Yet another example of how religious dogma can get in the way of progress showed itself on April 10, 2002. George W. Bush proclaimed very dogmatically on national television that human life is a divine creation, not a commodity. Therefore, according
to his dogmatic opinion, human cloning must never take place. The president’s statement oversimplifies and presents a false dichotomy, which implies that all human life is either a divine creation or a commodity. Believers who abhor therapeutic cloning
claim dogmatically that two or four cells of a zygote constitute a human being. I think a human being is far more complex and can
hardly be smaller than a pin head. In any event, real human life is ours to improve cooperatively. Hopefully the U.S. Congress will show more scientific knowledge than this conservative right-wing president and allow research in this important area to advance.
If not, the United States may quickly fall behind the scientists in other countries, for holding onto the past too conservatively or too
dogmatically will again impede progress into the future. Futurist Peter Schwartz predicts that as “the U.S. continues to debate the
morality of cloning, China will take up the slack. It already has begun state-funded stem-cell research.” (Forbes Magazine, July
21, 2003, p. 50)

Creative and intelligent researchers want to use cloning as they try to win the tough battles against Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s Disease and other ills. If they are to fight these tough battles in U.S. laboratories, they may be forced to do so with questioned legality or work with one hand tied behind their backs. I hope the courage of these creative scientists will be great enough
to overcome the obstructive pressures of narrow dogmatism, even if such dogmatism reflects current majority opinion.

The majority’s opinion deserves respect in matters purely political; however, popular opinion should get little respect in scientific matters, because scientists look for facts, not votes. Galileo, Copernicus and Newton were in very small minorities! Galileo was imprisoned by the Catholic Inquisition, because he insisted that the earth was not really the center of the universe. This imprisonment of a heretical scientist by traditional authority looks truly ridiculous now, but it didn’t seem so in 1634. Popular
thinking has changed a lot since then; it can continue to improve as our education continues to improve and frees us further from
old dogma.

I think we can learn enough from historic mistakes to help the next generation avoid a lot of them. We as individuals, parents and
politicians can become educated and self-sufficient enough, have enough pride and self-respect to drop divisive superstitions from
our lives. If each of us does so, then we will experience a brand new birth of freedom that will never again be lost to blinding forces that some consider above nature. This new birth will likely be easier for the young adults than for the grayer generations. In his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, gave the graduates some excellent advice: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma which is living with the
results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

If no one were to read the horoscope, newspapers would quit publishing it. If no one of us ever lied to a legitimately credulous
child again, that absorbent mind would be more likely to respect reason, study math and science early in life, and help find cures
for some of humankind’s real problems. If no one supposed any thing greater than nature, our young and bright would be freer to understand much more of nature than our own past-oriented, tradition-bound generation.

Such persons, being freer from the past, would generally be much more open to the present than the following very nice neigh-
bor lady demonstrated: recently we were enjoying a fine dinner together with other friends when the subject of evolution came up,
very briefly as it turned out. As soon as the subject was mentioned, this charming lady flatly stated, “I don’t accept evolution; I believe
in the bible.” And with that the subject was dropped. If this nice lady’s priest tells her that cloning is immoral, you can bet that she
will stand with the president who believes the same thing.

Religion, God, supernature, superstition, too often stand in the way of human progress in understanding the realities of nature,
including self. Once we understand human nature, we humans will be able to appreciate and help our natural fellows in a truly
democratic fashion without preying on them. Most humans are by nature good and healthy, not bad and sinful. Nevertheless, it
is helpful to patiently bear in mind that because of the strength of these counterproductive traditions, progress comes slowly (for me as well as you). What we, as a species, learned early on in pre-scientific centuries, was imprinted deeply and is difficult to unlearn; similarly, what we, as individuals, learned early on in our
pre-rational days, was imprinted deeply and is difficult to unlearn. So be patiently tolerant as you help your neighbor.

DOMESTIC TERROR
ANOTHER BUNION ON THE FOOT OF PROGRESS

We are all part of nature, so we have more natural commonalities between us than differences. However, when one group insists
“We Are Right” because we believe the truth and have God on our side, WAR is too often the result. There will likely be terrorism as long as one believing group believes itself superior to the rational guidelines of nature. As long as the “supernatural” and better-than-thou group believes it is the instrument of a
just or punishing God, there will always be jihads against the infidels, those who believe differently. The general observance
of the mutually respectful and reasonable Golden Rule will be postponed further as the representatives of God consider themselves above merely natural human beings.

I am not writing primarily about Middle Eastern jihads or terrorism now; I write to point to the danger of fanatical Christian
terrorism in America. I forget who it was who said that “good people do good things, and bad people do bad things; but for good people to do bad things, that takes religion.” Not always, of course, but too often true. Witness the murders and bombings
by anti-abortionists calling themselves The Army of God. The psychological reasons for this are easy to find.

Good-willed folk, truly good people, often believe without questioning. They believe with a deep faith. This is the acceptable way of true faith as shown by a bumper-sticker in the U.S. Bible Belt: “God said it—I believe it—That settles it!” Such an unquestioning believer readily gets fully convinced that his beliefs and those of his minister or his good book are not to be questioned by anyone. He feels he must believe in his true way or he will go to hell, and his reason cannot reign supreme over his feelings. Such deep credulity may not be as common as in bygone days, but we still find many in our midst encouraging everyone to ask WWJD,
What Would Jesus Do? Others might ask WWMD, What would Mohammed or Moses do?

When such a believer tries to get others to believe as he does, I sometimes wonder if he is really trying to help others “get right with God” or to shore up his own wobbly faith. It may only be my perception, but it appears to me that the above bumper-sticker theologians feel they need the crowd-effect of fellow-believers to reinforce their own belief system. In numbers there is often security. “Honk if you love Jesus.” (Chapter two discussed the
important dynamics of this getting comfort from crowds.)

When the faith system of the more zealous or fanatical believer is directly challenged, one cannot always expect a rational reac tion. Keep in mind that the true believer believes in spite of what he actually knows. Faith does not need evidence; faith is founded in the will, not the intellect. So “a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” An enthusiastic believer whose faith system is challenged by reason or law can feel so

threatened and insecure that he becomes defensive, angry and personally offended.
Then he may strike back or react in a dangerously irrational or panicky way. Faith-based terrorism can result.

Tradition-bound groups who attribute infallibility or near infallibility to “our forefathers” or one of their books frequently
fail to grow in knowledge and wisdom of the present real world. They remain ill informed and become dangerously dogmatic as
they fight to preserve the old beliefs and ways. Such group strength can achieve marvelous goals, both productive and counterproductive. Responsible citizens of the world try to recognize which groups help and which groups hinder humanity’s march toward fuller understanding and enjoyment of this world.

Most civilized nations recognize, for example, that no matter how royal the family, there is no longer a “divine right of kings.” When this long tradition, earlier accepted by the majority, was found to be counterproductive, the group hypnotic spell was broken. The divine emperor was discovered to have no clothes. Kings and emperors alike have been discovered generally to be merely human. So many customs of long standing have given way to more reasonable approaches to human governance, and the tendency
toward cooperative democracy has resulted.

The growth process often proves tedious and difficult, because comforting traditions embraced in pre-rational days die hard. So,
I repeat, try to be patient with yourself and others on our journey to finding a better way.

Humankind needed centuries to gradually progress from Greco-Roman and other polytheism and perceived dependency
on many Gods to monotheism! Have you ever smiled to yourself as you realize that monotheistic Christians are really atheists less one? They reject the many Gods of Greece and Rome as they hold onto just one. True atheists reject just one more than the mono theists reject. Will it take so long to progress from continuing dependency-engendering monotheism to the independence and self-responsibility of non-theism or atheism? The hypnotic spell
of the longitudinal and latitudinal crowds must eventually break. When this spell broke for me, it was like the sun coming up in my
life. Meantime, for anyone without some practical knowledge of the marvelous natural power of hypnosis and the resulting natu-
ral power of prayer (see Chapter two), it remains understandable why so many still might believe they can access a Higher Power beyond themselves.

The ever-increasing rate of progress in human knowledge furnishes reason for hope. At the same time, however, witnessing
the gross amounts and kinds of superstition accepted still today makes one wonder. I wonder how long it will take to break the
hypnotic spell of wishful thinking that keeps popes, patriarchs, cardinals, bishops and priests trying to drive out evil spirits by
burning candles and incense, sprinkling holy water, or going through other complex liturgies of appeasement.

When I was a youngster, I never questioned such rites; they just were. And for many they still are. In fact, I think most priests
and preachers, most ministers and mullahs probably believe some of “supernatural truths” they preach. I think their faithful congregations believe far more of those supernatural preachments than the religious leaders themselves.

So you may wonder, as I do, when those Americans who may be called right-wing or ultra-conservative of the past will be able
to shake off the hypnotic hold of the reverend controllers and realize they can be free, liberated, thinking, joyful human beings.
I wonder how long it will take mothers to adequately protect their impressionable youngsters from predatory priests and preying preachers. I wonder when Muslim mothers will break the spell of manipulating mullahs or politically minded clerics and stop them from making murderous martyrs of their children.

Fact-based education, not faith-based tradition, will provide the solution to enslavement of modern minds to latitudinal or
longitudinal crowds. Fact-based or scientific education furnishes the most hopeful antidote to popular wishful thinking that convinces millions there are supernatural realities to fulfill their fondest wishes. As educational levels improve, the younger generation
may have a less difficult, I did not say easy, challenge to overcome the harmful vestiges of the past.

Educators and scientists have a long and rocky road to travel before overcoming generally the deep prejudices based on one huge counterproductive assumption. The same false assumption pushes the self-proclaimed Army of God (in U.S.) to help their fellow believers kill abortion doctors while lobbying against a pregnant woman’s right to choose what she can do with her body.

The problem of a young couple in love (4/2002) demonstrates more subtly how far religious harm can reach. The boyfriend writes desperately to a newspaper counselor for advice: “We are in our late 20s and are serious about each other. Problem is I was born in U.S. and she in Iran. She insists I become Muslim; I’m a Catholic though neither of us is very serious about religion, as such. However, if she tries to travel back to see her family in Iran after marrying a Christian she would be in real danger from the theocratic
Iranian government. What can I do without being a hypocrite and joining Islam as she insists?” The ‘counselor’ answered that she saw no way out of this dilemma. Of course, the dilemma would never have developed if both the lovers had been raised without religion or superstition or the customs based thereon.

The damages from belief-beyond-evidence do not have to be earthshaking to cause great pain. I think no one can estimate to what extent superstitious credulity damages society. The extent of religion’s harm is hinted at in the above-mentioned problems of
over-population, cheap power and abusive control of non-elected leaders over believers, thousands of divisive and competitive re-
ligions, the mental pollution of the naïve, the impediments to ground-breaking medical research, and the public and private terrorism that results when groups of believers dogmatically declare “We Are Right!” But whether the damage is small and subtle
or huge and obvious, the counter-productivity of unquestioning religious credulity remains incalculable. Christ is reported to have said, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit… By their fruit you will know them.” (Matthew 7:18-20)

SEQUITUR/NON SEQUITUR—ACCIDENTAL CREDULITY

A woman and a man are involved in a car accident; it’s a bad one. Both of their cars are totally demolished, but amazingly neither of them is hurt. After they crawl out of their cars, the woman says, “So you’re a man. That seems interesting. And I am a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There is nothing left, but we’re unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days.”

Flattered, the man replies, “Oh yes, I agree with you completely!”

“This must be a sign from God!” The woman continues, “and look at this, here’s another miracle. My car is completely demolished, but this bottle of wine didn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.” Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in greement, opens it, drinks half the bottle and then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts the cap back on,
and hands it back to the man.

The man asks, “Aren’t you having any?”

The woman replies, “No, I think I’ll just wait for the police…”

(Excerpt from pp. 71 – 79 of Imagine No Superstition)

Next Excerpt:
Guilt and Responsibility