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Monday, April 30, 2007

Theism - an obstacle to social progress

Levi Fragell
Former President , IHEU, London

All who are here - and humanists, atheists and freethinkers all over the world - are filled with grief and sorrow after the enormous disaster which struck this part of the globe in the middle of the festivities called Christmas,the celebration of the birth of the Christian god. But our despair is mixed with anger. Why should an immense catastrophe again hit the poorest ones, those who had to build their simple homes close to the seashore to feed their families and earn their living. Why do always the worst catastrophes - those not caused by civilisations, but by the so-called acts of God - why do they hit so hard on the world’s underprivileged? Those who live in houses of mud and clay; the old ones who cannot escape in time; the bedridden; the small children, playing on the beach. They are just as nice, honest and god-fearing as the rich people, living in stronger houses, made of solid brick, reinforced with iron rods and sheltered from cyclones and floods. Why should their gods punish them again and again for just being poor?

Why the poor suffer more?

Don’t the suffering million ask the same question? Of course they do. But they give the wrong answers. Or, more correctly - they are given the wrong answers by their religious leaders: bow your head, go down on your knees. Nobody can understand the ways of the Almighty, but he loves you so much. Just pray more, bring more sacrifices - so next time he may rescue you from evil and loss.

Such words may comfort individuals. But the religious answers do not give comfort to all. Every holocaust creates atheists. The stumbling block of unjust suffering becomes a step to new insight; If there is an almighty god, he cannot be good. A circle can not at the same time be a quadrangle. The god concept becomes meaningless. After the second world war, where millions of Jews were exterminated, thousands of Jews became atheists. Without having statistical evidence - I feel sure it exists somewhere. _ I do think there are more atheists among educated Jews than in any other ethnic community. One of them is the famous scientist Sir Herman Bondi, who has meant so much to the Atheist Centre here in Vijayawada.

But what is the atheist response to the natural catastrophes? Of course we will comfort the suffering, show compassion and give help - as the Indian Atheist Centre has done again and again during floods and earthquakes. But the basic, functional and long-term atheist and humanist response goes even further, beyond the humanitarian efforts. It consists of two questions and one appeal : The first question is : What can we - the world - learn from the catastrophe? And the second : What can we do with the knowledge we obtain? And the appeal is : Do it!

It may still be too early to draw conclusions about what we can learn from the recent disaster. But humanists will never turn their back to what has happened and hope to better luck next time. We want to know. We have to learn. May be what we learn will concern the forecast technology, the warning systems, the information channels, the international rescue awareness and potentials etc. If this kind of matters are problems that must be solved, the atheist and humanist appeal is : Do it! Stop producing bombs to some time, and develop the technology that can save lives. Make sure that electronic warning systems are upto date also in the third world, that satellite communication, land-based transmission and broadcast systems are distributed fairly throughout the world. And build safe houses to the poor, before you build religious cathedrals.

Criticism of Theism

Should the atheists blame the theists - those who belive in god - for the social and political shortcomings in this world ? Not at all - as individuals. Religious people have usually been among the first to help and support the victims of disasters. My parents were Christians, and both of them were nicer, more moral, more contributing to their neighbourhood than I will ever be. It is a fine and difficult balance to accept god believers as freinds on one hand - and criticise Theism on the other. It is necessary to make clear what in theism you crititcise. My own criticism of theism includes the following three parts of the theistic tradition, all three of them etymologically and semantically connected to the word theism.

The first one is Theology, which is the teaching or the doctrines about god, based on so called holy-scriptures. These doctrines claim to be the absolute truth about scientific matters, for instance the origin of the Universe, they explain the meaning of life for all and everybody and give the final laws and rules to moral behaviour. As secular knowledge and human experience accumulates, the religious doctrines often become more and more dysfunctional - inhuman and suppressive. The conditions for women in many theology-based cultures are one example. Social development is obstructed and natural human needs are neglected. For more than two thousand years humanists and philosophers in India, Greece, Rome - and later on all over the world - have attacked theology as the absolute truth. This has been a major contribution to the civilisation. Criticism of theology is still extremely important for the future welfare of millions.

Stop producing bombs to some time, and develop the technology that can save lives

Another effect of theism is theosophy, the wisdom from god. I am not particularly thinking of The Theosophical Society, established here in India by Madame Blavatsky. But she exemplifies the tradition. She insisted that she got her wisdom, her knowledge, in a supernatural way via her Masters in the Himalayas. Thousands of sect-leaders have insisted that they have had the same kind of revelations, through visions, dreams and encounters with angels and holy ghosts. Some of these experiences have had enormous consequences, like the Mosaic religion, Christianity and Islam. More often the followers have been more limited in number, but sometimes very harmful. In Sweden we have recently had murders based on claimed revelations from god. Since the 1970s the New Age movement has been highly influenced by the mysticism of theosophy. So called alternative and spiritual science has been promoted often as the result of supernaturally channelled wisdom. And secular science has consequently been rejected.

The third negavice effect of theism is theocracy, which means a state or a society ruled by god. A state can be a democratic and a relatively open society even where theology has a high standing and even where the culture is influenced by theosophical irrationality. But in a theocracy democratic ideas are banned, the religious laws are the civil laws, the rulers are the priests, the judges are theologians, the executors are deacons.

Together are these three fruits of theism an obstacle for human progress - and a possible danger for our civilisation. Examples are the role of religion in nationalism, imperialism, the biblical fundamentalism in The Middle East, the “Gott mit uns” doctrine in most religions etc. We should not overtook the danger of nuclear, biological or chemical attacks based on religious insanity. Manmade disasters may be worse than any earthquake.

But today’s question is : Can atheism also contribute to reducing the effects of natural catastrophes? I would not be a humanist if I did not think so. How? We do not belive in the final Apocalypse, willed and arranged by any god. We do not accept theologically-based restrictions on scientific research. We know that a civilisation that can explore moons and planets, get rid of polio, clone life and send a picture from this audience directly to my wife in Norway from my mobile - also can protect fishermen, their wives and children from extinction on the shores of the Indian ocean. I do not think any human effort can prevent the earth to quake or the volcanoes to erupt. The nature will always get the last word, and in a few billions of years our planet will collapse and the molecules disappear into the endless eternal Universe. But till then the godless minority will fight dogmatism and superstition on all levels of society to improve life for humankind, transcend the irrational obstacles for human progress. But let us get President Bush out of the scientific laboratories.

(From : Atheist - Feb., 2005)

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