Physicist Stephen Hawking has dismissed religion once again as he deemed heaven a "fairy story" aimed at appeasing those afraid of death.
The author of 1988 international best-seller "A Brief History of Time" said in an interview with The Guardian that his views were partly influenced by his battle with motor neuron disease.
"I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."
Hawking's stance on religion has hardened since the publishing of his seminal work.
Previously, he wrote that the laws of physics meant it was simply not necessary to believe that God had intervened in the Big Bang.
He wrote in A Brief History ... "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we should know the mind of God."
In his 2010 book, "The Grand Design" he said the 1992 discovery of a planet orbiting another star other than the Sun helped deconstruct the view of the father of physics Isaac Newton that the universe could not have arisen out of chaos but was created by God.
"That makes the coincidences of our planetary conditions -- the single Sun, the lucky combination of Earth-Sun distance and solar mass, far less remarkable, and far less compelling evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings," he writes.
Since 1974, the scientist has worked on marrying the two cornerstones of modern physics -- Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which concerns gravity and large-scale phenomena, and quantum theory, which covers subatomic particles.
IMO, Religion is nothing more than a control system to keep the sheeple on the reservation......Stephen Hawking agrees. Not bad company to have on an idea.
IMO, Religion is nothing more than a control system to keep the sheeple on the reservation......Stephen Hawking agrees. Not bad company to have on an idea.
In the final analysis it won't be about the beliefs of Hawking or you, Plato or me, Stalin or Pope John Paul II, there is an ultimate truth.
Like you, my Dad thought religion was simply a control tool. Religion as we know it is what man does to reduce a perpetual / continual creation process larger than his ability to perceive it down to a size his pea brain can handle. Then gurus representing the universe of differing views, idea and opinions use religion to further their own agendas.
It's difficult for someone to journey down the path of knowledge without thinking that they've gained some superior knowledge and are somehow entitled to an opinion that either their ego or peer pressure / acceptance causes them to express publicly. (Sometimes these intellects are simply seeking accolades for their brilliance).
In the end I'd agree that "religion" has always been used to control people in a million ways. These religions originated in ancient writings that have been handed down to us over time, with our technological knowledge base ever increasing, we have a tendancy to think we know something and I'd opine that even the most brilliant amongst us know nothing much worth knowing.
Man is the micro living in the macro and he not only can't see/know the earthly things that exist right in front of his face, he also knows there are other dimensions that exist that he can barely detect but remain a mystery to him while some intelligent force uses these dimensions to operate our solar system and a million others.
In the end I'd agree that "religion" has always been used to control people in a million ways. These religions originated in ancient writings that have been handed down to us over time, with our technological knowledge base ever increasing, we have a tendancy to think we know something and I'd opine that even the most brilliant amongst us know nothing much worth knowing.
And I would disagree. If you were to condition your statement as much, most hierarchical, etc., it would have some limited justification. Religion has been used as tool of control and subjugation by SOME individuals. Some of those systems of control have been formalized into Dogma, belief based on authority, and some have been formed as open questions exploring the nature of the reality we experience and its ramifications.
Most people in the West make the mistake of associating the concept of Religion with the hierarchical systems of which they are aware. That is a very limited viewpoint and is only representative of SOME not ALL.
Religion can really be subdivided into two broad categories (with finer subdivisions therein). They are:
1. Praxis - that is the practical aspects of a system of Religious Doctrine and Worship.
2. Philosophy i.e., the exploration of the spiritual dimension and ultimate nature of reality, the meaning of life, and who and what we are as individuals.
Stephen Hawking falls into a subdivision here in that he assumes that the ultimate nature of reality is only that which exists as material matter. The failing point of such a viewpoint is simply the question, "from whence came the matter?"
I think the difference is in the semantics. Religion is a faith based dogma which governments HAVE and DO use to control the general populace.
Spirituality on the other hand explores the nature of Life, Death, and how the entire Universe relates to Oneself. It is a matter of exploration versus swallowing the accepted dogma either highly recommended or actually forced upon people.
I think the difference is in the semantics. Religion is a faith based dogma which governments HAVE and DO use to control the general populace.
Corrected.
No it is not really a matter of semantics. Religion, at its basis, is an attempt to explain life and the universe in which we live. It is an attempt to answer and explain the most fundamental questions of existence. Different religions have arrived at different answers and yet each is a complete system of thought aimed at answering man's most basic wonderings. The province of religion are such questions as:
Who am I?
What am I? Am I a body, a spirit, or a unity of spirit and body?
What is the nature of right and wrong?
What is right?
What is wrong?
How do I distinguish between the two?
In the West religion has become confused, and yes it is subject to manipulation, as only being "worship" of some kind, as well as being a subject dictated purely from authority. But that is not the only aspect of religion and it is a subset of a greater subject. Religious Philosophy is the study of those questions of existence which fall within the purview of religion. Some examples would be morality, and ethics that can be taught either from an authoritarian point of view or founded upon reason. Yet both are within the boundaries of what is called religion. The "Golden Rule" is a religious doctrine founded upon reason.
Buddhism is a Religion and yet, in its pure form, as taught by Gautama Siddhartha whom we today call THE Buddha (there was more than one) has not one single worship service within its doctrines or teachings.
Taoism is as well accorded the status of being A religion and yet it as well contains no form of worship.
The Western religions of today have at the root of their dogma, belief bereft of reason and dictated by another, authoritarianism founded upon a materialist viewpoint.
Eastern religions tend more toward the spiritual acknowledging "Man" as a spiritual being and not merely a hunk of mobile meat.
Each religion, in its own school, seeks to answer all of the fundamental questions of existence. However, it is reason that leads us to choose and to decide which path we wish to follow.
I had a long standing debate, never completely settled, with a couple of friends who were pastors. One argued from authority i.e., the laws of the Bible are to be followed without question or analysis. The other, with whom I was more sympatico, took a view closer to my own - that Biblical Laws are founded upon ultimate reason, and that they were laid out so as to be understood. The question which I posed, and still unsettled, is who is the more moral man? The man who follows dogmatically what he perceives to be "the law" without question? Or is it the man who seeks to understand those laws and why they are good and wholesome, who then follows them because reason suggests that they are wise laws?
Yes, in many cases, religion has been used as tool to shackle man, but that does not have to be so and it is not always so. Religion in the West has largely become dictatorial and as such based upon authoritarian pronouncements it has departed from reason and become a vehicle for small and venal men to whom the true subjects of religion are a foreign matter.
Religion, at its basis, is an attempt to explain life and the universe in which we live. It is an attempt to answer and explain the most fundamental questions of existence. Different religions have arrived at different answers and yet each is a complete system of thought aimed at answering man's most basic wonderings.
On one hand, yes. Religion exists for all of what you mention. However, religion is just an unreasonable belief in a story one has been told to believe.
Spritual Paths, such as Budhism and Taoism, do not consider themselves a religion. They view their beliefs as a learning experience, and meditate to receive further enlightenment.
There are MANY beliefs, but only one Truth. That which is found by seeking and being of pure spirit, will be that Truth.