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Columns & Articles
Articles by Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman
| GlobalThink.com. Friday, April 01, 2005 |
| Like other Americans, I am a woman of faith: I have faith that people can think, despite all evidence to the contrary. Some of my fellow citizens have faith that the Bible is the direct word of God and that the values of human beings 2,000 years ago are valid today. Faith is belief in something that cannot be proven. At Easter time this year, my faith was sorely tested by the scandalous spectacle of politicians and religious fanatics inserting themselves in what should have been a family dispute on the care of a severely brain damaged woman. We were once more polarized between those who believe that life is valuable at any cost and those who believe in life with quality. The former fight fiercely against abortion (which they see as murder of a person) and against any sort of end-of-life termination, even when it is the will of a conscious and suffering person. The other side (happily the vast majority) believes that abortion should be rare but available and that families have the right to decide when heroic life sustaining technology should be discontinued. Most of us believe that quality of life if more important than life at any cost, according to polls taken during the final days of Terri Schiavo’s life. They find the behavior of Congress, religious protesters, and the President and his brother unseemly. This was not a divide between Democrats and Republicans, but rather a divide between biblical literalists (and politicians) and the rest of us who do not want government in our bedrooms or hospices. There is another issue of literalism versus reason in pitting the Biblical creation myth (God created the earth in seven days) against modern science. Science does not pretend to have “eternal truth;” as we are capable of learning and understanding more about the universe, we change our views. Knowledge is a growing body, which is very different from the acceptance of the inadequate worldview of our ancient ancestors as unchanging truth. What did people of 2,500 years ago, who did not even have the technology of the wheelbarrow, know about the nature of this world? What could people who believed in demonic possession know about epilepsy, or people who believed that "unbelievers" should be killed know about democracy and freedom of thought? When I was eight, I was old enough to walk to the library where I discovered a book about how the earth began with a big bang and how over time life evolved. I was fascinated with this procession and was particularly hooked by the dinosaurs. In parts of this country today, I wouldn’t be surprised if evolution books are under lock and key by librarians. I remember, too, seeing Disney’s movie Fantasia, a wonderful exploration of classical music for children with the music accompanied by cartoons. Igor Stravinsky’s The Rites of Spring was accompanied by a cartoon that started with the big bang and ended with the death of the dinosaurs. There were no pickets outside the theater then, but today, Imax pulled its wonderful cinema about the birth of a volcano from southern theaters because it mentions evolution. The scientist who made this film is disgusted. Being a woman of faith, I harbor the fond belief that this mindless frenzy is a temporary aberration, a last hurrah of ignorance, and that reason will once more prevail. There is enough wonder in the world for our spirits—the cycle of the moon, the stars at night, the seeds sprouting into flowers and fruit, the birth of a new member of our family, the peaceful death of a grandmother whose life was well lived—to make us grateful for our lives. We do not need hysteria and stupidity to be fully human. 667 words Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman is a historian, lecturer, and author of Strange Birds from Zoroaster’s Nest and God’s Law or Man’s Law. You may contact her at Lfarhat102@aol.com or visit her website at www.globalthink.net. |