So, I gathered today a couple of interesting videos, pics and quotes for you guys about science (as in, real life) vs. religion (as in science fiction). Enjoy.
I could give you a list of people that I love that have to do with this topic. Bill Maher, George Carlin, Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I could go on. I think all of them are highly intelligent people, who have good ideas and question. And what would we be without those right now?
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." Karl Marx
"We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." Richard Dawkins
All right, now for the next one I have to add a few words. Since I was a child, we always had religion class in school. I never really understood what the reason for this was - after all, we already had "Sunday school" where my parents ushered me off to church for a couple of hours every weekend. The fact is, that we STILL live in a country that makes every child that goes to school to stay put in a religion class. This makes me angry. Especially since they don't even bother to add other classes than the main two or three categories that exist in the country. Now, those who don't even BELIEVE in the same God the majority does, are OBLIGATED to chose a religion class. I think this is one of the most fucked up things around here.
And the thing is - well, children are curious, aren't there? And let me tell you, I was a curious one in this topic at least - religion teachers will frown and downgrade those who actually take it upon themselves to ask questions that they don't exactly know the answer to. I remember that in high school the religion teacher and I weren't in a too good of a relationship. She took it upon herself to prove that I wasn't worth it, and that she will be the one to save me from the clutches of evil or something. I took it upon myself to ask intelligent questions and learn a couple of things from them. We were not exactly the best team - not even when at Christmas she obligated me to recite some stupid poem or something at the church in front of hundreds of people while knowing perfectly well that I have big problems with talking in front of so many people.
Anyways. I still think that religion should be left out of school. Especially since those kids who are obliged to attend these kinds of things will more than likely lose their faith.
One thing is sure, tho. IF I will ever have kids (I doubt it), I will make sure that they will not feel obliged to go trough with this. I mean, come on. I think that a child can decide for him or herself if she or he wants to know more about Jesus.
"I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow, it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time. " Isaac Asimov
And finally:
