Given the contradictions between science and religion, how do expect for our children to learn and excel in science when we teach them religion?

Religion, Sex and Relationships

If you think that the preferred method of having a baby is immaculate conception or if you think that sex is only for procreation and if you also think that we are supposed to mate and stay mated to the same person for a lifetime, then Houston we have a problem.  Christians, Muslims and Hebrews have all been filling our heads with these ideas for centuries, but are they correct, natural or better yet, workable in today's society?

When the idea of an immaculate conception is put forward as free from sin or corruption, it implies that conception by any other method is sinful or corrupt.  Try carrying that around in your subconscious psyche for a lifetime and the probability is good that you might have some sexual issues? The idea that sex is sinful is compounded by the concept that if you have to do this nasty thing (sex) then it should only be for procreation so that your children can then be born into sin (snicker).

And what about those “abominable homosexuals”? Surely their sex isn't natural?  I say of course it is!  Here is where I point out that homosexual activity has been recorded in almost every species that has ever been studied by man, this list includes birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, fish etc. for which there is documented evidence of homosexual or transgender behavior of one or more of the following kinds: sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding or parenting, as noted in researcher and author Bruce Bagemihl's 1999 book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity.  In addition to that, saying that sex organs are only for sex of a particular kind is like saying that the mouth is only for eating certain kinds of food. With our present knowledge, the birds and the bees has become far more complicated than the concepts of Bronze Age man, from which sprang the ideas of the bible.

While many Atheists and Free Thinkers have shed themselves of religiously ideology, yet they have retained the remnants of religious philosophy in their personal relationships. The primary reason that religious philosophy does not work is that its foundation is magical instead of logical. Miracles by definition are highly improbable or extraordinary events, developments, or accomplishments that bring very welcome consequences, but the key word here is "improbable", which means it is inconsistent.  Logic and science produce events that are predictable and manageable. I, for one, would not like to base my relationships on an everyday stream of miracles like the old magic eight ball that answered your question with a series of random general answers that you keep shaking until you get the answer you want.  Many of us still want the monogamous relationship when the evidence provided by studies in both humans and animals suggest that monogamy is the exception and not the rule.

So why do some of us still insist on finding the "one" for us and living happily ever after?  Because social indoctrination is a very powerful thing.  Advertisements selling you the latest SUV with room for the family, etc.  And while popular media with its very unreal housewives and bridezillas may be a turn off due to their over-the-topness , it doesn't turn you off to the concept of being a wife or a bride.  Men who want to be good guys struggle with their libidos (and their wallets) to fit into the religious template of what a good guy is.  If we all use the logic that brought us to the conclusion that there is no god or that religion is bunk, then we should learn to use that same logic in running our lives, at least then everything will make sense because logic is, if nothing else, consistent. If you are like many who struggle to find contentment in a relationship,, then you are probably using the wrong philosophy. You are trying to fit some, if not all of your relationship in the context of theist tradition. An inconsistent philosophy will yield inconsistent results but logic will lead us to the same place...a life of contentment.

Logic, The Language Of Gods

We have come to a time in our history when we have a means to understand beyond the superstitions of our ancestors. We have a tool in science that answers some of the questions and a formula called the scientific method that has the ambition to answer many more. Yet, many of us will remain willfully ignorant, fighting the wealth of knowledge that is at our fingertips by way of technology designed by science and not primitive mythology. It has come to a point where the decision is not whether we can know but if we choose to know. Sadly for some of us, the truth has become a conflict of interest.

Somethings are no longer up for debate. For instance, we know the world is more than 6,000 years old and we know that the sun and the stars were formed before the Earth. We know that it is impossible to come back from death or to walk on water (unless Jesus was surf boarding). So, let's dispense with this foolery.  Evolution is settled science and the reason we know this is because it is the same science that we trust in matters of medicine and of law--the same science that should have convicted Casey Anthony. But now that we have believed in fantastic tales for so long, we think that anything is possible but, no, it is not. Snakes don't talk and aggrieved mothers with missing children don't enter wet tee shirt contests.

Logic is the language of nature and if you must believe in a higher power or even a god, nature fits the bill. But don't try to put human feelings and attributes to nature because you'll become confused again. Nature has laws and rules and it is somewhat predictable and consistent if you know the science, if you know the language or the logical dialect because that is the language that nature speaks. Never be confused about life again, because logic is consistent. If you pray to it, it won't answer, just like your god won't except you know why nature doesn't because it doesn't claim to nor is it suppose to. So you don't waste your time trying to figure out if, when or how your prayers are going to be answered. I have this novel idea that if you want something, go work for it! There is no big fella up there favoring you over everyone else, you are not that special, regardless of what your preacher says when you pay your indoctrination fee, yes your offerings and your tithes.

Take my advice for a happier life, think outside the book and Goggle some science for some real answers.