I have read another book from my teacher Richard Dawkins. Funny, where I like him most is not on the subject of evolutionary biology, which is his supposed specialty, but on religions, at which he lashes out mercilessly.
According to him, the human mind can become infected with something akin to computer viruses. If the virus were a religion What signs or symptoms characteristic possess the victim? According to Richard, they would be:
- The patient feels compelled by a deep inner conviction to believe in something, that has nothing to do with evidence or reason. Doctors refer to such beliefs with the name of "faith".
- The idea that the lack of evidence is a virtue, reinforces the belief.
- The "mystery" itself is a good thing: the mystery of transubstantiation, the Trinity, the virginal conception, and so on.
- The victim attacks believers of rival faiths, reaching, in extreme cases, to death. It can also be violent against the apostates and heretics. It is particularly hostile to scientific reasoning. Especially harmful is the virus of "suicide mission."
- The most important variable in determining the professed religion is the accident of birth. The virus can be transmitted horizontally as measles, but is unlikely.
- The patient's inner feelings can remember at an alarming rate to those ordinarily associated with sexual love.
But the virus does not always win. Many children have come out unscathed from the worst that nuns and mullahs had to throw. It is the optimistic message.
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