Today I was confronted by an exhibition of blind, unwavering faith that I found quite alarming. My brother in law told my son (James - he has a keen interest in dinosaurs) that according to the Bible, not only did man once co-exist with dinosaurs, but that some dinosaurs were present on Noahs' Ark.
My son, who is quite well read on the scientific points of evolution, quickly pointed out how absurd this was based on the geological records' clear indication that the last dinosaurs died 65 million years ago, whereas modern humans only appeared 10 thousand or so years ago.
My own reading (in particular Stephen Hawkings' "Brief History of Time") has cast serious doubts on my own faith. The uncertainty principle of quatum mechanics would, from a mathematical viewpoint, appear to be a veritable disproval of the existance of a God who cared to take any active role in the development of creation. Quantum mechnics implies that if there is a God, He created the Universe and left it to run under a strict set of laws set at the moment of creation. The "big" point being that if this is the case, He chose to have no further dealings with the development of the Universe and "free will" (for instance, the ability to choose between following a religion, or not following one) does not even exist. The particles that make up our bodies, the life around us, our planet, everything are simply following paths set at the moment of creation (the Big Bang).
So, as a father, what do I tell my son? To believe, blindly, in the Bible, or to believe what he can see (and what science can "prove" is real).
The belief in a God precludes the need for proof. Proof of a God would deny the existance of such a being by removing the need for belief.
If there is a "God" and a "Heaven", what is the real purpose of this existance? Simply to make God know we believe and then to get the ultimate prize of immortality? Sounds like a cheap way to get what we all really crave - and if life has taught me anything, nothing cheap is really worthwhile. Why would God treat humans any differently from all the other myriad ilfeforms on this sphere (including the Moselms, Jews, Hindus you name it).
I'm sorry, but this is the worst kind of false hope imaginable. Am I really to believe that all the people who lived prior to Christs birth are condemned to eternal damnation, or just cold death, whereas thos born after Him, and follow his faith can be "saved" and rewarded withh eternal life? It's gotta be bollocks. I'm sticking with Jediism for now.