Amit Goswami, Ph.D.

The Issue of Secularism

Secularism is the separation of church and state. In the past this has worked for democracy. State carries out the democratic ideal of bring meaning to everyone in society. The church gives us the ethical canopy under which everyone pursues meaning. Unfortunately, the evolution of scientific materialism puts a monkey wrench in this equilibrium.

In this country, the progressive democrats who are supposed to advance the pursuit of meaning, follow (correctly) the vehicle of creativity for that advancement. But science is supposed to be one of those creative activities that democrats utterly approve. When science advocates a Godless materialism and meaningless existentialism, the democrats get thoroughly confused. Many of these confused democrats seems to be anti-religion even anti-ethics. How then can religious people trust them to be even-handed about religions and religious ethics? Continue reading…

Kennedy Gave Us the Moon, Can you take us farther, Mr. President?

Dear President Obama, Just a few months ago you ran on a platform of change; real change you said, change in which we can believe. Well, how many changes have you made which can be considered real? Something so real that it can be believed in ? Something so real that it might inspire us to make a few changes ourselves?

Oh, yes, Mr. President, everybody in a position of leadership knows that we Americans need to change. Without making changes in our cynical, wasteful and extravagant lifestyle, the problems we face today in America and the world cannot be solved. But you can help by showing us your resolve to make changes.

We have become cynical, Mr. President. Today, we have hardly any ideas, philosophy, or principles to believe in; no convictions to guide our lives and enable us to make real changes. How did it get this way? There have always been materialist among us with their hedonism and epicurean philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry, but their influence was limited. Then starting in the nineteen fifties, there came the scientific materialists, and with the discovery of the DNA’s double helix structure scientists became emboldened to challenge faith in unprecedented ways. First came the assertion that we can understand life itself starting from molecules. We will synthesize life in the laboratory, they said, and show that no vital force is necessary, and certainly no God to make little green apples.

Then came high energy physics and their extravagnt claim of, “Show us the money for high energy machines, and we will show you the elementary particles that are the building blocks of all things. And knowing that, we will investigate biology and psychology from first principles. Nothing will be out of reach of our mathematical savvy.” Continue reading…