Perhaps what makes the schism between atheists and believers so acute is that we (both sides) aren't honoring the tremendous meaning ideas have in our collective lives. As an atheist, I have been accused of being arrogant and I have accused believers of the same! How can this be? Well, we are each convinced of the correctness of our beliefs and the incorrectness of the other guys beliefs. Yet, if you look at history, it is likely that the details of our respective belief systems will change over time. Scientists like to think they embrace change when, in fact, many scientific principles go the way of the dragons with great wailing and gnashing of teeth. We are no paragons of virtue when it comes to loosening our grasps on our "holy-grail of the moment". It is jarring, to say the least to let go a tightly held belief. Like scientists, persons of faith exhibit the same spectrum of symptoms of grief when aspects of their home churches change. Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Acceptance. We all experience these emotions when our ideas are challenged, or worse, exposed as fallacies. So, lets examine the place ideas hold in our hearts... their meanings and significance... to each of us as individuals and as a community as a whole.
Let us consider for a moment, what the world would be like if we extinguished from memory and appreciation, ideas that have run their useful courses. For example, I recently learned how to make butter. The image of the antique butter churn is enshrined in folklore throughout cultures, but what if, now that we can buy butter without ever touching a churn, we eradicated the knowledge of this age-old skill from the general public's memory banks. Lets just forget it, its old hat... outdated, useless and hard work at that! But, what I learned was that hand churned butter carries the flavors inherent in the cow's feed.... grass for instance. My hand-churned butter had the delicious hint of freshly mown grass! Heaven on a thick slice of country bread! So, I now have a memory of my experience of MY BUTTER. It has become part of me... part of my appeciation of the wonderful bounty and beauty in the world! But now, someone comes along and says to me "Hand-churning butter isn't the BEST way to make butter. WE KNOW that our modern production is more efficient and cost effective.". WELL! I would be defensive for sure! "My butter was sublime! Plus, it has the gravitas of an ageless pedigree! My way is clearly the TRUE way!". And we head for a clash of opinion on the value of an idea, perhaps (or perhaps not), past its prime. Old School, New School. Legacy, Innovation. A tension that has played out in every human endeavor and throughout our entire human history.
The tricky thing about this is, nobody wants to be seen as the one who is clinging to the past, and they certainly don't want it pointed out in public! It just hurts too much! It's humiliating. So, first we get angry! Then we deny. Then we bargain. And then? When it comes to defending our favorite ideas, we go back to the beginning and get angry again! The cycle continues. But why? Why do we have such a hard time changing paradigms? Why can't we look at outmoded ideas as pieces of great art, things to be honored and cherished and, when the time comes to let them take their rightful place in history. I'm glad somebody discovered how to churn wonderful hand-crafted butter, but I'm still glad I don't have to do it every day.
So, with obvious transparency, I make the comparison of artison butter-makers to the spiritually faithful-- proud of their heritage and mindful of their potential legacy. I am respectful of the values, human efforts, and sacrifices that have brought these diverse ideas to where they are today, but as an atheist, I wonder... where is the respect for new and different ideas, an acknowledgment of the human efforts and commitment that many have invested in developing new technologies and ideas that bring innovation. Ideas that, to one side seem heretical, are life-blood to the other.
Heresy - An opinion profoundy at odds with popular thought. Based on the ancient Greek word for "choice", it is, quite simply, a threat to the survival or evolution of an idea.
In my opinion, ideas WILL evolve. As long as humans have curiosity and the time to wonder, ideas will evolve. The killer question is, can we let them without killing each other in the process? We shall see.
