If you think about it, does any religion REALLY explain how the universe and mankind came to be? As far as I can tell, all religion can tell you is that the universe was created by a superbeing. But what does that even mean? Is it me, or are statements like that entirely devoid of content? Essentially all that says is that something caused the universe to exist. But the interesting question (to me at least) is HOW that process of coming into being took place.
What are other people's thoughts on this?
2007-03-30 22:08:14 · 13 answers · asked by robert 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Regarding dark matter: the difference is that scientists do not regard "dark matter" as a complete explanation. The issue is that the amount of matter we can detect in our galaxy does not account for the observed rotation of the galaxy. So it seems reasonable to presume that most of the matter in the galaxy is unaccounted for. That's all the word "dark matter" refers to. In some sense, the term is an acknowledgement of our incomplete picture of the universe.
2007-03-30 22:29:28 · update #1
You mean besides the fact that it does?
What is our alternative? Science says we came from a rock that was struck by lightening! Please!
2007-03-30 22:11:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
In my opinion.. I think religion professes to be about creation and afterlife to try and give people hope. If the known religions stated "you are born, you will live a shitty life paying taxes and struggling to survive, and then when all that's over you are going to die and literally blink out of existence" they wouldn't get many followers would they. It is much more palatable for them to mystify our existence as some master plan of a greater being. It helps people feel as if their life actually means something and that therefore "they belong".
Unfortunately I cannot go into why religion doesn't really give any hard facts about how the universe and mankind came into existence because I don't wish to offend anybody.
2007-03-31 05:20:50 · answer #2 · answered by vonzippa66 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
None of them do. It's hard to define the concept of a god as creator of the universe, then leap to the idea that it's a personal god invested in human fears and sexuality. That doesn't make sense to me. Neither does any concept without evidence. I think that everything in the universe is a result of natural processes, no comforting deity needed.
I get very bothered when religions lie about scientific facts (evolution, old universe) to their audience. They're deliberately manipulating the truth, and that is evil in the worst regard.
2007-03-31 05:13:29 · answer #3 · answered by Dalarus 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is *technically* an explanation, just a very disatisfying one.
Entirely devoid of content? Yes.
But an explanation needs only a shell.
My father once asked my brother how it was that the light on the living room ceiling was busted.
He replied that he was playing with his watch, "Just tossing it up," in his words. He said it went up into the ceiling fan and was caught up in it, then flew across the ceiling and hit the light fixture, about five feet away, busting it out.
That was his explaination. Did my father believe it? Um, no.
But it was an explanation none the less.
2007-03-31 05:16:54 · answer #4 · answered by Snark 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's simply a way for people to satisfy their deep yearnings to understand.
Actually, if you study creation stories, they are really fascinating. Born on the back of a turtle or light drawn from a tear in the dark made by a crow's beak, there are so many great -- I mean really great in a literary sense -- stories out there. It's only when they are taken as not only literal but the only true version (and I'll make your life miserable or even kill you if you don't agree with me) that it becomes dangerous.
2007-03-31 05:13:41 · answer #5 · answered by SDTerp 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well in all honesty... religion is more about faith than it is an explination. Philosophy is the search of truth, Theology is the study of religion. So honestly, I think the answer would be that those who have religion have faith strong enough to look past the scientific principles of everything. Those who choose not to have a religion are literal and want an answer. I don't know if this really answers your question, but I don't think there is really a solid answer to give.
2007-03-31 05:14:15 · answer #6 · answered by xxJDub13xx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Scientists sometimes create meaningless words such as Dark Matter to give a pretense to an explanation that is devoid of actual content yet which seems to be profound. Religious people create meaningless words such as God to give a pretense to a profound understanding that is devoid of anything but a placeholder for explaining all that is not understood. The placeholders of religion, such as God, are far better than those of science, such as Dark Matter, because for religion one size fits all.
2007-03-31 05:12:49 · answer #7 · answered by Fred 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
“Science says we came from a rock that was struck by lightening! Please!”
Clearly we were magicked into existence by an invisible sky fairy. Yeesh. Silly scientists… lol
Fundies are so amusing. XD
2007-03-31 05:28:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd just like to say that there isn't only one scientific explanation to how we came about, if all you religious people can come up with is "the big BANG" theory then you need to brush up on science...there are other theory's out there. i believe science, but i don't believe the big bang theory. grow up.
2007-03-31 05:37:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It does for me! I don't really believe that a great big explosion happened and eventually caused my existence... and there would certainly be no purpose in life itself for any living thing, would there?
2007-03-31 05:16:31 · answer #10 · answered by PilotGal 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not so much a cognition, but more of a wish that they have. They feel the need for a creator, therefore he exists.
2007-03-31 05:12:27 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋