Reason versus faith. Can an intelligent person believe in God today or has science replaced God? Is it possible to be a person of both reason and faith?
Atheism is on the rise. One of the reasons is due to the ongoing battle (or at least perceived battle) between faith and reason. Many people believe that science has replaced God and that faith must always retreat with the advance of reason and knowledge.
Here are two myths that form the basis of this rise of atheism and agnosticism. If a person can get past these myths, he or she will quickly appreciate that the appeal of atheism is superficial and that there remain solid reasons to embrace the existence of God and the supernatural.
Myth #1: Religion is only based on superstitions and legends
There is a theme underlying the agnostic-progressive ideology advanced by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. The theme goes something like this: As humankind evolved, they began to experiment with and embrace various superstitions and legends, which over time, evolved into our modern religions.
The most dangerous lie is the one that contains a portion of truth. This myth is a perfect example. Yes, there was rampant superstition in the ancient world. And, yes, many of the legends and fables were informed by that superstition. And, yes, religion - broadly speaking - has no doubt been fueled by superstition, myth, and legend. All that is true - as far as it goes.
However, to say that all people die of cancer, because many people die of cancer is obviously an illogical argument - and flatly incorrect. Likewise, it is fallacious to argue that all the claims made by those associated with religion are bogus, because religion has been influenced by humanity's age-old relationship with legend and superstition. Religious truth claims deserve to be assessed on their own merit, as with any other truth claim.
What's more, just because many of the incredible ancient stories are legendary accounts based on exaggerated oral tradition and/or superstition doesn't mean that they all are. Some of those incredible stories deserve a closer look. Some of them just might be true.
Myth #2: Atheism is based on reason and science
Once the atheists and agnostics make the argument that religion is based on and/or hopelessly entangled with fables and superstition, they advance the notion that atheism is based on sound reason and scientific evidence.
The truth is that atheism is based on naturalism, which is a philosophical presupposition. As Phillip Johnson, a leading critic of evolution, puts it: "Scientists start by assuming that naturalism is true, and they try to give purely natural explanations for everything, including our existence."
Clearly, if the scientific community approaches the universe with a naturalistic mindset, the members of said community will arrive at naturalistic conclusions. What you put into the calculator, you will get out of the calculator. It's simple. But everyone observing this process should understand that the modern scientific community has stacked the deck against monotheism from the outset, thus skewing the results in favor of atheism.
The bottom line is that atheism and agnosticism are not the products of reason and science. Rather, they are the logical outcomes of a naturalistic mindset, which is every bit as philosophical (some might even say "religious") as monotheism.
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