Once again the ugly head of "religious sentiments" rears its ugly head. This time, it is over an affidavit filed by the Archaeological Society of India question whether Ram existed.
Why this weakness of faith? How does one affidavit manage to offend so many people's sentiments? If their faith in Ram is as firm as they want to make it out to be, why the ruckus?
The thing that sticks in my craw is the assumption that faith somehow trumps science and history. If the ASI (the ASI!) does not find any evidence of the existence of a particular mythical character, why must it have to withdraw a statement that says so? And that is blasphemy, just because it hurts the sentiments of those who believe that the aforementioned character exists? Sentiments, my ass!
Religious beliefs cannot be allowed to trump science. We risk falling into an age of mysticism if we do. There was a time where religion reigned over science and scientific principles. That time was called the dark age!
The controversy erupted over a structure called Adam's Bridge. The ASI says that it's a natural land formation, formed over hundreds of thousands of years. Consider the religious alternative: It was built on the orders of a mythical character (whose existence cannot be proved) by an army of monkeys! And somehow, it is the ASI that is committing blasphemy, it is the ASI who must apologize. I say, it the people who want the ASI to apologize who should apologize, for insulting my intelligence, for insisting that their faith deserves respect irrespective of what they say. I say, fuck off!
It is of utmost importance that we stop being scared of hurting religious sentiments, and that the religious understand that they have no right of not being offended.
One last thing; people have to stop claiming that the Ramayana is proof of Ram's existence. By that logic, Harry Potter is all true, isn't it?
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2 comments:
What arrogance gives you the right to judge that science is more 'correct' than belief ?
Science has it's limitations and is internally consistent. So is belief.
And if science were so correct every time it said something, there would be no new theories.
Science is Baysien, as my professor would say it, but so is belief, only with a slower learning rate. The lower learning rate is justified by evolution.
And this explanation was scientific, which you choose to believe.
-- Manas
Ah, but I never said that science is more 'correct' than belief. My only point is that belief is not a virtue, does not reserve the right to not be offended and certainly can be questioned.
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