Religion has not yet come to terms with the current technological revolution – no wonder it has little of relevance to say about genetic engineering and artificial
intelligence.

Islam, Christianity and other traditional religions are still important players in the world. Yet their role is now largely reactive.

In the past, they were a creative force. Christianity,for example, spread the hitherto heretical idea that all humans are equal before God, thereby changing human political structures, social hierarchies and even gender relations.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus went further, insisting that the meek and oppressed are God ’s favourite people, thus turning thepyramid of power on its head, and providing ammunition for generations of revolutionaries.

In addition to social and ethical reforms,
Christianity was responsible for important
economic andtechnological innovations.

The Catholic Church established medieval
Europe ’s most sophisticated administrative
system, and pioneered the use of archives,
catalogues, timetables , calender, dates and other techniques of data processing.

The Vatican was the closest thing twelfth-century Europe had to Silicon Valley. The Church established Europe ’s first
economic corporations – the monasteries –
which for 1 ,000years spearheaded the
European economy and introduced advanced
agricultural and administrative methods.
Monasteries were the first institutions to use
clocks, and for centuries they and the
cathedral schools were the most important
learning centres of Europe, helping to found
many of Europe ’s first universities, such as
Bologna, Oxford and Salamanca.

Today the Catholic Church continues to
enjoy the loyalties and tithes of hundreds of
millions offollowers. Yet it and the other
theist religions have long since turned from a
creative into a reactive force.

They are busy criticizing more than
with pioneering novel technologies, innovative
economic methods or groundbreaking social
ideas.

They now mostly agonise over the
technologies, methods and ideas propagated
by other movements.

Biologists invent the contraceptivepill – and the Pope doesn’t know what to do about it than to hinder it's use.

Computer scientists develop the Internet – and rabbis argue
whether orthodox Jews should be allowed to
surf it.

Feminist thinkers call upon women to
take possession of their bodies – and learned
muftis debate how to confront such incendiary
ideas.

Ask yourself: what was the most influential discovery, invention or creation
of the twentiethcentury? That’s a difficult
question, because it is hard to choose from
a long list of candidates, including scientific
discoveries such as antibiotics, technological
inventions such as computers, and ideological creations such as feminism.

Now ask yourself: what was the most influential discovery, invention or creation of traditional religions such as Islam and Christianity in the twentieth century? This too is a very difficult question, because there is so little to choose from.

What did priests, rabbis and muftis discover in the twentieth century that can be mentioned in the same breath as antibiotics, computers or feminism?

Having mulled over these two questions, from
where do you think the big changes of the
twenty-first century will emerge: from the
Islamic State, or from Google?

Yes, theIslamic State knows how to put videos on YouTube; but leaving aside the industry of
torture, how many new start-ups have emerged from Syria or Iraq lately?

Billions of people, including many scientists, continue to use religious scriptures as a source ofauthority, but these texts are no longer a source of creativity.

Think, for example, about the acceptance of female clergy by the more progressive branches of Christianity. Where
did this acceptance originate? Not from
reading the Bible, St Augustine or Martin
Luther. Rather, it came from reading texts like
Michel Foucault ’s The History of Sexuality
or Donna Haraway’s ‘A Cyborg Manifesto ’ .

Yet Christian true-believers – however
progressive – cannot admit to drawing their
ethics from Foucault and Haraway. So they go
back to the Bible, to St Augustine and to
Martin Luther,and make a very thorough
search.

They read page after page and story
after story with the utmost attention, until
they find what they need : some maxim,
parable or ruling that if interpreted creatively
enough mean that women can be ordained
to the priesthood.

They then conclude the idea
originated in the Bible, when in fact it
originated somewhere just to back up it up by biblical authority.

The Bible is kept as a source of authority, even though it is no longer a true source of inspiration.
That’s why traditional religions offer no
real alternative to liberalism. Their scriptures
don’t have anything to say about genetic
engineering or artificial intelligence, and most
priests, rabbis and muftis don’t understand
the latest breakthroughs in biology and
computer science.

For if you want to understand these breakthroughs, you don’t have much choice – you need to spend time reading scientific articles and conducting lab experiments instead of memorising and
debating ancient texts.

That is why today religion is seen as a spiritual guide. Nowadays when people are sick they first think about the hospital, when there is food scarcity or lack of amenities they blame the government.

Religion keeps going to obscurity. Those who brought religion to us and now leaving it to us.

Religion is and have alway been a scam.

Kalatium:
Religion has not yet come to terms with the current technological revolution – no wonder it has little of relevance to say about genetic engineering and artificial
intelligence.

You are just embarrassing yourself. Religion is not going anywhere. People are only doing as Nigerian politicians do in carpet crossing from one religion to another.

zangaozanga:
Religion is and have alway been a scam.

Says the people who scam others as a religion.

At a point in our history when humans didn't have an explanation for a lot of natural events, it was convenient and necessary to have religion and God as the raison d'etre.

But over the years, through hard work, science has been able to give a logical explanation.

As years go by and more scientific milestones get broken, the more religion will be put to the back seat.

So yes, traditional religion has expired, the new religion that is been born is data religion.

Organized religion, it has always been a scam. Its decreasing in Europe, US, Canada, Australia, and Asia. All nations in these continents that far surpass African ones in quality of education except South Africa. Even Muslims in the Middle East are leaving Islam than joinning.

But it seems Africa is becoming the new frontier for Islam and Christianity due to a lack of access to information and poor education overall. An example would be scientific theories that negate religious fantasy such as Evolution not being taught in nearly all schools in Africa with the exception of South Africa. Instead propaganda like creationism is taught.

Dtruthspeaker:


You are just embarrassing yourself. Religion is not going anywhere. People are only doing as Nigerian politicians do in carpet crossing from one religion to another.

Sometimes I wonder if you actually read before you comment.

Gradually losing relevance in 21st century doesn't mean it will disappear. It just won't be used to handle 21st century problems. But will remain as authority to religious folks.


Why do you think there is seperation between religion and state.

Thanks for sharing, @Kalatium

Glad you mentioned some of the positive ripple effects of new worldviews made possible through new belief systems

If by "religion" you mean the mindless following of some demagogue, yes, that mindset is harmful - and even strange.

Especially in this age when everyone who wants to can find out facts for himself and make up his own mind.

Thanks again

Kalatium:
In the past, they were a creative force. Christianity,for example, spread the hitherto heretical idea that all humans are equal before God, thereby changing human political structures, social hierarchies and even gender relations. ..

Religion keeps going to obscurity. Those who brought religion to us and now leaving it to us.

[quote author=Kalatium post=125220541]
Religion has not yet come to terms with the current technological revolution.[quote]

Instead of beating about the bush why not say what is in your heart regarding the confusion you're experiencing due to false religious ideas!

Well the true God gave man the privilege to go and make research regarding technology that's man's duty not God's!

Kalatium:


Sometimes I wonder if you actually read before you comment.

Gradually losing relevance in 21st century doesn't mean it will disappear. It just won't be used to handle 21st century problems. But will remain as authority to religious folks.

C'mon say the truth, you had disappearance in mind?

2) Till.the world ends, people will always pray to solve their problem of earnung a living, haveing a job, success at work, having food, safe travels, renting a house etc whether they like it or not.

Kalatium:

Why do you think there is seperation between religion and state.

Simply more violent men kicking out the catholic church the former champions of violence, from its assumption of physical and political rule over people.

And your issue is with the catholic devils, dont add Christ to it.

Dtruthspeaker:


C'mon say the truth, you had disappearance in mind?

2) Till.the world ends, people will always pray to solve their problem of earnung a living, haveing a job, success at work, having food, safe travels, renting a house etc whether they like it or not.



Simply more violent men kicking out the catholic church the former champions of violence, from its assumption of physical and political rule over people.

And your issue is with the catholic devils, dont add Christ to it.

Again. Pushing blames to catholic church as if they are not christians.

Religion will always be with us. Just that it will never have the power it had millennia ago.

Kalatium:


Again. Pushing blames to catholic church as if they are not christians.

Religion will always be with us. Just that it will never have the power it had millennia ago.

Catholic church are not Christians. They were politicians wearing robes using every power they could lay their.hands on to increase amass great wealth and control over people.