TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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"Science will one day advance to the point that it will prove all of the non-dual teachings to be true."
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
THE RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING SCIENTIFIC FACTS OVER THE EMOTIONAL INTOXICATION GENERATED BY RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL FANATICISM:
While Religion and Science Are Not Always Incompatible, Logic and Reason and Wisdom Make Clear That If a Choice Between The Two Is To Be Made, Only One Choice Is the Sane Option
As noted yesterday, often nowadays there are only two types of explanations offered for almost every event on the planet:
A. Religious / and or spiritual (rooted in myths, superstitions, ancient tales, magical thinking)
or,
B. Scientific (rooted in evidence and facts).
With 97% of all persons claiming a religious affiliation plus millions more claiming a spiritual status, explanation "A" is certainly the most popular and far more prevalent than "B."
EXAMPLE #1:
The Dalai Lama's explanation cited yesterday of why hurricanes go where they go and, specifically, why Hurricane Katrina had landfall at New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (religious, spiritual)
vs.
the explanation offered by scientists about why hurricanes go where they go and make landfall where they make landfall, namely, ocean temperatures, low pressure systems, high pressure systems, beta drifts, trade winds, other stirring global winds, etc. (scientific, factual).
The stunning fact is that, in 2018, a religion vs. science debate is even happening, but google the topic and you'll find over 4.5 million current references to discussions and writings on the subject.
EXAMPLE #2:
"My child died because God was ready for her / him to be with Him in heaven" (religious, spiritual)
vs.
"Your child died because he / she had a simple infection which could have been cured by administering a round of antibiotics but your fanaticism-and-ignorance-and-insanity-based religious belief that if anything other than prayer is used to treat a sick child, it will show a lack of faith in God's healing power and He will be displeased with you" (scientific, factual).
Parents in Oregon were charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment in the death of their 15-month-old daughter who would have survived had she received antibiotics, rejecting their argument that prosecution would violate their religious freedom and parental rights.
Religious objections to medical treatment have historical roots which can be traced back to the late 1800s in England when a sect called "the Peculiar People" ended up on trial for allowing generations of children to die as a result of their decision to reject doctors and medicine.
Today, many religious groups routinely reject some or all mainstream health care on theological grounds, including Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Fundamentalist Mormons, the Pentecostal Followers of Christ, the Amish, Scientologists, the members of the Unleavened Bread Ministries, and hundreds of other groups and religious cults.
In 2008, 11-year-old Kara Neumann of Weston, Wisconsin suffered waves of nausea as she lay motionless on her deathbed, too weak to walk or speak. Kara's parents — both followers of the Unleavened Bread Ministries, an online church which shuns medical intervention — knelt in prayer beside their dying daughter. They did not call a doctor for help. A few hours later, Kara died of diabetes, a relatively common — and treatable — condition.
Discussed earlier on this site were Herbert and Catherine Schaibles. In 2009 they let their two-year-old die from pneumonia rather than allow doctors to treat and heal the child. They were sentenced to ten years probation for involuntary manslaughter for that death. Part of their probation stated that they must seek medical care if another one of their children became sick.
In 2014, the same two parents were still practicing faith-healing and were sent to jail that year for causing the death of their eight-month-old son Brandon in 2013 - once more, from pneumonia - by refusing to take him to the doctor. So Brandon was the second of Herbert and Catherine Schaible’s children to die because of their lack of care which was rooted in their rejection of scientific progress in treating childhood illnesses and in their religious fanaticism and their belief in religion over science.
In the case of the second child whom they killed, the Schaibles pled no contest to third-degree murder, and as he sentenced them to between three and a half and seven years behind bars, Philadelphia Judge Benjamin Lerner told the couple, “You’ve killed two of your children . . . not God, not your church, not religious devotion — you.”
Despite alarmingly-high child mortality rates among religious groups in the state of Idaho, U.S.A., that state is among others which offer a faith-based shield for felony crimes.
The right-wing legislators there are basically saying, "Choose to kill your child? Then you'll be sent to prison. Choose to kill your child because of your religious beliefs and your willingness to turn your back on science and medical treatment which can save your child's life? No problem."
One 43-year old recalled that when he was 12, he broke his ankle during a wrestling tryout. “I ended up shattering two bones in my foot,” he said. His parents approached the situation with the usual Followers' remedies – rubbing the injury with “rancid olive oil” and having him swig on Kosher wine.
Intermittently, they would have him attempt to walk. He said, "Each time, my body would just go into shock and I would pass out.”
“I would wake up to my step-dad, my uncles and the other elders of the church kicking me and beating me, calling me 'a fag' because I didn’t have enough faith to let God come in and heal me, while my mom and my aunts were sitting there watching. And that’s called 'faith healing'.”
Ultimately, an objective witness could come to understand that the issue is far more complicated than a "religion vs. science debate."
An objective witness could come to understand that the issue involves (to use Maharaj's terms) . . .
a. "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" which are rooted in ignorant, stupid, and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, indoctrination, and brainwashing
vs.
b. sanity and wisdom.
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