Science, Earth Based Religions, and the Web of Life
Author: Gary
Posted: January 21st. 2007
Found Online at: http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=words&id=11164
The most important thing for a religion to remain strong and be able to grow is that it follow "reason" which requires the leaders to stay current with new knowledge so the teachings are in tune with the changing world-view of the masses.
This is most important in rapidly changing times such as these where people are now much more informed and can travel anywhere in the world in a second via the Internet. No longer are we isolated in small groups where all think the same way, go to the same school, must worship the same religion, or see the same things.
We now live in a global community. This increased worldliness combined with knowledge of what makes things alive has led to a need for religion that is compatible with the times. For many, Wicca and the other Earth religions are proving ideal.
Through science, we discovered that the biosphere is a fragile interconnected web of life where organisms are dependent on each other. There is a harmony, symbiosis. Removal of one of the vital pieces or changing of the chemical balance (Gaia Theory) can easily cause a mass extinction of human life. Earth based religions are concerned about this.
Unlike most other faiths, respect for the biosphere is in the teachings. This follows the all-important reason that allows a religion to survive and thrive. Therefore, Earth based religions are already doing very well and current events will probably bring new life, perhaps, even a whole new and more positive image.
We now understand genetics like never before. The entire human genome has already been sequenced with the genomes of other organisms being sequenced at an astounding rate. All of that data is freely available over the Internet. And the new science of molecular phylogenetics is now allowing the playing back of these genomes like they are a pieces of magnetic tape that have been recording every evolutionary event since the beginning of life on Earth some 3.7 billion years ago. These phylogenetic tools are also freely available on the Internet.
From this we can see where we came from; the proof is there for anyone who wants to learn how to use the tools. There is no longer an excuse for denying that we evolved like all other creatures on this planet. Along with the fossil record, evolution is an undeniable scientific fact that has beyond any reasonable doubt been proven to be true.
All of the most current biological sciences are part of the story of how the all-important web of life emerged and works. One of the most exciting concepts is the powered by natural forces "self-assembly" which can easily be demonstrated with one drop of egg yolk in a container of oil and water (See: http://members.aol.com/fromscience/experiments/cellmembrane.html).
With just a shake, the phospholipid molecules from the egg the mixture like magick forms bilayer vesicles, cell membranes! The membranes that form in the oil allows them to be seen with your eyes and in the water are cell-sized vesicles, which due to their small size are very strong. There still would need to be a self-replicating genome inside for it to be considered alive, but how cells self-assembled, self-organized from matter, is slowly being pieced together.
And the miracle of all miracles is that the amphiphile molecules which form these cell membranes and other important biomolecules can be found in meteorites, in other galaxies, therefore the stuff of life is everywhere! To those who don t mind taking their proper place in the universe, comprehending the web of life stretching throughout the universe is a very exciting and comforting thought.
Unfortunately, not all are willing to be humbled by what we now know, or are willing to take the time to learn about it before passing judgment. This has given rise to the "Intelligent Design" movement that is attempting to deny reason with arguments that are not based on scientific facts. They do this on behalf of all Christians with a divide-and-conquer "wedge" (Google: Wedge Strategy) that is designed to divide the masses along religious lines and they have done a very good job of dividing their own side, too. This denial of reason will be a disaster for Christianity. But Earth based religions that can easily adapt to science and are an enemy of the Intelligent Design and will experience an even more rapid growth because of it.
Trying to argue that intelligence is behind creation is now a redundant concept. I already explained that point within the rules of science (See: http://members.aol.com/fromscience) and not one scientist has ever found a problem with it. But the problem for most Intelligent Design proponents is that it s not the supernatural intelligence of God in the Bible.
And even though it is compatible with any reasonable person of any faith, it sounds too much like Gaia Theory, or an Earth Religion. So you can imagine how that is unacceptable to strict Christian Creationists who are out to overthrow science and we, the materialists, as we know it. So even though there is already a scientific hypothesis that explains how intelligence fits into creation, it s still the kind of thing that gets one kicked out of the big tent.
Intelligent Design seeks to force science to accept supernatural beliefs as scientific fact. The problem with this can be explained using Ben Franklin s lightening rod as an example. Until Ben Franklin discovered that lightning was caused by static electricity, it was believed to be God throwing displeasure at the sinners.
When a thunderstorm was coming they would start ringing the church bells, which was rather foolish because steeples were usually the tallest object around and so many bell ringers got killed. Even though churches were more likely to get struck, there was objection to installing Ben Franklin s lightning rod. They were called heretical rods because humans were not to interfere with God s will.
Like the ones who were arguing that heretical rods were evil, Intelligent Design is now arguing that evolution is evil, and have gone so far as change the Kansas public school standards to allow the supernatural to be considered a scientific explanation. They changed "Science is a human activity of systematically seeking natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us." to the sentence "Science is a systematic method of continuing investigation that uses observations, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory building, to lead to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena."
Notice that natural explanations was replaced by more adequate explanations of natural phenomena in order to get around the problem of science requiring natural explanations for natural phenomena. If science worked the way they want it to, then our science books would be claiming that lightening is caused by the designers displeasure at evil people. The only way to take it out of there is prove that God did it some other way.
What is a more adequate explanation to be taught in our schools would be up to them and, of course, they would certainly not allow science to claim that heretical rods work better than ringing the church bells. Nor are they going to give up trying to claim that origins is best explained by a supernatural designer until it s obvious to them that they are wrong.
With so much insult to our intelligence, I expect many soul searchers will be following the same path of discovery I took some 15 years ago. It started in science, was forced to detour around Christianity due to the lack of reason in that area, and surprisingly ended up at an occult shop where almost everything in it was a source of fascination. Everything I knew about the occult was challenged. What I learned changed my entire perspective, made it the time of my life, and now I m here, again.
Instead of fighting over this on their territory, I think it s best to wait on the other side for those who have not given up on reason to switch sides. And I m sure many others like me will soon be experiencing religion in a whole new way, compliments of an anti-science campaign and culture war. Not all who will arrive will want to become a practitioner Wiccan or form a coven, but will, at least, understand that the world is not as small as they thought, and that what they were told is evil is really not that way at all. Hopefully, others who are behind me will not have much trouble finding their way.
Christianity divided Christianity. The Threefold Law applies to all. Three times what thou givest returns to thee. So there is no need to endlessly argue with those who refuse to listen. We reap what we sow.
Science is not and never can be a religion, but our fast moving sciences are entirely beneficial for religions that have no reason to deny a more modern world-view and have historically embraced science. Especially where science is already built in, like in the Wiccan pentacle/pentagram, where we find what were considered the five forces of nature: the elements fire, water, earth, air, and spirit.
The Pythagoreans used it as a symbol for their school and with the pentagram unlocked it's geometric secrets, which led to the discovery of irrational numbers (See: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Pentagon.htm).
I have never been a seeker of ritual. But to someone like me, spells read like the directions for a scientific experiment and the symbolism is early scientific. It's hard for a scientific thinker not to be fascinated by this. For me, it's been a way of connecting with the mind of the scientific thinkers of the past.
The Earth religions represent early science and scientific thinkers, the visionaries. Even tarot cards are in part the work of alchemists. They contain drawings inspired by the early chemists who kept their work a secret using this symbolism (in an age much like this one where open-mindedly doing science had its risks).
In this era of rapid change, even our long held beliefs are being forced to evolve. Some modes of worship have successfully adapted to reason, while others who are resisting reason by trying to put blinders on us, are slowly going extinct. That s the way it always was and always will be.
Scientifically inspiring Wicca and the Gaia type faiths are already popular among the well educated and still appear to be the fastest growing religions. There is now an even greater need for a belief system that can keep up with us, with reason.
So the future looks very bright for the Earth based religions, if they can continue to adapt to reason.
May it harm none, so mote it be.
