The Opiate of the Masses

“Discoveries about the natural world, especially an alien planet, should amaze everyone. The religious can be amazed at how God decided to put the universe together. The non-religious can share in the awe of the natural world, with the promise of more discoveries around the corner. It's sad Ray that you don't have this feeling of awe...” Chris.

Chris, I would be grateful if you didn’t refer to me (and other Christians) as “religious.” I think I can speak on their behalf. If you are a little confused as to why we don’t like being called that, let me give you a comparison that you may think is extreme, but as far as I am concerned, it’s not. It’s like the difference between the words “African-American” and the “n” word. One is culturally acceptable. The other has extremely negative connotations.

I want to distance myself from the hypocrisy, the greed, the pedophilia, and the dead tradition of religion. Marx rightly called it the "opiate of the masses."

The feeling of awe that you get at the promise of new discoveries is a tiny part of what Christians feel in knowing God. You get a sense of awe because you see the creation. We are overawed beyond words because we know the Creator. I would like to be able to give you another comparison between those two experiences, but I can’t think of any because they are so far apart.

When I look at the magnificence of the Grand Canyon, or the incredible power of Niagara Falls, or the sun, the stars, birds, flowers, elephants, lions, etc.--all of this amazing creation--I don’t just see the creation, I see the wonder, the glory, and the power of the Creator.

I haven’t always been this way. I used to think that I could see, but I was blind until I came to know Him who said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Consider what the Bible says about praising God's creation and ignoring the Creator: “Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened” (Romans 1:21, Amplified Bible).