Holy Wars

Among my friends and others, I have a reputation for sometimes having controversial or irreverent views. (Go figure, South Park is one of my favorite TV shows.) It seems to me that most of the time when people get offended, it's by something petty or trivial. I always want to tell them to stop and ask themselves "Are my beliefs or opinions really that fragile that I can't be presented with signs of other people's beliefs or opinions?"

It was in that mindset I wrote my recent column "Holy Wars" for today's Diamondback about how to strike a balance between secularism and religion in the United States. Given that I chided secular people for their hostility toward religious people, and the latter for constantly trying to push their beliefs on others, it was predictable that I drew fire from both sides. But I also found a lot of people who agreed with me, which was heartening in that it proves the polarized wings are not the majority.

Sample grab:

Despite caricature-worthy cases like the Westboro evangelists, crazy demagogues constitute a distinct minority of the population. The vast majority of religious Americans are good, decent, ordinary people. They should not be patronized, insulted or generalized as stupid folk from the South or Midwest.

Less hostility toward religion would go a long way toward defusing cultural tension. There is no need to continually deride obvious inconsistencies, outmoded thinking and immoral actions committed in centuries-old religious tradition. Regardless of the downside of rigid and literal interpretation, it should be obvious that the moral and humanitarian side of religion is a positive.

...I have several reminders for people of faith as well...one person's particular beliefs are not the only ones in existence. No one maintains a monopoly on what everyone should think. Respect the beliefs of people who belong to another religion, no religion or some religion.

I conclude by acknowledging that many aspects of America's values have been strongly influenced by religion but that the U.S. must remain a fundamentally secular nation. Click here to read the whole article.

Theory: Eat Fetuses, Gain Superpowers

It's been a while since I've mentioned anything from my bi-weekly column in the Diamondback, the University of Maryland's independent student newspaper. Topics I've written about recently include money management for students and cultural cliques overdone. In my column today, I adapted a recent blog post to discuss the presence of science in pop culture. Sample grab:

...we have segments of the population dismissing evolution because they've never seen a monkey turn into a person, or because they think a "theory," to quote Isaac Asimov, "is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night." (Recall the evangelist from Borat who insisted "I is what I is!") Pro-evolution people, meanwhile, make their job more difficult when they disrespect their opponents' religious convictions. For some reason, telling people that they are idiots with vivid imaginations isn't the most persuasive argument.

We have people who think that unless we all switch to hybrid cars ASAP, an ice age will wipe out coastal cities (and benefit the Republican Party, of course). We also have people who think that climate change can't be real because one guy wearing a lab coat out in Fargo, N.D., disagrees. (Hey, he sure looks like a scientist.) Thus, they say, there must be no consensus on global warming.

We have opposition to stem cell research based on "pro-life" beliefs, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of surplus blastocysts are routinely discarded by fertility clinics instead of having even a fraction of those used to try and save lives. We also have people who would mislead you into believing that the only thing standing between a disease-free world is big, bad President Bush. (I particularly enjoyed the South Park episode which showed the late paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve gaining superpowers from eating dead fetuses.)

Click here to read the whole article.

Dungy to Rest of NFL: Zeus Smites You

This post is imported from my group sports blog, Da Sports Authority."

Does God hate the Chicago Bears? I can't seem to find the big fella's cellphone number to call and ask Him, so my best guess as to how He feels comes from statements from the Indianapolis Colts' camp.

After the Colts' Sunday victory in the Super Bowl, coach Tony Dungy attributed their success to "showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way." His comments echoed Colts' owner Jim Irsay, who said "we're giving it all to God again because that's what got us here."

People in the sports world invoking God is not news--it's done on a routine basis. But I always find it amusing that these athletes or coaches or whoever are presumptuous enough to assume that, if there is a higher being, God or Allah or Christina or whoever has a rooting interest in the outcome. Even if the Almighty deigned to choose a favorite squadron, it's probably not yours--that whole "meek shall inherit the earth" thing sounds a lot like it came from an Arizona Cardinals fan.

I'm fine with an athlete saying that his inspiration is due to his relationship with God--how you find motivation and balance in life is up to you. but it should stop there. Despite what Dallas Cowboys' fans might think, there is no such thing as "God's Team," and religion should be dealt with on an individual basis, not applied to a team as a whole.

Just in case I'm wrong though, I have no problem with Joe Gibbs' monthly tradition of sacrificing six goats and a virgin if it will help the Redskins back to glory next year.