Comment by dist-epoch
15 hours ago
In the past the elite would rule the plebs by saying "God says so, so you must do this".
Today the elites rule the plebs by saying "Science sasy so, so you must do this".
Author doesn't seem to understand this, the purpose of research papers is to be gospel, something to be believed, not scrutinized.
In fact, religious ideas (at least in Europe) were often in opposition to the ruling elite (and still are) and even inspired rebellion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ball_(priest)
There is a reason scriptures were kept away from the oppressed, or only made available to them in a heavily censored form (e.g. the Slaves Bible).
That's a very good point. Some of what's called "science" today, in popular media and coming from governments, is religion. "We know all, do not question us." It's the common problem of headlines along the lines of "scientists say" or "The Science says", which should always be a red flag - but the majority of people believe it.
A little more complicated than that.
In the past, the elites said "don't read the religious texts, WE will tell you what's in them."
That's a misunderstanding. There were plenty of ancient and medieval translations of the Bible, but the Bible itself wasn't as central as it is today.
Catholic and Orthodox Christianity do not focus as much on the Bible as Protestant Christianity. They are based on the tradition, of which the Bible is only a part, while the Protestant Reformation elevated the Bible above the tradition. (By a tortured analogy, you could say that Catholicism and Orthodoxy are common law Christianity, while Protestantism is civil law Christianity.)
From a Catholic or Orthodox perspective, there is a living tradition from the days of Jesus and the Apostles to present day. Some parts of it were written down and became the New Testament, but the parts that were left out were equally important. You cannot therefore understand the Bible without understanding the tradition, because it's only a partial account.
Scientists say that today too, it's a standard response if people outside of academia critique their work. "That person is not an expert" - totally normal response, it's taken to be a killer rebuttal by journalists and politicians.
Not exactly...in the past the Bible was literally not allowed to be translated from Latin into local languages. Ordinary people were 100% reliant on the elites to tell them what was in it.
1 reply →