Science vs Religion

This is a rant I started before Christmas on my cell phone and never really finished and posted...and then my phone broke and it was lost. But I shall try to remember...

Several months ago, I saw on the News an atheist group was trying to purchase ad space on the Metro buses during the holiday season to promote their anti-religion message. To be honest, that's fine with me. They have that right. But the funny thing is, when interviewing the spokesman for the group he stated as a reason for the trying to share their message is "because Christmas is our holiday too." I know Christmas is greatly commercialized, but come on?! Maybe I'm too literal but doesn't the "Christ" in Christmas a huge tell? And the holiday season is set of holiday days that in close proximity - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years. I'm not in the business of questioning white people's African heritage but that's what Kwanzaa is all about. Since he was a spokesman for atheist group I figure he is not really down with Hanukkah and Christmas really. Both both of them are historic religious holidays. No religion, no Hanukkah or Christmas...and no Holiday season - just New Years.

But this is a tell of something that urks me. People that complain about religion but don't know what they are talking about. I can respect anyone that speak intelligently about what they believe and think even if I don't agree. But if you really don't know what you are talking about...then you are a buster.

I hate it when someone complains about religion and look down on people that have religious beliefs like they are smarter than them. Frequently, they say I believe in science. Really??? Science is something you need to believe in? Let me say you can't compare apples and oranges, smart guy. It's like arguing the the Chess club in high school is better than the Track team. They don't compare. Science is a study and Religion is an institution - by definition of the words! There isn't an institution of science that's not a religion. The funny thing is that these so called smart people fail to realize is that when you compare things they need to have properties in common in order to compare them. Religions provide a set of values, beliefs, and practices based on something. I don't know of any values, beliefs, or practices in a person's life that are defined by science. And science is knowledge gained through learning and observation. I have never seen the scientific method used when practicing a religion.

The problem is that many outspoken opponents of religion do not truly understand what religion is and make the ignorant comparison to science. They don't grasp the concept of religion. Ok, I get it. You don't want to believe in something you don't have proof of. But that isn't all or the only point of religions. All religions have a multiple purposes and if you truly understand that then you understand both science and religion have purpose and point and it's not science vs religion but science and religion. THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.