This week I found myself unable to comment on the barbarism that seems to be engulfing our planet (this afternoon I read an article in the New Yorker about the (un)civil war in Sri Lanka. So much for Buddhism as a religion of non-violence. And anyone who thinks that Muslim fundamentalists invented suicide bombings, never heard of the Hindu Tiger Tamil). So I decided to post something a bit to the side.
In the past I have written about how Enlightenment values are central to my approach on life. I therefore found this book review from Salon[view ad to read article] worth reading.
I should add, that it seems kind of obvious to me that religion and science have absolutely nothing to do with each other. It is also quite obvious that many people have converted science into yet another fundamentalist religion. I figured that all out in high school which was many, many years ago. But apparently it still is news for some. I particularly enjoyed Michael Ruse’s dry British humor and the way he talks about the topic.
Of course this article isn’t totally off-topic, as it is the fundamentalist impulse (whether expressed through religion, “philosophy,” nationalism or some other bizarre human creed) that fuels most of the barbaric behavior of the human race. Which is why I am a great proponent of the Enlightenment.
The one thing I did find annoying is that Ruse equates religion with monotheism (in particularly Christianity). What about the hasidic pagans amongst us?