Recently, the opinion page has been filled with articles discussing religion, namely the series submitted by Spaid. One point that surprises me, given that Spaid is a history major, is the lack of historical perspective on who Jesus was. I cannot mesh why someone would embark on an educational pathway, then veer from that direction whenever it doesn’t fit the profile being sought.

Another point I cannot digest is the belief that science is “just another way to prove we have a great, powerful and sovereign God.” When one becomes a scientist, one delves into a process of analytical thinking in order to deduce what is most probable. There is no scientific evidence confirming any reverent philosophy, so how is science a way to prove the existence of any deity?

It has been mentioned that opinions delving into the opposite side of the debate are “one-sided.” This phrase seems unfounded and hyperbolized. If you want to glimpse the “other side,” you need only submerge yourself in society. Religion is the status quo, and the dissenters are judged and admonished, whether inconspicuously or intently. We are supposed to have freedom of religion, which includes none at all. In this country, one predominates, and the people not of this doctrine are constrained by these presumptions.

Why, in the major faith-based doctrines, is questioning austerely forbidden? It is put forth by the Bible in the consumption of the fruit of knowledge. Why is knowledge such a dangerous armament to faith? And if knowledge is taboo, how is one supposed to use science to confirm that God is great, powerful, and sovereign? Why does faith require the believer to accept all “platitudes” without probing their validity? Wouldn’t an all-powerful god applaud the use of one’s mind? It is said that there are some things we are not meant to know. This is like saying “I cannot answer your questions, so I will assume I am not meant to know.” Why would anyone go against logic and reason and base their life around something they cannot prove, nor are meant to comprehend?

The bottom line is this: we as human beings are deemed the most intelligent species on Earth. We need to use our minds to deduce what is plausible and what is fabrication. We need to recognize that others have done the research and are not as easily convinced. Removing yourself from the indoctrination, and researching all the possibilities, means using your mind and not just reiterating what you have been told. After all, much of the thought set forth in these ancient days was dead wrong.

Jason S Lupoi

Graduate student

Chemistry