faithThis spring my students and I again studied the conflict between reason and religious faith. We read and discussed opinion by Bertrand Russell, by Sam Harris, and by me (post number 160 in my blog archive index). Following the conclusions to their papers I invited students to comment on our subject, the course, the class, the materials and, if they wished, also on me, their instructor. I’ve standardized their usage and mechanics, and below I post the student comments I received.
1
This class has taught me that is okay to have our own thoughts and opinions on any and all topics, including the topic of religion, which tends to be a sticky subject for most people. The conflict between religion and religious faith has been going on since the beginning of time and will continue to cause and create conflict in our everyday lives because people believe so strongly in religious ideas they would do anything to defend their opinions. Most of the time it’s to such an extreme that they forget the other billions of people who live on the earth with them. I have had personal conflict with religion in my own life. My mother and sister are very strong believers, and my aunt and her family are missionaries. So they are constantly reminding me how having a little faith would change my life and telling me that the daily struggles of life would be easier if I had stronger faith. I didn’t know God would pay my Visa, make my ex-husband be a better man, or provide a roof over my children’s heads. I haven’t known God to do this for anyone. I don’t shame them for their beliefs, but I guess it would be nice to just be accepted for who I am and not for what I believe or do not believe. This assignment has taught me to look at religion in a different way, and I now believe that religion has been more harmful in our society than good. I thank Mr. Skank for allowing us to learn and understand the topic of religion from an academic perspective as opposed to a church perspective. I will continue to strive to always be a good person and, if there is a place called Heaven, I hope that being a good person is the key and not the misunderstandings that have caused so many people to die for religion and to sacrifice the lives of so many others for religion.
2
When people speak of the conflict between reason and religious faith, one of the big topics that comes up is whether there is proof that God or anything in the Bible actually existed or happened. The people on the side of reason are the academics, the people who are looking for answers and don’t rely on a spiritual presence to explain to them the mystery of the universe. Then there are the members of the world of religion, a group of people who follow the world of their God and the book written by him. These people are supposed to believe only what the church tells them and nothing else. War is the biggest piece of evidence we have that religion has caused more conflict than reason. The academics have not had anything close to the bloody conflicts that religious people have had.
The academics have an open mind to any possibility and do not rule anything out simply because a spiritual presence called God told them it was lies. Academics do gather like a church, but no one person has the correct answer; they congregate around the world and talk to each other in a nonviolent atmosphere, working together. As for the Bible, Koran, and other religious books, the academics understand them to be books, and like all books they read and decipher the books to find understanding of the authors’ message.
The members of religious faith are locked into believing that God knows all and has told them what is true and, if information countering their beliefs is presented, they are to reject it. In the past, these were the people responsible for most of the war in the world and those responsible for what will come because of their crusade to smite the nonbelievers and bring forth the word of the Bible to the world.
As for me, I have had a lot of conflict with just the religious image, the belief that people who have a religion are better than people who don’t or who don’t express it as openly. I have friends who express it openly, but they don’t slam a Bible in my face every time I see them just because I don’t feel the same way they do. As I said in my introduction, my religious experience, as in going to church, was short so I don’t have a lot of issues with Christianity; I have more with religious systems as a whole. It’s scary to know that religious people will hunt down and maybe even kill those who are not like them. As for me, I just know what I would call a few basic things most people know, like what Christmas and Easter are all about. In my family those holidays are less about their religious aspects than about just getting together with my family.
3
Now I wonder how many individuals gather within their churches and profess beliefs that in fact they do not truly trust or comprehend. I can’t imagine how frightening it must be to say you believe when all you want is the actual courage to do so. It is my opinion that there are many more self-proclaimed Christians who want to believe in God and Jesus than those who actually do. This is the main reason that I value others for their sincere beliefs even if I may not agree. The truth is I’d rather discuss religion and faith with a devout atheist than with a wishy-washy Christian. It takes a great deal of strength and trust to surrender yourself completely to any belief. What’s strange is that no matter what belief it is that one has accepted, it becomes difficult for that individual to understand how he or she ever got along without it. It is the same with me. Although I will say truly believing in Jesus hasn’t made my life better, Jesus has made my life a real life, a complete life, a life I could have never dreamed of.
A conclusion to this essay could never be all I aim for it to be. It is clear that the conflict between reason and religious faith is apparent in my life, although I never thought I would even address the subjects that I faced internally and externally over the course of this semester. What I have come to know is that there is a strain between what we as human beings acknowledge as real in our minds and what faith is. What causes the conflict is that we, as the so-dubbed “supreme” beings on Earth, do not want to ever grant truth to what is unknown. Even though some may say they acknowledge the unknown, they continue to share ideas, write books and essays, and speak in front of thousands. If agnostics truly embrace the unknown, why are they telling me why they feel the way they do? What do they want to prove?
No matter what we say, we all search for the truth about ourselves as physiological entities roaming our surroundings. I, too, find myself sometimes engaging in some sort of ritualistic activity like brushing my teeth and suddenly stop and ask myself: How does all of this work? Why does my hand know what to do? Why am I even brushing my teeth? What is the purpose of this? Is there one? I can already sense the answers that scientists, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Atheists, Agnostics, and Satanists would say to me. Everyone has his or her own take and own idea about how it works. This creates the ultimate conflict in my eyes.
Who is right? I think we are all wrong in some way. We are wrong to judge, wrong to force belief on others, and wrong to dismiss what we can’t understand. The truth to me is that the unending love I have come to know through Jesus is the only truth that matters to me. Let everyone else explore different ideas and beliefs. I shall not judge you. May all people find the what they are looking for. Though I may talk to you about my beliefs, I shall not force you. I will never believe in anything but Jesus as the Son of Man and the redeemer of my soul. Still, I shall never hatefully dismiss others’ ideas.
I feel this experience and many more like it to come will impact my relationship with God only for the better. I have never felt more strong in my faith. I entered into this course with a negative view of all who don’t believe what I do. I now regard them with the utmost respect and understanding, although I still hope they will come to have the kind of love for Jesus that I do, not because I wish to “save” them from anything; but, if I could somehow bestow the joy and love I feel from Jesus in my life, I most certainly would want others to come to truly know Christ as I feel that I do. It is my choice to not try and delve into the conflicts that exist within religious faith and reason. I am strong in the fact this does not make me ignorant or sheltered. I have seen what else is out there for me to try and understand. I will never see any logic in it that agrees with the experiences I have had with God throughout my life. We all have these choices to make. I made my decision and will continue to make it daily for the rest of my life. I choose Jesus forever and always!
Mr. Skank, I do want to say that this course has proved to be the most valuable course I have taken throughout my college career. I appreciate all the information you have presented and encourage you to keep challenging the spiritual side of every student you meet. I wish you all the best in your life.
4
Reason and religious faith are different because reason is when you are trying to change somebody’s opinion toward something or come to an end about something. Religious faith is the belief that you know that something is true no matter what, because God in the Bible, a holy book, said it is true. There is no middle ground or end to it. When I am trying to talk to somebody about something, if we can’t come to a middle ground or an end to something then there’s no reason in even talking about it. If they don’t care about knowing the “truth,” then I don’t care if you don’t know God. It’s your life, so if you don’t want to sit and listen, fine. I could care less what you do or don’t do. This class was very interesting for me, just the daily conversations and the stories and things that were told. Mr. Skank is a really cool teacher. He gets you to think and he is really funny. I don’t really know about the readings. Some of the things I didn’t really like. They pushed my buttons a little, and I didn’t really like that the writers were talking about religious people and questioning their faith. No, I don’t think it should be questioned. It’s the word of God. Whether it was written by God or not, I don’t care.
5
When people talk about the conflict between reason and religious faith, I think that they are talking about how people see things differently than the way that religion tells them they should see things. People naturally want to believe in reason, and if you tell me you don’t then you are a liar. People believe what they see and what is logical in their minds. The thing is that many people don’t believe in the reasonable things because religion tells them that the reasonable things in life are wrong. The source of this conflict is between the logical people and the people who support the many different religions of the world. The logical people of the world don’t believe in things unless they can be proven or they have witnessed it. The religious people believe in things that can’t be proven and believe things that they have never witnessed and have only been told stories about. This is where the conflict comes from.
I have experienced this conflict between reason and religious faith in my own life. I was forced to attend church as a child and was put through all the religion courses that my parents could find. The thing is that I never really believed in any of the teachings. I was always the kid challenging the faith and always going my own way. Finally I resolved the problem by not attending church anymore. It has angered my family, but I don’t see the point in attending something you don’t believe in.
This class has been very interesting and sometimes frustrating to me. I enjoyed the open discussion and the input that people had. I liked the fact that we had a mix of people in the class because it made it interesting to hear about other religions. The class frustrated me because I never really wrote down my feelings and beliefs about religion, and sometimes it was hard to put everything into words. Overall, I enjoyed the teacher, my classmates, and everything else that took place in class.
6
Sam Harris addresses atheism: “All religious people are atheists with respect to everyone else’s religion.” This is a very interesting view. I strongly agree with this statement. Being an atheist means not believing in religion. I would say that I am an atheist regarding all the religions except Christianity for the mere fact that I have not taken the time to learn and explore them. Honestly, I would love to take a world religions class just for the joy of learning of different religions and cultures.
But this class has opened my mind and my heart to consider other opinions and different beliefs. When a person is asked about the conflict between reason and religion, many people are uncomfortable talking about something so personal. Christians think they do not have to go through that argument only because God says do not argue over such a thing because he has done it for us. Reason, the scientific side, is thinking, making plausible answers for things that are not plausible. Every person uses reason to make and defend wise or unwise choices. Religious faith is something not everybody has. It is the thing that fills a hole in a person’s heart. It is the frosting on top of a cake that you just have to stick your finger in and try. It is comfort and support when things are imperfect and when it feels like you are stuck on that downhill slide to the bottom of a pit. It is the light at the end of the tunnel when answers look so far away. I believe the conflict between reason and religion arises because people just cannot define anybody else’s faith and sometimes not even their own. People cannot make plausible answers for something that is beyond their thinking.
I have never felt the conflict in my life until this class. I have not experienced it because I am a closed person; I stay out of other people’s business and do not let very many people get close to me. I do not think that conflict will ever be solved, for two reasons. One, some people are too nosey and think it is their calling to save every person from going to hell. Two, there are people like Mr. Skank, people who question other people to get them to learn and think more about their own life and the lives of others. On the first day of this class Skank told us that we would be studying the conflict of reason and religious faith. I wanted to drop the class and take a different one, but I decided I was here and it could not be that bad. I hoped it would make me a stronger person and that I would learn more about others in the class. The next thing he told us was that we were going to read “Why I Am Not a Christian.” At the thought of reading a book so titled, I was shocked. It was one of the most challenging things for me to do to open up and contribute my opinion on things of this nature. At first I tried to avoid saying what I thought, but then I just could not fight it anymore.
As for Mr. Skank, he was difficult and frustrating. It seemed like every time I would gain the courage to state my mind he would contradict my statement with questions. It was very frustrating, and I feel very bad that my boyfriend had to put up with me after class for a whole quarter. I was shocked that Skank would even think about introducing a subject like that into the classroom. All my life I have been told by schools to never ever speak of religion in school. I always hated that rule. It was a very interesting class. In the end I believe this class has made me stronger and more aware of my religion and of others as well. I am very thankful I stayed in this class and stuck it out until the end.
7
I have said many times that I want to believe in God, and I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t want to believe that there is life after death and a god who looks out for you and your family, a god who makes sure no harm will be done to you as long as you follow his rules. But as Sam Harris says, there is a difference between wanting to believe something and having good reason to believe it. I have had horrible things done to me and my family. I have seen some of the ugliest, darkest moments one can see. No god was there to help me through it. No one broke out through the clouds and picked me up off the ground to guide me. I have no reason to believe that there is a god.
This class has taught me what an agnostic is. I believe that if I were to classify myself as anything, it would be an agnostic. I do not have any reason to believe in god, but I also have no reason not to believe in one. I know who I am, what I want to do with my life, and where I want to go. I have had no religion to guide me. I have had beautiful, caring, compassionate people to help me make good decisions. My family is strong, we have been through a lot together, the bonds I have with them are stronger than any I believe I could have with a god. I think that religion makes people feel good. It gives them a feeling of completion. I feel some believe that because they attend church on Sunday and donate money to the offering they are good people. Sometimes these people turn around after church and do unspeakable things and believe that they can just ask for forgiveness from god. Any god that would grant forgiveness to people just because they asked for it and believe they deserve it is not a god that I would want to worship.
The conflict between reason and religious faith is the battle in life when people are forced to decide between what they believe is right and wrong and what religion has taught them is right and wrong. For example, homosexuality is not right in the Bible, but I believe that it is okay. I do not think that because someone is attracted to the same sex is a reason to be rejected by God and be forever damned in hell. Nor is a god and a holy book a good reason to commit hate crimes or kill people. I have never fit into a religion so I have not felt this conflict in my life. I have very strong morals and feel that I am an ethical person. I know what I believe is right or wrong and it is not influenced by a god.
8
Religion is a difficult topic to discuss. It is tough to distinguish what is right and what is wrong about religion because there is no proof. Many conflicts with reason and religious faith occur because there is no proof for religion. I firmly believe that there is a god. However, I do not always agree with every aspect of religion and also have many unanswered questions about religion. Still, we will never completely know the truth.
9
There are many confusing religious dogmas that conflict with reason. Until recently I have not encountered this conflict, due to a sheltered life, but the last two years I have come across many things that have evoked many questions. I admit that often I avoid this conflict by ignoring it and thinking it’s nothing when really I should explore and consider the possibilities. Someday it could be that the religions of today will fade just as other mythologies have. There are not many people who worship the Egyptian god Ra, or the Greek god Zeus, or the Roman god Neptune. Perhaps there will be a time when Christianity will be marveled for its art and not for its religion. However, Christianity has been a prominent dogma for many centuries, though at times it was a weaker religion and at other times stronger. I have not been able to resolve the conflict as of yet, as my ability to learn and question has become stronger than my trust and faith in something with insufficient evidence. There will always be a part of me that will doubt; however, I still long and hope for something to believe in.
During this class and writing this paper I have been asked many questions about my religion, and I believe I am more willing to question something before I completely agree or disagree. Writing about subjects such as abortion, dogmatic religion, and the usefulness of religion has made me more skeptical and curious and more courageous in asking and pondering. Even thinking about my past brought up questions and self-exploration. My thoughts may not make much sense because I am still in the middle of thinking things through before I make a decision on these subjects. I suppose this paper is more about exploring ideas and thoughts than about making definite statements, and I am grateful for the opportunity to express my thoughts on the matter. My beliefs are still in Christianity; however, I now look at religion in a different way and analyze it rather than just taking it for what it is. There are many things I do not know and am now curious to find out.
10
In conclusion, reason is what makes you do or believe in something. For example, what makes you go to school? Whatever your answer is, then that is your reason. On this subject of religion, reason is what makes you believe in a specific religion. What is religion? It is the beliefs an individual believes and the practices that distinguish him from other individuals. Examples of religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Communism. The conflict between reason and religious faith arises when the holy books try to explain why different things happen and emphasize that things happen due to a supernatural being, while the secular world tries to show that there is a cause and effect for everything in this world. The holy books state that God is the creator of the world, but the secular world then questions where God came from or who created God, because there is a reason and cause for everything in this world. The conflict arises in topics like the existence of God, what is the true religion, the virgin birth of Jesus, and Jesus being God’s chosen child. I have had a lot of such conflicts in my life, especially with my parents…. The conflict was resolved by my having to obey what my parents wanted. They stated to me that as long as I lived under their roof I would have to dance to their music and that was it. I really liked the class because it got me thinking about things I was scared to think. It was a relief to know that I share the same questions about religion with a lot of different people. In a way I am scared because I am doubting the religion I have believed in for so many years. It’s a challenge.
11
To me, reason is something that makes something fair, just, and logical. Religious faith is self-explanatory. It is the feelings of attachment, love, belief, and faith that people can have when they are devoted to their faith, whatever faith that may be. I feel that both sides are the exact opposites of one another. They contradict each other because reason can never be implemented on the side of religion. That is because people who are “reasonable” follow through their beliefs with logic and come to an understanding with science and thorough research and knowledge before making any kind of decision. People of a faith rely solely on their religious beliefs which do not carry any sense of logic for the most part and are based on a specific belief and faith that people think (but are not sure) is the right way that things should be. They base their decisions and thoughts on teachings of their faith. These two sides become the fire and fuel in conflict. Reason becomes the fuel that makes the fire of religion stronger and more dangerous. The two can never be one because it really is difficult to see and find something logical in religion and because at times some things don’t quite make sense.
I have felt this conflict because in my life I deal with religious faith and the conflict of reason all the time. I see things in my own religion that I find hard to believe, but I try to keep that faith. That’s all I can explain it by. Faith. Events have taken place in my life that have made me wonder if there is an Allah and, if there were, then why are some of these things happening? I feel that I have two sides of the conflict still brewing in my life. I hold onto both reason and religious faith on two separate spectrums in my mind. There is the part that helps me to believe that Islam is the way of life and to obey almost every teaching faithfully and then the part that seeps into deep logic of why things are the way they are and if it’s religiously explained or just explained through philosophy or science. So I do go back and forth. I have found a harmonious middle ground, whereas others haven’t.
This class has been quite a journey for me because I never imagined myself discussing these kinds of things in an English class. I did enjoy the people in class and made some really good friends whom I hope to carry with me through the years. I enjoyed the discussions we had and wished that we could have had more. I wish that we could have had more people in class who weren’t afraid to express their opinion. I am not afraid to express my opinion, but I do take time to see when and where and how I should approach the subject. Russell and Harris both are quite intelligent men who have written extraordinary works. I enjoyed reading them and thinking of them all the while brainstorming my own thoughts about the subject material. I have never had an English instructor like Mr. Skank before and it was the first time that I had an instructor who really opened my mind.
12
I can’t sit here today and say that I have never believed in God, because for many years I did. In reality I think that having believed in God at one point in my life makes my opinion and thoughts on this whole subject that much more valid. People of religious backgrounds read out of a book that supposedly was written thousands of years ago and inside this fictional book are ways that we are supposed to live our lives. But times change, and the ways in which we act and interact in life have to change as well. From seeing and reading about religion from both sides of the spectrum I have discovered that people in the Catholic setting do not know if there is a God amongst us either. What they have to hold onto is faith. Faith is belief that is not based on proof. After my pleading with God during my lonely nights to give me some sort of a sign that he is here and actually a real entity, God (my faith in God, serenity through the Bible’s passages, a savior, a man who can come back from the dead and who will relieve me, and many other of my convictions) never replied to me and made himself known. My faith in any sort of deity or religion will never be again, even if some sort of miraculous event should occur. I do not want to have a burden on my shoulders every day, and that burden is the Bible telling me to live this way and not that. I am intelligent and mature enough to make my own decisions without the help of a god of any kind.
The conflict between reason and religious faith to me is about the ability to look past what people have believed in for many years and to be blessed with the ability and independence to say no, that is not right nor is it what I believe in. Reason exists in people who have had experiences with religion first-hand and have found reasons to believe that a book or god is not real nor the way to live one’s life. There are also many people who have never believed in a religion or god, either of their own free will or because that’s just how they were brought up. On the other side, religious faith is strong in many people. They think that their god is worthy of all they have to offer in life. Everything that they do is an offering to the god, whether it be praying, going to church, or helping others in need. Their offering could also be killing nonbelievers and the starting of wars. Religion is corrupt in many respects. The president, who is a strong believer in God, has to think that this is what God wanted—to send over thousands of troops and watch them die for their faith in a country which is based on religion, “one nation under God.” Coincidence, maybe; irony, completely.
I have had many conflicts with my faith in religion. I have done many good things in my life because of the Bible. I have respected people, done good deeds for others in needy situations, and also offered up my prayers every day to one day be at the gates of heaven to be with God. The conflict that I have with God and religion now I base upon the fact that I have never seen him. I have never had anything good come from my faith. My faith led me to being rebellious and not caring about others’ feelings nor my own. Reason caused me to think outside the box about what is going on in this world every day: murder, ominous weather that claims lives, priests (some of the biggest believers in God) not keeping their hands to themselves and stealing from people who come to church to be saved. The whole church setting is corrupt in the same sense as our government, which ironically is based on religion as well. I can sit here today and type this paper with no faith in God or any religion, and nothing bad has happened to me. I’m still here alive and breathing. I have a more positive outlook on life not having to abide by the teachings and rules of a fictional character.
13
At the beginning of this course I had no idea what was meant by conflict between reason and religious faith. I never realized there are so many arguments dealing with religion. I always thought there were people who believe in God and people who don’t, and that was it. I am thankful that Mr. Skank provided me with materials that introduced these conflicts to me and gave me the opportunity to see the different views towards religion. At the same time I feel that writing this paper has done nothing for me. I am unable to grasp the purpose of spending a whole semester writing and talking about religion. I do think it is good for the nonbelievers and believers to hear each others’ ideas and thoughts, but for me the whole process was too drawn out. For me personally I don’t understand a word a Bible has to say; it’s in a foreign language. This is probably one of the worst papers I have written because religion plays no role in my life. I couldn’t find any real depth or thought to write about. I also found it very frustrating. I have never had any education on religion, and when we would talk in class about the Bible and the history behind religion everyone else knew what was going on and I had no idea. My cousin and I were talking about this same topic the other day, and we both had the same thoughts. We don’t know if we were taught in school and just weren’t paying attention, but the Bible and other forms of writing similar to it are complete gibberish to us, yet everyone else seems to understand it. Is it assumed that we will understand because it is assumed we go to church and believe in God? Overall I truly enjoyed Mr. Skank’s style of teaching and conducting his class, but the topic is annoying to me.
14
How are we to enlarge our understanding of one subject if we cannot escape that of another? Religion has always restrained us in our schools from learning of specific subjects, not only evolution but of many more controversial subjects that need to be brought up and debated as well. Even religion itself was not to be brought up in discussion for debate for me personally until I graduated from the OPS system and entered Metro Community College, this class more specifically. If a subject had the slightest connection to religion we, the students who were to be learning about it, were just simply told to disregard it and that it wasn’t at all important. I feel that this is why many of my classmates get riled up about the main subject of this course. If we would just let people talk with one another about their personal perspectives on religious faith and beliefs, we could ultimately and I think would ultimately end this unneeded feeling of awkwardness and hopefully provide more factual answers to questions on these matters, making us less stupefied and oblivious to the truth of religious beliefs, faith, and religion as a whole.
In regard to the subjects of God, miracles, angels, Jesus, Christ, one almighty being, reason, religious beliefs, and faith, I think for now it is safe to say that truth and reasonable doubt win the conflict between reason and religious faith. Reason and some perspectives of academic discourse undoubtedly challenge religious beliefs and religions on their truth and factuality.
The class was fairly interesting and kept my attention better than a normal English class. This discussion widened my horizon on the difference between facts and tales of religion and holy books. My opinion on this conflict is that it should have been discussed and that religion should have been disassembled long before my lifetime. Although this topic be entertaining, it is not one that I thought should have been a requirement for mine and others’ graduation. Since this course is a requirement, I think that there are many topics in the world we are oblivious to which need to be discussed and which could have been discussed along with this conflict between reason and religious faith. Other than that, I liked the class and would suggest others take the course. Religion has become more of a worry and a harm than a builder of a sense of security anymore.
15
Religion is discussed all over the world every day. I do not blame Bertrand Russell, Robert Skank, and Sam Harris for trying to convince people not necessarily that there is no God but that religion should be taken a lot less seriously than it’s currently being taken. Everyone believes his or her religion is correct, and that is what we need to think about. If we cannot prove which religion is correct, then we should not be as strict about our own religion. We should not be bombing buildings and having wars over different gods when we’re not even a hundred percent sure whether any of these gods exist. Killing our own kind for imaginary fantasy gods I think is ridiculous, and I would never fight people just because they are Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, or any other religion, and believe in a different god.
The only reason there is even conflict between religious views is that people do not look at the reasoning behind them. When I hear the stories about Noah’s Ark or Moses parting the Red Sea, I do not believe them. I think of how today we could probably not build a boat big enough to fit two of every animal on, let alone way back then. Moses parting the Red Sea to save his people is a great idea, it would be great to see it in a movie, but no way would it happen in real life.
I have not really had any conflict in my life over religious views, outside my family at least. My mom is a religious woman, and I think she would like me to follow in her footsteps, but I do not look at religion the same way she does. She used to tell me that it was an hour a week to spend with God, and that that was nothing at all. The way I thought of it was how do I know that I am not wasting that hour? How do I know there is actually God that I am serving that hour for? If I was sure that there was a God, I would have no problem spending an hour of my life with him. I resolved this conflict by getting a job and telling my employer I would like to work Sunday mornings so that I would not feel bad about not going to church with my mom.
This class taught me and showed me that there are a lot of religious views that I have not looked at outside this class. When I first walked into this class and Mr. Skank started talking about the Bible, I thought it was the biggest joke. I thought it was just going to be a subject brought up, discussed, and ended quickly, like other times in school. But it was continued for the next hour, and it continued through every class afterwards. I feel that I still have the same views and opinions as I did when I first walked in, but reading Bertrand Russell and the other authors did give me ideas and information on how much this world is actually based on religion and how many wars and fights we have gone through were over people’s beliefs.
Mr. Skank had me frustrated like crazy because I would try so hard to come up with some kind of reasoning to beat his statements with. Some days I felt like I was getting so frustrated that I wanted to up and walk out. Every time he would write back on my paper, proving me wrong and sharing his ideas, so that after I debated about it all night I would realize he made a lot of sense. I rewrote several of my statements because ideas I thought I clearly understood I clearly did not. All in all I’m glad I stuck with the class.
16
In the end I think people should be able to logically question things and have their own opinion on any topic, including religion. Many people are too stubborn to even logically think things out and see if they seem true. Many people are poorly educated and are early on convinced of things they are told. Also I believe that some people just do not see the other side of people’s stories or just do not listen or try to process what others say. I believe if more people thought ideas through and tried to look at ideas logically before acting upon them that things would be better. I never could understand why people did not question religious facts and rules they were told. Most of the kids who believed in these unreasonable stories were “smarter” kids than I, straight-A students, and yet they believed in things so foolish they sounded like fairy tales. It makes me question what being smart even is; it does not seem to me that they are very smart at all if they are so gullible.
I understand the conflict between reason and religious faith to be any idea of religion that does not make sense to you or that you have doubt about because of the lack of evidence. It arises when people logically look at something that does not make sense. When it does not make sense, people will commonly look into the topic for evidence or proof. Many times things may sound irrational because they were explained differently in another time due to the lack of knowledge and resources they had at the time. Countless times in my life I have run into the conflict between reason and religious faith. Just about every day in religious class I would question my teacher about any topic that did not make sense to me. Many of my questions were never answered for the fact that there was not much if any proof to back the statement up. To expect me to just have faith or to just believe in something to me is not reasonable and sounds controlling.
17
When people discuss the conflict between reason and religious faith, they base their thoughts and ideas on many different things. People take into consideration the way they were raised, what religion their family was, along with major influences they had in their life. People that trust reason over religious faith think of everything in a logical way. If they don’t see it happen in their own life, they have a hard time believing it ever could. But I feel that on the religious faith side people don’t need proof; they trust what they are learning and accept what they feel is right and true. I am not sure what the sources or causes of this conflict are. All I can think of is that ever since religion started people always wanted to know the truth and wanted to always be right, even if they were wrong. I feel that I am lucky because I have never had this discussion in my life, except in this class. This class was very interesting. I noticed it made a lot of people think and question their own religion. I thought this was a very risky subject to get into, but I feel the instructor handled it very well. I liked reading Bertrand Russell and Sam Harris and about their views and feelings about religion. I feel I gained a lot from this course and hope it continues to be taught this way.
18
I do not necessarily believe everything the Bible says. I think some things are wise and that one could use them in his or her life, but it is just another book to me, and I personally do not need it or use it in my life every minute of every day. Throughout this course I have learned about the conflict between reason and religious faith and whether religion is really necessary to live a happy, successful life. I have realized that I am not the only one who experiences or questions this conflict. As I have matured and become more knowledgeable about religion and the real world, I have experienced the conflict between reason and religious faith quite a bit. I have questioned what I was taught as a little kid and what some have been trying to teach me for some time even now. Is this religion that I believe in even right? Is there even a God? Something had to have put us here, but what? And, if something put us here, what put that there? To this day I still ask myself these questions and many more — that will, I am sure, remain unanswered.
19
In conclusion, the conflict between reason and religious faith is the idea that the bases or foundations of religion have no proof. There is no current evidence of a God, and there are flaws and contradictions in the holy books and the churches’ teachings. The fact is that the world is an imperfect place, and religion has caused more fear and suffering than good. The existence of heaven and hell contradict the churches’ teachings. How can you offer forgiveness and eternal suffering at the same time? This idea alone is immoral and inhumane. Then there is the fact that there is injustice in the world. A lot of times the good suffer and the bad prosper and those who are supposedly saved by God show no evidence of being any better off than those who are not saved. Religion may be nothing more than a comfort to people, the hope that there will be justice after death and that they will go on to a better place. However, religion does give people the wrong reasons to be good, and it often condones people’s being judgmental of nonbelievers, discriminatory toward other religions, and hypocritical to so-called sinners.
I myself have felt this conflict most of my life. I don’t think it was until I dropped my own religion that I was able to resolve it. This class I think has given me a full resolution. Before, I wasn’t sure what I believed about religion, but I just knew that I didn’t have to go to church or call myself a Christian to know that I am a good person. Now, however, I am fully comfortable with abandoning my religion altogether and just living my life according to my morals and virtues. I will no longer pretend to know things about the existence of God or heaven and hell, and I will no longer live in fear of judgment.
20
Many people feel uncomfortable when the conflict between reason and religion faith is brought up. Reason is questions that can never be answered and a lot of thinking. Religious faith is something given to people or arrived at by choice; it’s a gift that’s special. I think that every person has a little conflict over reason and religious faith. Every person has questions that can’t be answered about God. I do every day. I’m in this situation where I’m confused about what I believe in. I get people from different religions telling me if I want to get saved then I need to believe in this way or in that way. I’m a person who doesn’t get into anybody’s business, so when people tell me to believe in this way or in that way I hate it because religious faith is a gift that is given to you when you let God into your heart.
When I first started this class, I thought I wouldn’t like it because religion is not something I would want to write about. When we started to write our paper and discussed religion, it made me sit down and really think about what I truly believed in. I didn’t think the assignments were really hard at all, but they caused a lot of thinking, which is the most important thing. I never thought I would have to write a paper about religion, but I am glad Mr. Skank made us do that. Overall, I thought this class was a great learning experience.
21
An earlier collection of student comments can be found at post number 169 in my blog archive index.
