Man Has An Insatiable Quest For Truth
By Hema Senanayake -August 9, 2013 |
Hema Senanayake
In a recent article to CT, Shyamon Jayasinghe quoting Albert Einstein concludes that “none-religious person can be a better moral being.” None-religious persons are known as atheists. There are semi-atheists too. One good thing about atheists is that they protect and will protect the freedom of religion in the world – And none of the religion is capable of doing this. To me the freedom of religion means not only the freedom to believe and practice any faith that does not harm others including the person who practices it, but also the freedom to debate about religious believes.
However my take about religion has a different dimension; it is about “truth” not essentially of making a good moral being. What is true will prevail. Who decides which is true and which is not? Whether we like it or not the modern science and the scientific investigation has already changed the way we live today and would change the way we live in future. Today, globally, the scientific investigation is the predominant way of determining what is true and what is false. For an example the Buddha had rejected the notion of creator God about 2600 years ago, but increasing number of people around the globe awaken to this reality when the scientists began to reject the notion of creator God.
Commenting on Shyamon Jayasinhe’s essay, one of CT’s readers quoted physicist Stephen Hawking for his view on the creator God. Stephan Hawking said “There is no need to have a creator as everything is created by nothing” Obviously Stephen Hawking’s statement must be based on the results of scientific investigation. Recently the CNN telecast a program about Stephen Hawking’s views on the God. Does his observation endorses certain religious beliefs and rejects certain religious beliefs? Whatever the case is, the science will decide the future religious beliefs; the science will take its own course and religions that will mend will survive. This means the standing of religion or even the validity of atheism is not only judged on its ability to make a better moral being, instead the man’s intrinsic quest for “truth” decides what is to believe or what is not.
