The comedian Chris Rock once memorably (although not hilariously, to me) suggested that his primary role as a father of daughters is to ensure that they don't end up on the pole... the stripper pole.
As a scientist, my primary role as a father is to keep my kids out of cults. That's my nightmare, as it would be the source of my eternal shame.
My parents and most of my family practice a very moderate and loving iteration of Christianity, but buried under layers of warm hugs and family worships are some very dangerous ideas:
- We will not always understand why we do certain things.
- We believe things even when faced with evidence to the contrary.
- We will receive our reward in the afterlife.
You know who else speaks this way? Cult leaders!!! So fast forward 15 years from now, and one of my daughters tells me that she's dropping out of school or selling all her stuff to join a fellowship of believers led by some clown in a toga. If all her life I've praised the virtues of relying on faith and ignoring evidence, what recourse do I have? If she doesn't understand the value of evidence in comparison to faith, I might as well kiss her goodbye.
Christianity isn't just a way of life, but it's also a way of thinking about evidence, facts, and our feelings. It would be awesome if we could trust our faith and our feelings to protect us from harmful cults and ridiculous beliefs, but we have enough, uhhh... evidence... to know that isn't true. People fall for dumb ass doctrines all the time, but not my daughters dammit! They will learn that evidence, logic and reason can help us to overcome our biases and narrow perspective of the world.
These tools force us to reconcile what feels true with what is known about the world as observed through more objective lenses. And if they understand that, they can work all the poles they want.
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About the Author:
Luther Reads is a scientist. Well, he's actually an engineer, but they're also scientists, right? *draws Venn diagram*
