Religion Makes You Stupid

[eumelia]

Delibarete stupidity.

The Knesset is expected to look into the possibility that Israel Nature and Parks Authority guides at the Soreq Cave Nature Reserve are concealing the true age of the cavern's stalactites and the stalagmites so as not to offend the beliefs of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox visitors.

A teacher who toured the Jerusalem-area cave on Sunday with first and second graders from a science-oriented school in the south said the guide told her students the formations were very old, but refused to say how old.

The stalactites and stalagmites are estimated by scientists to be around 300,000 years old. The guide said she was not allowed to give that figure so as not to conflict with the faith of those who believe the world is around 5,000 years old.

"I was shocked," the teacher said Monday. "We are a science school, not an ultra-Orthodox school. How can such information be concealed from pupils?"

I'll tell you how.

Fear.

For some obscure reason, people are afraid of religious people and institutions in this country. I'm not sure if it has always been this way, I know that I have always hated and resented the fact that religious institutions are funded by the tax payers cash and that we are forced to live by their demands.

Fear, because they riot in the street and demand freedom from democracy. Yes, that's right, the ultra-orthodox want to be free from democracy, but retain the rights and benefits and citizenship.

This is a fucking outrage.

We're afraid of offending the poor religious people's feelings?! For fuck's sake they're the ones who believe in magic!

And you know what offends me?

That facts, figures and opinions are stymied by people who are too closed minded, cowardly and deliberately ignorant to accept that their myths are exactly that.

Myths.

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

We're afraid of offending the poor religious people's feelings?! For fuck's sake they're the ones who believe in magic!

Yeah, I never get how that works.

[eumelia]

Fucking magic...

[silveradept]

Hear you there. Sections of our own country would love to be able to insist that only the religious viewpoint is to be taught wherever one goes. I think, though, that peopel can be afraid of them because they can leverage a lot of resources and people in a very short amount of time, if they so choose. Tap the right fanatics and fund them, and you've got a "grass-roots" hit squad out looking to silence you however they can.

[eumelia]

The most ironic thing is that more often than not the Ultra-Orthodox sector here will be the poorest and one of the most disenfranchised economically, which is terrible obviously, though I have something to say about the deliberate poverty that seems to trickle down and be accepted by those communities.

[silveradept]

I was going to ask whether that poverty is something like how the Catholic Church amassed all sorts of wealth while insisting their laypersons stay in poverty, or how some charismatic televangelists fleece their followers for money to the point that those followers make themselves poor hoping for a miracle from God.

[amethystfirefly]

Ugh. Shit like that makes me headdesk to death, because FFS, how blind can you be to not understand that the world is older than your fundamentalist religion of choice might say it is?? -sighs-

[eumelia]

It's not about not being able to see or understand, it's refusing to see and look the truth in the face, I'd say it was sad if it wasn't so dangerous.

[amethystfirefly]

I think it can still be sad, even if it's dangerous. These people are missing out on a whole lot of beautiful human experience because of their stupidity.