Many years ago
I moved to a very
inexpensive
little apartment complex
with not one
but two
angry fundamentalists.
One of their spawn
was attending
the local junior high school…
and in an effort
to build rapport
I asked what he thought
of Big Bang Theory.
The warmth
ran away from his face
replaced with all the solemnity
of pseudo-piety…
and in a cold voice
he slowly proclaimed
“I do NOT believe in it!”
“Oh no!”
I exclaimed
“I was not referring to
the cosmological theory…
but to the television sit-com
about nerdy professors
who can NOT seem
to get dates.”
Cheated
out of an opportunity
to debate
this dreadful pagan…
his visage softened
and he confessed
that he had NOT seen it.
Why had his
religious teachers
made the opposition
to astrophysics…
a tenant
of faith?
When religion
opposes science
little good
can come of it.
In fifth century Alexandria
the great: mathematician,
astronomer, and Physicist,
Hypatia…
was murdered
by minions of
Archbishop Cyril…
who associated
higher learning
with so called
paganism.
When religion
opposes science
little good
can come of it.
In eleventh century Baghdad,
at that time the center
of the scientific world…
the cleric Al Ghazali
rose to power
who insisted that mathematics
was the work of the devil.
When religion
opposes science
little good
can come of it.
And even last week,
in Virginia…
the Evangelical minister
Bishop Gerald Glenn
sadly died of Covid 19…
after defying
scientists’ warnings
against public gatherings
and insisting…
“…God is larger
than this dreadful
virus…”
When religion
opposes science
little good
can come of it.
Oh how ironic
that more
than two millennia ago…
a Jewish carpenter
is said
to have taught:
“…the truth
shall make you
free.”
The wise
do NOT fear
the rigors
of science…
understanding
that a little
inconvenience…
is much better
than a lot
of suffering.
Who can forget
in Return of the Jedi…
when Luke learned
the profoundly
inconvenient truth…
that his father
was NOT betrayed
by Darth Vader…
as much as he simply
became
Darth Vader.
If Luke
had hardened his heart,
and denied
the truth…
he might have
eventually
slayed Darth Vader…
and taken his place
as the Emperor’s
apprentice.
But he worked
through
his emotions…
and came to terms
with this truth
so thoroughly…
that he was able
to lead his father
back to the light.
Yes,
the truth
really can
set us free.
But do you know
who fears
the findings of science?
Those who value
money, or power, or prestige,
far more than they value
public health.
Like Exxon-Mobil
who first learned of climate change
back in 1977…
and who has spent
more than forty years…
obfuscating the issue
in the name
of quarterly profits.
When moneyed interests
oppose the truth…
and the politicians
they’re in bed with
oppose the truth…
and the religious leaders
they’re in bed with
oppose the truth…
NO good
can come
of it.
Come, let us cultivate
a vulnerable attitude
toward the truth…
be it glorious,
or be it grotesque…
by training
in the Buddha’s
contemplation,
and compassion…
that we
like Luke Skywalker
might meditate
like a Jedi.
Let us conclude
with a simple
call to action
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