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    Diaries of Dissension: A Case Against the Irrational and Absurd
    Diaries of Dissension: A Case Against the Irrational and Absurd
    Diaries of Dissension: A Case Against the Irrational and Absurd
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    Diaries of Dissension: A Case Against the Irrational and Absurd

    By Tommy Rodriguez

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    Have you ever questioned the premise of your religious faith? Tommy Rodriguez certainly has. In fact, he is no stranger to questioning conventional wisdom. Having spent most of his adult life contemplating over such things, Rodriguez learned a thing or two about his religion that eventually sent him spiraling down a path of dissension and doubt. His first book entitled, Diaries of Dissension, proposes the question is religion a legitimate source of truth? Rodriguez embarks on a self-illuminating quest to answer this question, plus many more.

    Years of scientific research have led Rodriguez to value the importance of skeptical inquiry. Written for the non-specialist, this book seeks to propagate a public understanding for science education. In doing so, Rodriguez pursues the ambitious task of taking on the tenets of religion in order to resolve humanitys most profound questions, while invoking a few surprising twists that Rodriguez foresees as an inescapable predicament to religious faith.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateMay 14, 2012
    ISBN9781475919349
    Diaries of Dissension: A Case Against the Irrational and Absurd
    Author

    Tommy Rodriguez

    With a diverse background in the life sciences and other technology related fields, Tommy Rodriguez has spent more than a decade putting his research from pen to paper. Submiting and publishing his work through various internationally-known peer-reviewed journals, he compiled much of his research in computational phylogenetics to share with you.

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      Book preview

      Diaries of Dissension - Tommy Rodriguez

      Copyright © 2012 Tommy Rodriguez.

      www.tommyrodriguez.com

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4759-1933-2 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4759-1934-9 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012907413

      iUniverse rev. date: 09/03/2015

      Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by Zondervan Corporation.

      CONTENTS

      Chapter 1 As a Matter of Fact

      Chapter 2 A Majestic Universe

      Chapter 3 Life, Diversity, And Biological Evolution

      Chapter 4 Lies, Contradictions, and Plain Absurdities

      Chapter 5 Moral Implications

      Chapter 6 Creation Science Is Not Science

      Chapter 7 A Secular Approach

      Chapter 8 Final Destination

      Chapter 9 Notes

      To the memory of my loving grandfather,

      Lazaro Celestino Reyes.

      Pipo, gracias por todo.

      CHAPTER 1

      AS A MATTER OF FACT

      A man is accepted into a church for what he believes and he is turned out for what he knows.

      —Mark Twain

      We are all born atheists. This is not an opinion; it is a fact. We are not born with dispositions toward one religion or another. Religion is taught. What religion you are born into mostly depends on geography and culture. For example, if you are born in Saudi Arabia, you will most likely learn Islam as a primary religion. In contrast, if you are born in Italy, you will most likely learn Christianity. Religion is learned, as is the language one speaks and other cultural customs one adopts along the way.

      I suppose my religious experiences growing up were not much different from those of any regular, moderate person of the Christian faith living in the United States. To be more specific, I was raised in the Catholic tradition, in a Cuban American household where Sunday church was merely an occasional thing. The presence of paintings and statues around my household depicting Catholic saints was the norm. Like those who came before me, I accepted the fundamentals of Christianity. I believed in God, even though I could not see him or touch him. I truly believed he was there, watching over me and taking close care of family members and friends. I also believed I could communicate with this God through prayer and meditation. I believed he had a plan just for me and that one day I was going to join him in heaven, like any other devout Christian who accepted his message. All in all, I embraced the basics of my faith.

      I will admit, I was not terribly religious. On Sundays, I hardly ever attended church with the family, for instance, or cared much for worship like some people close to me. But regardless of my inconsistencies as a practicing Catholic, I did truly believe. I did pray, probably on a daily basis. I barely read the Bible as a youngster, but I did read it often enough to become familiar with the stories and Scripture, and I accepted every word written in it.

      I remember having sporadic moments of rebellion against my faith. Perhaps it was my curious nature that sparked these brief moments of clarity, or maybe it was just the defiance of a normal teenage boy growing up and learning to challenge authority. These brief episodes were not long lasting. My childlike ignorance held no significant weight against the religious propaganda machine that was very much present at home, in school, and in social circles. Feelings of guilt and fear of alienation usually followed these short stints, and within a short period of time, I quickly found myself right back where I started—accepting conventional wisdom, even though my logic told me otherwise.

      This sort of behavior did not sit well with my parents and close relatives, of course. Like many other Catholic families, it is also taboo in my own to question our faith. But I’ve always had a habit of thinking things through very deeply. This approach was apparent in me, even as an adolescent. I remember asking all sorts of unusual questions that sometimes stumped grown-ups and teachers. I wanted to know everything and was hardly satisfied with the customary answers.

      I was the eldest of three siblings from both my natural parents, but no doubt I was much different from them. For example, as a seven-year-old, I recall asking Santa Claus to bring me a telescope for Christmas rather than the toy car, board game, or football that was expected of a boy my age. Even in elementary school, I still remember visiting the public library on field trips. While most of my classmates interested themselves in fictional stories or comic books, I was more intrigued by books about the solar system, dinosaurs, animals, chemistry, and other science-related material. Surely this natural curiosity and thoughtful approach was eventually later going to be instrumental in molding my skeptical outlook; though, through it all and regardless of these hints of things to come, I remained unmoved, traditional, and for the most part, committed to my faith. At that age—young, ignorant, and unaware—I was unsuspecting of the obvious distinctions and contradictions I would later uncover.

      But not too long ago, something in me changed. I don’t recall the exact moment. It was certainly a gradual process, not an overnight transition. It wasn’t one specific thing or another or even a certain event that triggered it. Several factors played a role, and by my early twenties, I had a rational explosion of certitude that was in complete opposition to everything I was taught to believe growing up. I now began to seriously question my faith. Moreover, I began to doubt it.

      Leading up to this point, I could no longer ignore my sentiments toward religion. A strong desire to share my internal struggles indeed animated me to write this book. I am no longer a stranger to emphasizing the negative implications of religion and the actions of religious extremists. More recently, in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001, I have made a continual effort to stay informed about world affairs and all things political. As a result of my political and worldly interests, I started entertaining new secular concepts and ideas—ideas that have helped me develop a compassionate regard for social injustice. This provoked me for the first time to openly express my displeasure and dissatisfaction for religious institutions and their historical involvement in world suffering.

      By the time I graduated from college, my agnosticism began to gain momentum. A formal education in the biological sciences only added fuel to the fire. My academic background, for me at least, is profound beyond words. It is primarily on the foundation of a high-level college education in both science and history that I base my secular convictions. Being academically literate has opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities and a whole new concept of identity.

      Initially, I met mildly aggressive opposition to my viewpoints from many friends and family members. My willingness to openly oppose religion and God would sometimes spark intense debates with relatives at family reunions or with religious friends at social gatherings. Many of these discussions would take us late into the night and usually resulted in discontent from my counterparts. It was almost as if all topics were on the table for discussion and all issues could be contested, unless, however, we were discussing God or religion. I find that sort of double standard unacceptable.

      This of course was my first real taste of the problem that can arise when debating religion and God with people of faith—that unwillingness to discuss issues pertaining to religion and the lack of open-mindedness needed to entertain new, revolutionary ideas. Perhaps it may be a byproduct of fear, or just plain ignorance. But whichever it is, people often seem to revert back to the same argument every time. It is simply this: all of their divine claims, all of their heavenly arguments, all of this lay on the shoulders of one thing—faith. I might point out that religious faith is by definition a belief not supported by evidence. It truly isn’t anything to brag about. So, I would ask myself, What do they have to go on? What makes them so certain about their claims? Why is believing in something without having tangible proof considered a good thing?

      Consequences of Religious Faith

      Religious faith is not at all harmful when kept at the personal level. In fact, I am an advocate of this right to worship freely. It is, fundamentally, every person’s right to believe in whatever way he or she sees fit, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the lives of others. But religious faith doesn’t always

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