Religion Has Been a Stumbling Block of Progress

By Sicebise Msengana

www.blacknews.com

" when you do science, you have to put aside religion. You must exclude the divine from your theories about the world. Once you bring in the supernatural, you can explain anything, but none of your explanations can ever be confirmed, since you're using ideas that go beyond human sense"--Steven Weinberg

From its beginning religion has been a stumbling block against scientific developments. The claims made by religious fanatics are fallacious in many ways. Just because religious scientists did or still do scientific work has nothing to do with science. In fact, greatest scientists were and always irreligious and didn't bring science into religion (i.e. Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin).

In the early 2000s when the AIDS epidemic was racking havoc in the African continent, many religious leaders and institutions claimed the deadly virus was a punishment from God because of our sexual immorality. But that must mean Africans sin a lot , however, we made strides in the continent and invented treatments to reduce the deaths.  How dare we invoke God’s wrath by sinning and then dodge the punishment as well!

In the Holy Bible, we learn that  Almighty God created the Heavens and the Earth, in six days. But modern science tells a rather different story. Scientists have estimated the universe's age and it is about 13.7 billion years and the planet earth's about 4.5 billion years. The library of Alexandria was burned down by Christian fanatics. Christianity has always been anti science from its earliest days. In the 4th Century violent Christian mobs attacked and killed Hypatia, a philosopher. Cecco d' Ascoli was burnt alive. Marco Antonio de Dominis was tortured and killed. The Catholic Church ruled with an iron fist for over a millennia; firmly against science! 

In the Quran we learn that the sun set in a muddy spring: 

Until, when he reached THE SETTING OF THE SUN, he found IT SET IN a spring of murky water. Many Islamic scholars explain away this verse by insisting that it should be interpreted figuratively or poetic. This error is based on an assumption that the earth surface was flat. We know that "the Sun will always rise exactly East and set exactly West on two days: March 21 and September 21 which are the two equinoxes." Many so-called discoveries made by Islam were stolen indigenous populations and the little 'discoveries made were done purely for religious purposes, not to do science. Islam has always been cultural and scientific developments. Thomas D. Williams, PH.D. writes " The Islamic State believed the pre-Islamic monuments of the region to be idolatrous. After seizing the city in May, 2015, ISIS extremists destroyed the shrine of Baal Shamin and the Temple of Bel. The Temple of Bel was 2,000 years old and regarded as the greatest jewel of Palmyra’s antiquities."

In conclusion, religion isn't about scientific thought and evidence, but about faith and belief. In any event, people placed their faith on religion tragic events followed including ignorance, disease, mass murders, rape, torture, chaos and totally destruction. Bronze age mad men and goat-herders wrote the so-called 'sacred' books to a era that had no knowledge of the natural world. These writings solely intended for desert tribal-based society are irreconcilable with science.