Joshua Kennon

Here’s an interesting question: Does religion have just as much responsibility to examine scientific evidence as it does religious tradition and scriptural text?

Responsible religion cannot ignore scientific discoveries. Do you think the Christian church thought they were wrong when they were punishing Galileo? Of course not. But it doesn't change the fact they were.

Put another way: Throughout history, religion taken as a whole has lagged behind scientific discovery and development, only to redefine itself decades, or even centuries, later.  In the case of Christianity, the Bible, specific passages in it, as well as long religious tradition were used to justify:

• Slavery (not only of whole races but the ability of fathers to sell their daughters, which still goes on in the world and is perfectly biblical)
• The inferiority of women as evidenced by the prohibition of female preachers and female led households.  Up until the 1970’s, a woman really couldn’t even open a bank account without her husband’s permission in the United States.  That is a staggering thought.
• The inferiority of different races.  (We’ll talk about this in a moment.)
• The inability to earn interest on money loaned.  The entire American banking system and economy is directly in violation of biblical teaching.  Every time you put money into a savings account or certificate of deposit, you are earning interest from your share of the interest charged to borrowers, in some case outright usury at 30%+ on credit cards.
• Child abuse.  There is absolutely nothing un-biblical about requiring 7 years olds to go to work to support the family (almost all of the children in the bible did), rebellious sons and daughters were stoned, and existed more for the benefit of the parents than having any real chance at self-actualization.
• The torture, imprisonment, and murder of scientists.  We all saw what happened to Galileo for daring to discover that the Earth is not only the center of the universe, it is circling a star, which itself is part of a solar system that itself is circling a galaxy that is circling the center of the universe, which we are nowhere near.

Cognitive Dissonance in the Christian Church

Racism and Christianity

For the longest time, race was probably the most powerful example of cognitive dissonance in the church.  To this day, some misguided religious groups believe that African Americans are the cursed decedents of Cain.

From scientific evidence, however, we know that every human being on the planet started out as black. By extension, for those who believe in a 100% literal interpretation of the bible, Adam and Eve had to be black.  There is no way around the DNA evidence because it shows that humans came from somewhere in Africa, close to where the Jews, Muslims, and Christians believe God created mankind, and that being “white” developed as people migrated north into areas with less sunlight and those with paler skin had the ability to absorb certain nutrients, making them healthier and more successful in a reproductive sense. (more…)