Apostasy

We live in troubled times, where it's hard to know who or what to believe any more. From nonexistent WMDs in Iraq to nonexistent stem cell lines in South Korea, the heroic authority figures of our time are revealed to be purveyors of fraudulent and unsupportable claims.

Turning away from some broadly held political, cultural, religious, or scientific belief is rapidly becoming an everyday occurrence.

And so we have dissidents, infidels, nonbelievers, critics, antagonists, detractors, deniers, iconoclasts, free thinkers, rebels, sceptics, debunkers, heretics, whistleblowers, and apostates, all of whom depart and turn away from some widely held belief.

I've never met anybody who both understood Taoism and then turned away from it. I suppose if that ever happened, they'd write a best seller called The Pooh of Tao.

I'm rather fond of the theological notion of Apostasy, as the term lends a certain dignity to the process of turning away from a previous belief.

Turning away from a popular belief is an unpopular move, which is probably why erroneous beliefs remain popular long beyond the point where their falsehood has become manifestly apparent to those who bother to critically examine their blithe presuppositions.

If there is an Intelligent Designer, I wish he would make an appearance this holiday season and nudge people in the direction of designing more reliable belief systems.