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Chapter 1
Facts vs. Myths

When you stand at the top of a grassy hill or on the roof of a very tall building and look into the night sky, your feeling of smallness is created by the immensity of the space out there and the enormous number of moving objects, most of which you cannot see. At the same time, one’s mind is flooded with a feeling of being a participant in an enormous process including not only the objects in the sky above but also those surrounding you and those beneath your feet. One’s sense of wonder is increased still further by the realization that Earth on which you stand has a circumference of about 24,000 miles and, with you on it, is turning so fast it makes a complete rotation in a single day. Thus, although you think you are standing still, you are actually moving at a speed of about 1000 miles per hour. Furthermore, gravity, which makes an object fall to the ground, also is holding you to the surface of Earth. These brief statements about the nature of the universe are based on the findings of science. They are so well verified that they are used extensively in our daily lives, industry and in space exploration such as orbiting the Earth, launching of satellites, establishing a space station, planning for sending shuttles to the space station, sending a manned trip to the moon, a robot to Mars, and maintaining a high-powered telescope out on the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. When one considers the numerous ways those and other scientific findings have been used in our daily lives one can only wonder why so many religions still cling to their ancient beliefs about the Universe and Earth. For example, although the concepts may have seemed wondrous to the Biblical scribes writing Genesis, the Universe known to them cannot compare to the confirmed facts of science. To them, the heavens were a fixed dome, containing immovable stars and suspended above the flat sea and land below. Instead of Earth rotating to provide day and night, the Sun was believed to move around Earth. The Moon and, to some extent, the immovable stars, provided light during the night. The lands and the sea were believed to be flat.

Because of the wide differences between the above beliefs supported by the findings of science and the beliefs of many religions, let’s examine the nature of a belief and its relationship to a fact. A belief is one step in the ordinary fact-finding function of the human brain. For example Mary and John want to locate the house where Mary’s cousin lives. They know the neighborhood but do not know the exact location of the house. Therefore, upon arriving in the neighborhood, they engage in fact-finding. They knock on a door and ask for directions. They are told that the home of Mary’s cousin is the white house in the next block, with a low picket fence in front along the sidewalk. Mary and John accept the information as a belief. If, upon arrival at the indicated house, Mary’s cousin greets them at the door, their belief is supported by fact. However, someone may open the door that is not Mary’s cousin and has never heard of Mary’s cousin. One can say the belief in the address of Mary’s cousin was based on false information. If, despite the facts, Mary her husband continue to believe Mary lives in that white house, their belief is based on a myth. Therefore, the partial description of the Universe stated above is a belief based on facts from scientific findings. On the other hand, the belief provided by the Biblical scribes is based on ancient myths. As we have in this chapter, the following chapters will continue to compare the facts of science and cultural history with current religious beliefs.