What religion has contributed to the world March/April 2013

"The laws of god" overrides the laws of man!  This is a very dangerous teaching. Who has ever got an instruction from god direct?  "The laws of god" are only the doctrines perpetuated by those with self interest to spread hate, falsehood and false hope.

Women who need to make a decision about abortion are at a very difficult situation. A wholesale rejection of abortion is childish and demonstrate a lack of understanding. This is a serious issue. But the following is a light-hearted quote...

From a reviewer of the book linked at the left on Amazon  wrote:

The very best way to solve this ethical dilemma is not to argue with one another; but rather, to ask, "WWTVMD?" (i.e., What would the Virgin Mary Do?"

On 21 March, 1 BCE, came a day that forever altered the course of cosmic and human history: "Conception Day." That's when the Son of God and the holy Ghost of God came down from Heaven together - the Ghost to impregnate the Virgin Mary, and the Son (Jesus), to become her precious little fetus. Born in Bethlehem on Christmas morning, the Son of God remained on the planet for the next thirty years, preaching hellfire and performing wonders. At age 30, after an especially difficult weekend in Jerusalem, he said goodbye to his disciples and returned home, ascending skyward in a cumulus cloud, not to be seen again until the 21st century and the end of the world.

Today, any fourteen-year old unmarried Jewish girl, upon learning she was pregnant, would sneak into a clinic and demand to have an abortion. If Mary had committed that sin, nipping her pregnancy in the bud, the Son of God would have been bounced safely back to Heaven, sparing him a lot of earthly suffering - but it would have cost humanity the greatest gift God ever gave to the world, which is the gift of potential forgiveness for sins if you just meet certain conditions. The whole Christian religion could have been snuffed out before it began! Which, in the view of many, is a strong argument against abortion. (Don't look at me: I'm "the devil," a feminist, and pro-choice.)

Comment

Being a Christian is also more than an intellectual belief in the Genesis account of creation, where we are told that God created man in His own image--morally cognizant, and as male and female. To believe in the theory of evolution, which says otherwise, is to call God a liar. - Ray Comfort

Since god does not exist, there is no way to call a non-existing object a liar. However, this christian attitude is doing a lot of harm to the education of the American's next generation. The gay bashing science teacher John Freshwater is a case in mind. He, most likely, has the best intention for his students. Unfortunately, he was unable to contain his personal belief personally and has chosen to preach in his classroom.

The religious interference with Science is not new.

Historical examples of religious individuals or institutions promoting claims that contradict both contemporary and modern scientific consensus include creationism, the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to heliocentrism from 1616 to 1757 including the Galileo affair, and more recently, Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 statements claiming that the use of condoms to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa was ineffective and counterproductive. Additionally, long held religious claims have been challenged by scientific studies such as STEP, which examined the efficacy of prayer. A number of scientists including Jerry Coyne have made an argument for a philosophical incompatibility between religion and science. An argument for the conflict between religion and science that combines the historical and philosophical approaches has been presented by Neil Degrasse Tyson -- Tyson argues that religious scientists, such as Newton, could have achieved more had they not accepted religious answers to unresolved scientific issues. [source]

The physical reality is the base for our existence and survival. Our biological body is based on the material that is provided by the physical realm. Science is the study of the physical reality - nothing more and nothing less. Science operates with transparency and bases on evidence. If science and religion are contradictory, science is more likely to be the truth. At least the self-correcting nature of science will gradually find out the truth - instead of being struck with dogmas laid down thousand of years ago by men who were less knowledge than us.