by Mary Montgomery-Clifford
Religion or Science? Which is More Dangerous?
by Mary Mongomery-Clifford
First of all, thanks for all the calls and e-mail about last month's column on The Secret of the Beloved Disciple book excerpt that can be downloaded from www.worldpuja.org. That turned out to be a very popular topic. One woman who called did not have access to a computer and wondered how she could get a copy of the James Twyman book. So, if you happen to be in that situation, give me a call (see phone number below) and we'll work something out.
Having worked behind the
scenes at last year's Whole Life Expo, I know for a fact that some of the famous
names in New Age Spirituality have let the whole thing go to their heads. I've
always gotten the impression, however, that Peace Troubadour and author Twyman
is a genuine and humble guy. He confirmed that by giving me a call to thank me
for my column. It's nice to feel appreciated!
Those Chain Letters
Speaking of appreciation, I'd like to thank Marva, a reader
who replied to my column on Internet chain letters. Marva e-mailed me a sample
letter that she described as a "cute guilt chain." The letter goes
like this: "OK, this is a test to see how many friends you have!!! Don't
be hurt by this if no one sends it back. It's just a test. OK, Here goes, instantly
when you receive this letter, You must send it to at least 10 people, including
the person who sent it to you. HUG HUG HUG HUG (over 60 hugs are in the letter).
You have just been hugged!! That's right, there's no getting out of it this
time!! This is the start of a full-scale Hug O' War! So hug everyone you know!!!
Hug your friends, your enemies, everyone!! With all the other forwards out there,
I thought this would be a good one to start. The hug is my favorite sign of
affection. It can mean so much, and many things at the same time. It can be
a sign of love, friendship, comfort or anything. So here you go. All I can say
it will do is brighten someone's day. I mean, we all need a hug once in awhile.
So send this on if you'd like, to anyone who may need a hug, Send it back to
whoever sent it to you, send it back to me!! Goodness knows, we could all REALLY
use a hug sometimes."
OK, Marva, this isn't exactly instantly, but I'm sending it
back to you and to all my readers. There is a lot of love and only a little
guilt associated with this e-mail chain letter, so it gets a stamp of approval.
Religion versus Science
Recently, I happened to tune in to the annual Great American
Think-Out Debate on C-Span. This year's debate question was "Which is more
dangerous, religion or science?" It was fascinating, not only because of
the topic, but also because of the Internet tie-in. At least one of the four
finalists found out about the contest while surfing the net. And the whole event
could be viewed via TV or via audio or video at the C-Span web site (www.c-span.org).
According to the announcer, the finalists' essays are at the
site. At one point, the TV camera even zoomed in on a C-Span web page with the
heading "Great American Think-Out." Unfortunately, finding this page
turned out to a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack. I finally gave
up.
However, I think it's important that the topic was even addressed
in a national. So here's a brief overview:
The finalists were chosen from over 500 entries from as far
away as Pakistan. Except for one professor, the finalists were ordinary types
like you and me: a nurse, a computer programmer and a high school history teacher.
Science is more dangerous: The nurse focused on her experience with a terminally
ill atheist who had cut himself off from his wife and child because they believed
in God. The nurse's spiritually inclined patients talked of visitations from
departed loved ones and the angelic realm. This man saw horrible visions of
snakes and such. He insisted that the hospital use all possible life support
measures to try to keep him alive. Despite science, he died eventually, alone
and unmourned.
The history teacher used the book Animal Farm to drive
home his point that science was more dangerous than religion. In that tale,
the pigs use science to justify their superiority over other animals.
Religion is more dangerous: The computer programmer dipped into
his experience at a mental hospital to portray the dangers of religion. It was
his fanatical religious mindset that sent him there. Science cured him and now
he is an avowed atheist.
The professor didn't discount the importance of either religion
or science. On the whole, however, she argued that religion is more dangerous.
She based her thoughts, in part, on the experiences of some of her students
who came from places like Afghanistan.
The audience asked some hard-hitting questions. One that sticks
in my mind focused on religion's ability to endanger large populations. Could
they do this efficiently without the aid of scientific inventions?
The winner was chosen by the audience. In this case religion
and the history teacher, Mark Friestad from Valley City, North Dakota, won out.
Mark pointed out that it was the debate itself that was most important. "People
don't think about what they believe in," he said. "This helps them
think."
So, what do you think? Drop me an e-mail at Monty764@aol.com
and let me know. And here's an added thought: I noticed that some of the finalists
seemed to be referring to spirituality, rather than organized religion. What
is the difference between religion and spirituality?
Mary Montgomery-Clifford is a certified web author and developer.
Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises ("Freelancing with Finesse!"),
specializes in public relations, events, promotions, writing project and web
authoring, development and publicity. Contact her via e-mail at Monty764@aol.com
or by phone at 773-235-8821.
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