Ridding America of Religion

I was intrigued by an article I read by Phil Zuckerman writing for SALON.  The article was titled:  

“We’re putting an end to religion: Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher and the exploding new American secularism. Religious right extremism, new atheists & late-night mockery have religion on the run.” (I know that is a long title, right?)

Anyway, the rather long article is interesting, to say the least, but ends with something I found fascinating from a comparison standpoint. It may not make a lot of sense if one has not read the entire piece, but perhaps the comparison will strike a chord in your heart and mind. Here’s the last paragraph by Zuckerman:

So while the author Nicholas Wade writes of a “faith instinct,” we can certainly argue that there is also a “doubt instinct” or a “reason instinct” that is just as persistent and inherent to our nature. As cognitive psychologists Armin Geertz and Guomundur Ingi Markusson so astutely argue, “Atheism . . . draws on the same natural cognitive capacities that theism draws on,” and both “religiosity and atheism represent entrenched cognitive-cultural habits where the conclusions drawn from sensory input and the output of cognitive systems bifurcate in supernatural and naturalistic directions. The habit of atheism may need more scaffolding to be acquired, and its religious counterpart may need more effort to kick, but even so, that does not, ipso facto, make the latter more natural than the former.” Amen to that.

So I was thinking – All of us are born with an “instinct” toward self-preservation that is persistent and inherent to our nature. That is, at some point we understand that if we are going to live a thriving, robust life it is mandatory that we take care of our bodies.  Healthy lifestyles draw on the same natural cognitive capacities that laziness draws on, and both healthy lifestyles and laziness represent entrenched cognitive-cultural habits where the actions, drawn from sensory input and the output of cognitive-cultural habits, bifurcate in healthy lifestyles or lives of lethargy and inaction (sometimes known euphemistically as being a “couch potato”). The habit of being lazy and lethargic may require more scaffolding to be acquired, while being diligent to provide for a healthy lifestyle, may need only a clear understanding of the cost of failure. And so, that does, ipso facto, make the later of much greater importance than the former.

In other words, you can be a “couch potato” and have a less healthy lifestyle, or you can work diligently at keeping your body strong and healthy. It’s your choice.

So also you can ignore Truth (shall we say “run” from the Word and message of God) and face the eternal consequences, or, you can live in the grace and goodness of our Heavenly Father with an infinite future in His Kingdom. It’s your choice.

At least I know that I (along with some of my friends), personally and purposefully, am “on the run.”