Twelve innocent people, murdered in another mass shooting in the US. ( This
commentary was originally written for the Phil Daily Inquirer in the latter
part of Feb of this year. Since then there were three major mass shooting
( defined as at least four people shot ), two in Texas and one in Ohio.
Officially, there have been 289 shootings in the US in the current year with
over 315 killed ) During the candlelight vigil, people sang, “Amazing
Grace.” A 27 yr old missionary was killed trying to “declare Jesus to the
Sentinelese tribe” despite warnings not to trespass the isolated island. A
non-sequitur from a man who thinks a chair can transform itself into an
animal, during a discussion on evolution.
Does anybody see the impoverished human mind in these examples? “Amazing
Grace” after a massacre? Really? Is the supernatural the only path to
spirituality? Have prayers stopped the shooting? This brain rut is so
pervasive; we go to autopilot the mere mention of “spiritual.” Can we break
out of this mould in the era of Artificial Intelligence? If we can light up
with our smartphones during a vigil, is there a technological path to
compassion?
And what was the young missionary thinking? He was suffering from religion,
mentally enslaved by a medieval fantasy. It was a one man’s version of
“Heaven’s Gate,” supported offshore by cohorts as delusional as he was.
The ideological dead-end of religion is a ”possibility killer”. Here are
some of the ones who refused to be part of it: Elon Musk ( Tesla ), Jeff
Bezos (Amazon), Bill Gates ( Microsoft ), Steve Jobs ( Apple), Mark
Zuckerberg (Facebook). From these five alone, we have witnessed a sweeping
transformation of the world. The ( Bill ) “Gates of Heaven” has decidedly
taken a new meaning.
We have to remind ourselves, however, that passive use of technology does
not translate into a progressive thought process. ( if it were so, the
Philippines would have been in the leading edge of smartphone technology!)
“Critical Thinking” as a school subject is a step in the right direction.
How much critical thinking did we do in high school? Force-feeding with
content was de rigueur, and those who recalled them best get the medal! In
the age of algorithms, this teaching model should be thrown out.
One area where we see a confluence of ignorance, religiosity, and absolutist
mindset is in this much-maligned “theory” of evolution (by Natural
Selection ). One hundred sixty years later, like gravity, it has reached
the status of fact. Why still so much resistance to it?
Because any acceptance of it will collapse the creed of Christianity ( and
other religions ) like a house of cards. Evolution, a sine qua non for a
Biology degree, had not been a required course at the University of Santo
Tomas until this year ( In 2019, UST began offering a single course in
Evolutionary Biology. At U of T, Ecology, and Evolution is a specialty in a
Biology Degree, so the entire degree is about ecology and evolution.)
It is important to note that while the Vatican has accepted the basic tenets
of evolution, ( since Pope Pius XII ), it is not the recognized scientific
version ( which is Darwinism ). Evolution by Natural Selection is a
stand-alone doctrine free from any supernatural intervention. A God-directed
transformation ( the so-called “Theistic Evolution” ) is the accepted
catholic version. That is not to say that a good number of Catholics still
believe in Creationism.
Reconciling Darwinism with Aquinas’ “Summa Theologica” means giving up the
very essence of UST. This single scientific fact is so ideologically
untenable to the church that leaders have long ago chosen willful ignorance
instead. It’s an utter tragedy when you hear adults talk about Adam and Eve
the way children do in a Sunday school.
In fairness with UST, other Catholic universities in the Philippines (and
probably elsewhere ) follow the same path. Even in the US, Creationism is
alive and well. ( brings to mind the “Scopes Trial” of the ’20s) It is a
fair question to ask, how humans, in the face of the overwhelming science
debunking creationism, can still cling to such myth. ( not surprising, but
that’s another article in the making ) Intellectual bankruptcy is the least
that can be said about this notion.
Our incapacity to see through the fog of superstition and differentiating
myth from reality is an upshot of constant fear-mongering during the
terrifying helplessness of childhood. Religion, it must be stated, thrives
in human misery where resignation is a virtue and fear is a given.
A typical padre in a homily will quote some mysterious shepherd in the 1st
century, adds a dash of deity, a “sin no more” message, the congregation
sings halleluiah and voila! Everybody goes home fulfilled! But the serotonin
does not last, and so he repeats it the following Sunday and next and next.
A healthy dose of skepticism when we were young would have allowed us to be
more discerning adults.
The “mysteries” we have invented are taking its toll. We are governed by the
laws of physics and natural selection, both of which are blind and
purposeless. Our large brains are busy creating meaning where there is
none, weaving stories and rituals, in a constant yearning for continuity.
We can harness all of our positive cognitive energy, and all the combined
forces of everything religion has taught us. But none of them will give us
an afterlife. When we die, we are “dead as a doornail,” no different from a
( dead) squirrel! We are not going anywhere! We can spin this in any way we
want it, to satisfy our emotional need, but belief and faith never change
reality.
Who could have said that? Virtually, the entire membership of the National
Academy of Sciences, ( 2,382 members, 484 foreign associates and nearly 200
Nobel Laureates ) the same people who put men on the moon, harnessed
electricity, prolonged our life expectancy and forwarned us of climate
change 50 years ago.
Leaving a great legacy to our community and our loved ones and living our
only life to the fullest is the most realistic anyone can do before making
our final exit.
***
Edwin de Leon, M.Ed. (edwingdeleon@gmail.com ) is a retired science teacher,
high school principal, and secular humanist. de Leon is a MAID ( Medical
Assistance in Dying ) advocate.