How so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not know; nor how it is that they have become, in all quarters of the world, so deeply impressed on the minds of men; but it is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, while the brain is impressionable, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason.
Charles Darwin, Descent of Man
Last spring we were all discussing religion. My views on the subject are well known and won’t be repeated at this time. During the conversation, Vivian said, “I don’t think of praying as talking to a person up in heaven. I think of it as saying what my hopes are.” She thought this “made more sense” because she could act on her hopes to try and make them come true. This is quite sensible and I was (and am) proud of her for saying it.
One of my strongest hopes for Vivian is that she will continue to approach the world with an inquisitive spirit not tamped down or restrained by the dogma of religion. There is nothing wrong with a healthy skepticism. I hope that whenever someone asks her or tells her to believe something she will never blindly accept, but will ask “Why?”
Last spring we were all discussing religion. My views on the subject are well known and won’t be repeated at this time. During the conversation, Vivian said, “I don’t think of praying as talking to a person up in heaven. I think of it as saying what my hopes are.” She thought this “made more sense” because she could act on her hopes to try and make them come true. This is quite sensible and I was (and am) proud of her for saying it.
One of my strongest hopes for Vivian is that she will continue to approach the world with an inquisitive spirit not tamped down or restrained by the dogma of religion. There is nothing wrong with a healthy skepticism. I hope that whenever someone asks her or tells her to believe something she will never blindly accept, but will ask “Why?”
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The photo above was taken by V earlier that same day, while we were at The Living Desert, a zoo and natural history park. What better place to demonstrate the truth of Richard Dawkins’ observation: "It is grindingly, creakingly, crashingly obvious that if Darwinism was really a theory of chance, it could not work."
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