Many people of science reject religion primarily because of its resistance to scientific progress, its dismal and horrible record, its hypocrisy and sadly also its cruelty.
Microbiology professor,John Postgate wrote: "The world’s religions have brought the horrors of human sacrifice, the crusades, pogroms and the inquisitions. In the modern world this darker side of religion has become very dangerous. For unlike science, religion is not neutral."
When comparing what is said by Postgate with the assumed rationality, objectivity, and discipline of science, then Postgate is claiming that "science has come to occupy the high ground of morality."
Is that true though? Has science then become irreprehensible,faultless,impeccable,exemplary and blameless? Should science be taking the moral high ground? The answer is NO.
John Postgate himself admitted that "scientific communities have their share of jealousy, greed, prejudices and envy."
A few scientists have shown themselves to be capable of murder in the name of research, as happened in Nazi Germany and Japanese prison camps during World War 2.
Also National Geographic magazine at one time assigned an investigative reporter to find out how come a fossil hoax ended up in its pages. It led to a major scandal when evidence demonstrated it to be a forgery through further scientific study. The forgery was constructed from rearranged pieces of real fossils from different species.
The reporter then went on to speak of "a tale of misguided secrecy and misplaced confidence, of rampant egos clashing, self-aggrandizement, wishful thinking, naive assumptions, human error, stubbornness, manipulation, backbiting, lying, and even corruption."
A lot of so-called "blameless" activity by the "morally good" scientist wouldn't you say.
Remember too that it was science that gave mankind the horrific instruments of warfare, such as weapons-grade disease organisms, poison gas, all kinds of missiles, the "smart" bombs,precision-guided munition or PGM's and then off course nuclear bombs.
American physicist,Richard Phillips Feynman (May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) once pointed out that "Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts...It is not unscientific to make a guess, although many people who are not in science think it is...God was invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
References:
1.www.real-science.com.
2.National Geographic.
3.John Postgate.
4.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman.
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