religion
Posts about religion, skepticism, and how it fits into the scientific world.
Space (Part II - Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle)
In my last article, I discussed William Gibson's cyberpunk classic Neuromancer as a key text in the convergence between science fiction and postmodernism. This time, I want to stay right on the cusp and consider the case of Kurt Vonnegut, who happens to be the writer who made me want to be one myself someday.
M. Thomas GammarinoPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Greece and Rome
Sometimes science fiction returns to the past for places, people, and themes to enrich its mind-journeys into the future. Such is the case with these sci-fi movies, TV episodes, and works of fiction, each one drawing from the ancient worlds of Greece or Rome to dress its story. Brit Marling, a screenplay co-writer of Another Earth, says that this isn’t really surprising. “We’re retelling the same dramas from Ancient Greece,” Marling said. “These stories are so fundamentally old, the mythology that they come from, the hero’s journey — the way a narrative works. Science allows you to take the same story and see it from a new perspective because the science is always new and fresh.” Science fiction’s interest in the ancient world goes beyond mere allusion, as in the middle name of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Tiberius, in case you’re wondering, was a somber, reclusive Roman ruler who nevertheless left the empire in a better state than he found it). If you’re deeply interested in how the speculative worlds of the future and the worlds of ancient Rome and Greece intersect, you may be interested in a serious paper by academic Tony Keen, “The 'T' stands for Tiberius: models and methodologies of classical reception in science fiction.” If that sounds a little heavy, enjoy the following summary of a few times when togas, laurel wreaths, aliens, and spaceships partied it up in one crazy combination.
Sarah QuinnPublished 8 years ago in FuturismIs Transhumanism The Answer To Death?
There is one thing we know for sure about our future, we are all going to die. Ray Kurzweil and the transhumanist crew may disagree. They argue technology is the key to immortality. But for those still hooked into a biological perspective the future ends with old age, probably sickness, and death.
Jasun HorsleyPublished 8 years ago in FuturismMost Sadistic Cults of the 20th Century
"Don't drink the Kool-Aid" doesn't sound like such an important warning, but if the People's Temple followers in Jonestown would've been given this advice, over 900 lives would have been saved. Until September 11th, the largest loss of American civilian life occurred when cult members of the People's Temple ingested fruit punch that was laced with cyanide in a mass suicide. Cults are both fascinating and terrifying. Their mystery draws the attention of the public, but the often brutal and radical ways of cults instill fear. Some of the deadliest cults since the 1950's may not be the most well known, but their attacks were brutal, and their unconventional views attracted individuals to support their dangerous causes. As a result, when the 10:00 news asks, "Do you know where your children are?" you better hope they're not joining a cult with a 16-year-old who claims to be a 500-year-old vampire. Individuals of all ages join cults for many reasons; whether it is for friendship or identity, or as a result of pressure, people are constantly joining ranks among the masses to be part of a movement that they believe in. Since the 1930's, cults have been a primary subject in sociological study. Cults are made up of people from all walks of life, and are formed all over the world. The reasons why vary—from the belief that they themselves are vampires, to the idea that children born after 1981 must be terminated because they are evil.
George GottPublished 8 years ago in FuturismThe Five Holy Wounds of a Second Coming
9:00 am –– Thursday, April 14th 2033 There wasn't any room for the light. It could echo and bounce with no destination beyond entropic, move along little light. Presenter understood this, he felt most at home in the shadows, and their molesting reach dimming the flesh, dimming the speckled reminders. Pushing his sweat damaged linens off his gaunt frame, Presenter’s now upright body took aim at its beckoning stage. Joints cracked, or were they bones? Doesn't matter. He moved onwards, rising from the bed. The cracked and crusted eye sockets of his pale face were wiped and cleared, christened with the softness of the escaping sunlight. He wet his eyes with a yawn and unburdened himself with a throat clearing cough; reluctant to focus his sight, the parabolic flight of expulsion went unknown. Firmly composed, a blasé pace took Presenter over the refuse and across the threshold; entering the open concept kitchen, obeying his mandate.
Joseph SomersPublished 8 years ago in FuturismHistory of Scientology
I’m not going to insult your intelligence by assuming you haven’t heard of Scientology. The whole topic is a briar pit of controversies and hyperbole. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the eccentric religion, or
Izzy ErlichPublished 8 years ago in FuturismWhat Is the Bahai Faith?
As long as there has been religion, there has been conflict over which is the true religion. Humankind has been going to war over gods and customs for tens of thousands of years. Sometimes religion is a convenient mask for secular disputes over land, such as in the Israeli conflicts with Egypt and Syria. Sometimes it is the backdrop of cultural conflicts like terrorist activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or an old grudge like India and Pakistan. From ancient times to suicide bombers on the streets of Peshwar, the major religions have struggled against each other over claims of being the one true religion.
Joshua Samuel ZookPublished 8 years ago in FuturismWhy Presidents Swear on the Bible
Symbolism is not always what it seems. Presidents swear on a Bible. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Do they actually believe in the deity whose purported book, religion, and ideals are sworn over and, by definition, are therefore the judge of their success? Are all our presidents, according to accepted scientific belief, swearing over a book that may have no more truth in it than Lord of the Rings. Did Eve talk to snakes? Did Frodo talk to a dragon? In an age of deteriorating numbers of true believers, and a resurgence of science as the authority, why do the leaders of our country swear over what half the country believes is a book written by men in their pursuit of organized and institutional religion. Where is the separation of church and state, when the first act as president is religiously symbolic? Maybe they should swear over Frank Herbert’s Dune or George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. Or perhaps the best idea would be to swear over the constitution. God should have very little to do with it, irrespective of traditions. The perception that it is a requirement is wrong. There have been notable presidents who have not sworn over a religious book. Irrespective of their religious beliefs, they did not confuse their duties to America with God.
Joshua Samuel ZookPublished 8 years ago in FuturismWhat is Kabbalah?
There’s a tale my grandfather told me. He explained he heard it many a time at Military Intelligence in London, when the candles guttered low and the fog curled about the windows. It happened in 1914, when England was losing the first world war and it seemed only a miracle could save her. There was this writer, name of Arthur Machen, never popular or well known, a bloody Welshman in fact and a mystic to boot. Well (they say), this Welshman, this Machen, took it into his head to write a story about the kind of miracle England needed, so he imagined St. George himself leading a group of medieval archers to aid the English troops at Mons. And after the story was published in a magazine, some enterprising newspapers picked it up and reprinted it as fact. And (they say) the whole damned country was gullible enough to believe it. It did as much for national morale as the real miracle would have.
Robert Anton WilsonPublished 8 years ago in FuturismWhat Everyone Should Know About Osho
The entry ticket to the Osho Commune International in Poona, India, is a hospital certificate stating that your blood has tested negative for the AIDS virus within the past month. If you haven't brought a certificate with you to India, you submit to the needle at the local hospital. After picking up the form a few hours later, you walk several blocks to the commune through the crowded, dusty, diesel smelling streets of the city, which is located about 120 miles southeast of Bombay. You enter the commune through a gate manned by robed guards. Past that point, you are surrounded by an 11-acre Edenic world that's designed to defeat death.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in FuturismMysticism Guide
In the West, we choose between countless different brands and models of automobile and canned string bean; Now, with the blooming of eastern mysticism in our midst, we must shop among a vast proliferation of ways to heaven, a chaotic spiritual supermarket where no consumer commission sets guidelines. Mysticism, older than science or logic, offers umpteen intuitive and direct ways to happiness and wisdom. Don't be a careless shopper. Can you really afford the tens of thousands of dollars it might take to be saved by Scientology? Have you considered the hardships Mel Lyman's Karma Squad might impose on you? Are you aware, in short, of just what's cooking in your favored cult? In this article, the major cults and sects active today are outlined, along with a handy guide to costs, survival-potential, guru-biographies, and what to expect for your mind and body. Welcome to the wonderful world of mysticism.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in FuturismEvolution of Cults
The decline of secret "orders" like the Masons has been balanced by new and weirder quasi-religious sects, which intrigue science-surfeited youngsters with obscure philosophies. The 60s brought with it hippies saying it was the Worst of Times. Respond to the polluted air and the putrid rivers and the unsafe streets by leaving the cities altogether, they said. Dance in tune with nature out beyond cemented-over civilization to find your authentic self. Most of us are not about to take that step, yet we have embraced their entire array of neo-religions, para-religions, pseudo-religions. In a word, cults.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in Futurism