1: Give a science text book to a science teacher and ask the the teacher to interpret the text in the book, assuming the teacher teaches same subject as that in the book.
2: Give a religious book to a religious teacher and ask the teacher to interpret the text in that book, assuming the teacher teaches the content of that book.
We can easily guess the results of the test.
All teachers of the science text book will interpret the text in the book the same way. In the case of religious teachers, there will be as many interpretions as there are teachers.
It is funny that a book that is revealed in any manner by God is vague and inconsistent in many places, opposed to scientific facts, and full of contradictions. God should have known better.
Destroy all books about religion and science. A thousand years from now all of the science books will be the same as what we have now, but all the books on religion will be completely different.
So you would rid the world of some of the greatest works of literature on the planet? The Iliad and The Odyssey? Upanishads? Bhagavad Gita? Buddhist Sutras? Tao Te Ching? Egyptian Book of the Dead? Vedas? And then think of the religious thinkers who contributed to science. I think you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I am reminded of the saying “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” I regard all religious texts as evidence for the evolution of mankind’s ability to grow and learn from its mistakes. It’s crazy the shit we believe. Even today. It is a struggle to maintain a rational mind. Destroying the examples of past irrationality and having no examples of past insanity, IMO, would be a big mistake.
The situation is hypothetical. No one can get rid of all books about religion. Even if someone could, religion and fear of God will be there in the minds of lots of people and will remain so until the end of humanity. Literary value of many of those books are unquestionable, but that does not mean we should not imagine a world without certain religious books for which people are willing to die and kill. In that scenario, we may not be saving some greatest works of literature, but will be saving a large number of lives.
Instead, why not imagine a world where people just stop believing in nonsense that is not evidence-based? We could begin by teaching basic logic to students in school. But then… that would not only undermine religion, but government, and the entire capitalist economic system. YIKES! Where would we go from there?
Possibly one of the best ways of insulating young minds against religious nonsense, is to demonstrate in appropriate classes, that religions are mutually contradictory, and therefore that almost all of them are wrong in their assertions. Classes on comparative mythology are suitable for this.
As for literary merit, the Old Testament reads like a psychotic rant for much of its length. The Qur’an is is practically nothing but a psychotic rant. The Book of Mormon is a ridiculous cross-fertilisation attempt to legitimise American exceptionalism by adding in some stir fried Jeebus.
As for the batshittery that is Xenu and the other Scientology weirdness, that’s in a class of derangement all on its own.
Whether the Bhavagad Gita has its flaccid parts I don’t know, but given some of the wacky chimera gods Hinduism has dreamt up, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that it has.
Whenever someone is shot or blown up, or somehow seriously injured, the first people on the scene don’t desperately scream for a faith healer, or phone the nearest church for assistance, it’s scientific medical help they want every time…make of that what you will…
Please don’t take offense, but as an ex-paramedic, I have to disagree with you.
In some religious areas (Muslim, Chassidic Jewish, conservative Southern Baptist, Old-order Amish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.), they often want a minister (or other pastor) before EMS to make sure that their religious and/or cultural concerns are not disregarded, and people have died because of this.
Especially Muslim and Chassidic Jewish want “permission” before transport . . . especially if the patient is a woman . . . and even more so if she is unmarried.
I often saw this in South Beach (a big Orthodox Jewish area) when I was a medic.
And not all Chassidim follow the same versions of the rules. They are divided into different dynasties, and they each have their distinctive beliefs. Everyone seems to get along best with the Lubavitch, which seem much more open . . . while the Satmar seem much more insular, rigid, and private.
The head of the Lubavitch was a rabbi named Schneerson, who was renouned and respected by, literally, everyone. He was open to everyone of all faiths, and–interestingly enough–he was a polymath who also happened to be an electrical engineer and mathematician as well as being one of the most respected rabbis in modern times. He–in a total departure from the vast majority of almost all conservative religions–made all of his teachings of the Torah and Talmud equally available to women . . . any woman, even if she wasn’t Orthodox Jewish.
He designed and created all of the wiring and electrical systems for the WWII “Iowa Class” battleship Missouri, and he was an inventor who designed electrical devices.
He was also a linguist who spoke about 8 languages fluently.
He was a genius who transcended his own religion and culture.
