most Christians are not Fundamentalists (certainly here in Canada) and are amenable to reason.
Great quote and I am of a mind like Debra. It should be personal and kept out of how schooling or state functions. There are so many different beliefs that they need to be kept out of how the government works for all.
Here is the key of the quote: ". And it is these ignorant people, the most uneducated, the most unimaginative, the most unthinking among us, who would make themselves the guides and leaders of us all; who would force their feeble and childish beliefs on us; "
That is the key. I will defend the right of someone to believe what they will. That doesn't mean I have to respect their belief as fact and I certainly will not defend or support any efforts at legislating those beliefs into law.
Debra and Donn seem to have it right, in my opinion.
...and he wrote some damn fine speculative fiction. He and Arthur C. Clarke got me started reading back in the 60s, and I thank them profusely.
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