Fundamental Religions and Science

Ever wonder why the Islamic fundamentalists do not have weaponry equivalent to American firepower? If your answer is that Arabs just have no mental capacity for technology, you are wrong. Have you ever thought about where our numbering system came from? It was the Arabs that invented it. Christianity used to be based on the Roman numeral system. Compute ten plus ten = twenty in both systems. Roman system, X + X = XX Arabic system 10 + 10 = 20. Note the childish simplicity of Roman numerals, compared to the sophistication of the Arabic calculation. The problem with the Roman system is that it starts out super simple, but for more complicated math it is a nightmare, while the Arabic system handles complexity and easily scales up to very large numbers.

Back when Europe was going through the "Dark Ages", the Muslim world was far ahead of Christian countries in science and technology. You can check this website for some idea of their superiority, not only in mathematics, but in astronomy and celestial navigation.

The Muslims were not ahead of the Christians because of a difference in brain capacity. During the Dark Ages, a powerful religion that was suppressing freedom of thought and scientific inquiry in Europe. That religion was Christianity.

Soon after the Dark Ages in Europe ended, the tables began to turn. The Islamic religion became more fundamentalist, while Christianity was losing it's grip on Europe.

Think of the Soviet Union. Say what you will about the fatal flaws their economic system, they were able to match the USA weapon for weapon within 50 years. Not bad for a country that at the time of the Russian Revolution was as backward as any on earth. They did it by suppressing religion and promoting science. And it tells you something about the relationship between fundamentalist religions and advancements in technology.

Now you wonder why educated people are horrified at the Christian fundamentalists' attack on modern science. Forty years ago, the Christian fundamentalists were weak, and could safely be ignored/tolerated. It was not long before we found out that they were attracting millions of converts with TV ministries and building a powerful political machine. And finally, in 2000, they were able to take over control of the US government. It is only through the inertia of the system that they were not able to clean out all scientists and public education in eight years.

How long is the technological superiority going to stay? And does anyone care? Scientists sure do. The Christian Fundamentalists are oblivious of the source of their weaponry advantage over the Muslim's. Do they think it is because God loves America more that He makes sure they have the F16's and nuclear bombs, and the Muslim's have nothing?

Here is a link to a video defending science against the propaganda attacks by the Fundamental Christians. Ben Stein may not be a Christian, but he is representing the position of the Christian Fundamentalists. The narrator keeps calling Ben Stein "You Fool" but not out of rudeness, it is just what Ben Stein asked him to do (you hear it later in the video). I know it's not really funny or polite, but it does make sense after you watch the video. Note that this video is only part 22 of the series!