Not Just Science has Changed its Mind over the Centuries

To Rmasters and his gentle ribbing of changing in scientific thought.

I liked very much your little word play and gentle nudge to we who believe in science over religion.

Let us look at it another way.

Thousands of years ago, priests and holy men said that the Sun was a god who rode his chariot across the sky, and the moon was his enemy and they fought each night. We were told to worship them and to sacrifice animals in their name.

A little later, priests said that the God Horus and Ra were the true gods. Their Pharaohs were also gods made flesh. They sacrificed to them and worshiped them.

Then came Zeus and Apollo, who later became Jupiter and Mars. Their priests told believers to sacrifice to them, to make temples in their honor, to worship them and thank them for the gift of life we were given.

Now Judeo/Christians say that everyone else was wrong and they are right. There is only one God and we have to worship him. Those Pagans were all a bunch of superstitious fools.

Did those priests mean to deceive the believers? Of course not. They saw creation the way they believed it to be. Millions of people knew that this was the way of the world. Ramses, Socrates, Caesar and thousands of the greatest minds who ever lived believed in their world order, believed what priests and their faith told them was true. I personally have a lot more respect for a Socrates than a thousand pomaded, pompadored prophets that grace our TV these days.

What will be the next theory of Gods and Creation? What will supersede the Judeo-Christian belief? Some day those future priests and followers will be laughing at your superstitious beliefs.

What creationists and people of faith forget is that we who don't believe didn't want to be like this. We were raised the same as everyone else, to believe in angels and miracles and a loving father watching over us, protecting us. Do you think the faithless find comfort in the fact that death means the end of existence? We want with all our hearts to see our mothers and fathers again, to see our loved ones, to spend an eternity in peace talking with Shakespeare or any of the great minds who once lived. No matter how much we want these things, we are forced to face reality every day. Just as a child grows up to discover that Santa is just a guy in a cheap suit, so must we all grow up and realise that we have this life, this planet and each other to rely on.

I took some psychology classes in College. I don't remember much, but I do remember one theory about the three stages of human development. In the beginning, we believe the universe revolves around us. Our parents and family nurture us and provide everything we need to live. As we get a little older, we see that we are not the center of the universe - that we are only a small part of it and we share it with others. Finally as we become adults we learn to rely on ourselves, that we have take responsibility for our own existence.

We humans have passed the first two stages because of changes in scientific thought. I hope soon we reach the third.