In my world, reason trumps faith

US physicist Lawrence Krauss is spreading the gospel of science to Iranians via an outlawed satellite TV network. Krauss, a professor at Arizona State University and outspoken atheist, recently appeared on the Bread and Roses show to discuss the beauty of science, and the differences between science and religion.The Farsi/English program is broadcast on New Channel, an outlawed 24-hour TV station that reaches Iranians via satellite TV and the Internet. During an interview on Bread and Roses, the physicist pointed out a fundamental difference between science and faith…. “Not knowing is fine,” Krauss said. “In fact, it is a central part of science, so it makes it different than religion, because you don’t make these assertions about things you can’t test, nor do you claim to have absolute knowledge. We learn about the universe, and it keeps surprising us. But the Big Bang really happened… we can measure so many aspects of our universe and it was once smaller and smaller and smaller.

There are a lot of reason why I consider myself to be good without God, none of which have nothing to do with hating Christians, which I’ve (wrongly and inaccurately) been accused of. Truth be told, I don’t hate anyone, though admittedly there are more than a few people I’d decline an invitation to have a beer or break bread with.

No, my reasons for eschewing religion have more to do with my not dealing well the expectation that I accept things on faith. Neither can I accept a holy book some feel to be the immutable Word of God but was actually written, re-written, translated and re-translated by numerous individuals, some with ideological/theological agendas of their own.

I prefer certainty (insofar as it’s possible), knowing that what I’m committing myself to is based on the empirical, the provable, and the demonstrable. I’m not comfortable with the idea of faith, believing in something because someone else says it’s so. Turning myself over to something unseeable, undefinable, and unknowable is tantamount to ceding control of my life and my intellect to something or someone whose interests and agenda likely are far different from my own.

I understand that certainty and perfect understanding are elusive, if it can be found at all. That doesn’t mean that I need to accept something based on faith. There are always ways to explore an idea, to seek knowledge and understanding. To accept something on faith impresses me as a lazy way out of an intellectual dilemma.

Let it not be said that I hate Christians (something I’ve been accused, perhaps because I have the temerity to stand up against those who would use their faith to bully those who happen not to share it), because nothing could be further from the truth. I simply choose not to play the game by the rules of organized religion, which, in a free society, a reasonable person might not think to be a big deal.

Reason- at least in my world- is a very good and worthwhile thing.