Len of the Chilterns

Religion may be described as a faith-based credence in the existence of supernatural agencies or entities in the universe. The single difference between religion and astrology (or tarot divination etc) is that religion has been institutionalised and, as such, has been greatly influential on most societies and still retains its hold in many. The evidential base for sectarian religious belief systems is little different from that for astral influences or the effectiveness of divination which carried more influence in the pre-Christian era.

Religion’s hold on credence is historical and not based or acting either on observation or theory, nor by way of experiment or testing. Belief requires the suspension rather the support of rational consideration.

In the early days of the Christian church, as evidenced by the epistles of St Paul, different communities embracing the new religion very soon began attempting to mould the religion to suit their own interests. In later ages, religion became a matter of state and male-dominated power-politics and the western civilisation split into religious factions.

In the modern world, theoretical physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, cognitive sciences and social science all tended to erode the influence of religion. Humans, being what they are though, will continue to justify their own interests and evolve new concepts of God, spiritual transformation, unconditional love, and worship and so on and so forth and, far from lovin, cultural groups tend to hate each other

The huge technical successes of modern science have obscured a deeper understanding of its place in human knowledge but there is much to be understood about spirituality or consciousness – so far not even defined by science. The cosmos if full of uncanny bio-friendly coincidences that permit the existence of life and mind. If the universe came up with any old set of laws, life would almost certainly be ruled out. As the late Fred Hoyle, mathematician and astronomer, said “It looks as if a super intellect has been monkeying with physics”. Science may yet come down on the side of Plato referred to earlier in this blog.

Am I bovvered about women bishops and practising-homosexual clergy? No !! Am I surprised at Islamic and other faith-based militancy? No, they are fairly new to the game and not half as barbarous and brutal as those of the 13th to 15th centuries in the name of Christianity.

Overall, Science has improved the lot of the majority of the human race although at the expense of other creatures. In developed countries people live longer, healthier lives although in many countries this is not the case.

Science holds immense dangers as well as immense promise. All too often do inventions and discoveries lead to unforeseen dangers; the atom bomb, thalidomide, the addition of lead into petrol which lowered the general intelligence and health of generations of children, cfc gas in refrigerators which damaged the ozone layer, forever more sophisticated weapons - ad infinitum. Let's not think of the Large Hadron Collider now being re-started. The world is overpopulated by human, which worsens by the hour and inevitably this will lead to a crash unless controlled.

I do worry about the human race and the twist into which they get their knickers. A committee of 100 people will never reach agreement, let alone 100-plus nations of people. They will play their politics to the end.

But if pure consciousness be our ultimate destiny, does it all matter?