The Temple for the Worship of Science

[strangewind]

A provacateur and artist has established the Atheon, a temple dedicated to the worship of science.

blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/can-science-rep.html

I think he may be asking a very good question that could have a really alluring (though not necessarily truthful) answer!

[newburydave]

Not really a new idea. Atheistic science is a religion. It always has been since it's inception.

The idea that "natural Laws", which we infer from the observation of the natural world, self exist without the need for a Logos to hold them all together; Coupled with the idea that chaos is not the true nature of reality is a wild leap in the dark that makes Christian faith look like real junior varsity stuff.

After all when we believe and pray we get answers and things change in us and in the world around us. All the Athiestic scientist gets are more questions, suicidal despair and a headache.

A preacher friend of mine preaches a sermon entitled "A place worse than Hell" about the Atheists view of the the universe. Since he used to be a science teacher he knows his stuff.

Really almost all of the pre-christian pagan temples were about the same as this new paganism. When man occupies the throne of the universe then all the gods are just sanctified human lusts and depravities.

[Christian Soldier]

I think such a thing would make a great basis for a story though. Picture it! There before you lies the Church. The One Church! The church of Man and Science! How alluring it would seem to those who need some form of religion! The head of the religion, as the representative of mankind, would be the Beast. Hmm... I think I just figured out something else about my SF universe that I hadn't really though of. I had planned for their to be some form of One World Religion, but didn't have a framework for it.

The problem with it, and it's ultimate strength for my story's purpose, would be that a Christian would see right through it, or most would at any rate. The thing is that by the time it becomes a problem, the Rapture would occur, or so I believe. Anyone else have any ideas on the subject?

[scintor]

I read an old Sci-Fi story along those lines, but I cant remember the name or who wrote it anymore. I just remember they used a Tesla machine to create light effects to entice the masses in and they had psychic "prophets' to tell them the future.

Scincerely,

[e-mail]

[Therin]

One of the special features on Where the Map Ends has something like that (some Cyberpunk short story by Frank Creed, I can't remember the title).

[mongoose]

I think you'd have to go one of three ways with the one world religion being the church of science (or whatever):

1. Christians ignored it and kept doing what they've always been doing, letting it sneak up on them, and now it's a problem. No, they weren't raptured, in this scenario, and now they have to deal with not being the predominant religion any more. How bad a thing is that? Does the one world religion persecute them? Is it really run by the beast, or is just yet another religion that more or less took over and is willing to co-exist with other religions?

2. Okay, so the rapture happened, and now you've got no Christians, so what's next? What's the point in this worship of science? What's its objective? What does it do now that it's taken over the world?

3. Use the story as a platform to justify your beliefs about when the rapture will occur, and to illustrate the way you believe end times events will play out, assuming the premise that the beast is the head of this church of science.

I don't see how you can include the rapture in the story without having to justify your beliefs about the rapture, whatever those might be. Unless you assume that your readership either agrees with you already, or will be easily swayed without any real argument. I guess the Left Behind series made one of those assumptions, and I've heard mostly negative reviews. I'm sure some enjoyed them, perhaps agreeing with their exegesis to begin with, and I suppose that's all right. But since I see room for debate on the issue I find myself arguing with the premise of the books, and thus unable to enjoy them.

So it is that for my story, I just assume a time of Tribulation prior to the rapture, whether or not it's the Great Tribulation I don't address the end times prophecies in the story, nor have I seen the need to do so. They're simply faced with a situation and they're dealing with it, much as people have been ever since the middle of the 1st century. I may get into what some of the characters believe about it, but no more than I would in a novel taking place in the present day (most would probably say we're not in the Great Tribulation at the moment, but those being persecuted might.) I'm able to play out the story of Christians in the end times while leaving the exegetical debates about when events take place along a time-line to theologians and those who choose that as their battle.

[torainfor]

Our church has just finished up a series on Amos. One of the themes the preacher pulled out was that the Israelites were worshiping Baal and Asherah because of their supposed control over the fertility of the land. God came down and smacked (or "smote" in KJV) the people by attacking the land. Kind of a "I'll show you who's really in charge, here."

If cancer rates increase, more wheat fields are plowed under for fuel corn, and the ozone layer disappears, people are going to look to scientists to save them--even Christians. It could even be propelled by the church as it comes to take its role as manager of the Earth more seriously. Pretty soon, though, they concentrate on the mission and not the One who gave them that mission.

Fast forward several years. The health of the people on the planet continues to spiral downward, and yet the people still look to science to save them. If a significant percentage of the population of the world suddenly disappears, I imagine those left behind would stick with science to figure out what happened.

[myrthman]

This idea intrigues me but I don't have anything to offer that hasn't already been said. However, it does remind me of two other institutions I've recently encountered in places that reminded me of temples of worship. A movie theater in San Antonio modeled after the Parthenon (where the god of entertainment is worshiped) and a library at a university (for his rival brother, the god of education). I guess these are just more reminders that people want God but don't know it and manifest that desire as worship of anything but God.

[scintor]

I'm reminded of the saying "people who don't believe in God don't believe in nothing, they will believe in anything." (paraphrased) I wish I remembered whoi said it originally.

Scincerely,

[e-mail]

[Spokane Flyboy]

It sounds close to the old saying, "Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything."

[Christian Soldier]

It's a good point regardless of who said it the first time. I've seen that in the military all over the place, but then again, it made having a pagan room mate more fun. There's just something about watching someone avoid a little black bottle with some odd writing on it.

[rwley]

Oct 20, 2008 4:42:45 GMT -5 Christian Soldier said:

It's a good point regardless of who said it the first time. I've seen that in the military all over the place, but then again, it made having a pagan room mate more fun. There's just something about watching someone avoid a little black bottle with some odd writing on it.

There's a story there . . .

RWL

[strangewind]

I agree that it is an old idea, but I think this is the first time someone has actually come out in modern times and "established" a religious order and iconography to support it so blatantly. Too often, the "scientific" "community" has retreated behind their brand of logic and academic "objective" thought to hide the religious faith that sometimes accompanies scientific belief.

Of course, the artist (and certainly those trapped, almost unwittingly, in the "religion of science") can always claim that this is just an "artistic" pursuit, having no relevance to "true science," but that too is just cover.

Here's a fun quiz, what famous fictional character once wrote:

"I have great hopes that we shall learn in due time how to emotionalise and mythologise their science to such an extent that what is, in effect, a belief in us (though not under that name) will creep in while the human mind remains closed to belief in the Enemy. The 'Life Force', the worship of sex, and some aspects of Psychoanalysis, may here prove useful. If once we can produce our perfect work -- the Materialist Magician, the man, not using, but veritably worshipping, what he vaguely calls 'Forces' while denying the existence of 'spirits' -- then the end of the war will be in sight."

[torainfor]

Sounds like the uncle in The Screwtape Letters.

[dizzyjam]

My thoughts too. "The Screwtape Letters".