20250217 DOES RELIGION HINDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITY AND SCIENCE?
17 February 2025, Monday, 6th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 4:1-15,25 |
The mark of Cain
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘I have acquired a man with the help of the Lord’ she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for the Lord, while Abel for his part brought the first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head? But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?’ Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out’; and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.
The Lord asked Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I do not know’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s guardian?’ ‘What have you done?’ the Lord asked. ‘Listen to the sound of your brother’s blood, crying out to me from the ground. Now be accursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. When you till the ground it shall no longer yield you any of its produce. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth.’ Then Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today you drive me from this ground. I must hide from you, and be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth. Why, whoever comes across me will kill me!’ ‘Very well, then,’ the Lord replied ‘if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for him.’ So the Lord put a mark on Cain, to prevent whoever might come across him from striking him down.
Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Seth, ‘because God has granted me other offspring’ she said ‘in place of Abel, since Cain has killed him.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 49(50):1,8,16-17,20-21 |
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.’
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
‘But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds?
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
‘You who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?’
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 8:11-13 |
No sign shall be given to this generation
The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.
DOES RELIGION HINDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITY AND SCIENCE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GEN 4:1-15, 25; PS 50:1,8,16-17,20-21; MARK 8:11-13]
Today, many question the existence of God and seek proof. The Pharisees too, did not have faith in Jesus in spite of the fact that Jesus had performed many miracles – the feeding of the Four Thousand, (Mk 8:1-10) the healing of the man who was deaf and dumb, and delivering the Syrophoenician’s daughter from an evil spirit. (cf Mk 7:24-31) Jesus’ reaction was one of sadness and disappointment. “And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.'”
Is religion the cause of division and a hindrance to the development of humanity? This is the belief of secularists and humanists. They want to build an earthly paradise without God. They sincerely believe that religion destroys humanity because it is based on superstition and naivety; that it is the enemy of science and technology, and that it discriminates people – according to their perception of what is good and evil. Unlike relativism, where nothing is evil but just a matter of preference or contextualization and pragmatism. They believe that religion prevents people from exercising their full freedom to do what they want by constraining and curbing their choices through laws and rules, and puts fear into the hearts of people by threats of eternal punishment; that it makes us miserable by asking us to fast and to sacrifice ourselves for others instead of allowing us to enjoy ourselves to the fullest. They advocate that religion should be removed at all costs, if humanity were to flower and develop.
Secularism in truth is not new. It is as old as humanity. In fact, in the first reading, we read of Cain and Abel. Cain could be said to be the Father of Secularism and Humanism. He sought to build the earthly paradise without God. He wanted to do it without relying on God.
How did man end up as an atheist? Let us examine Cain, the exemplar of secularism and a humanism. He failed to acknowledge God as the source of all his blessings. He did not offer a pure sacrifice to God, unlike Abel. That was why the Lord rejected his offering because he was not sincere. “The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head?” The book of Proverbs affirms that “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when brought with evil intent.” (Prv 21:27) The responsorial psalm echoes this similar message. “I find no fault with your sacrifices, your offerings are always before me. But how can you recite my commandments and take my covenant on your lips, you who despise my law and throw my words to the winds? You who sit and malign your brother and slander your own mother’s son?”
The response today says, “Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.” We are called to offer sacrifices so that we will not forget that all we have come from Him alone. We own what we have and we should be happy to offer all that we have back to God because He is the bestower of all our gifts. Without His graciousness, we would not have anything in life. So we should recognize Him as the sovereign giver of gifts. Offering Him sacrifices is to remind ourselves of our place in this world. Cain was jealous of Abel because he failed to realize that his gifts were given to him by God. He thought that he earned the fruits of the harvest himself. When we offer our gifts to Him or give tithes, it is a way for us to thank Him.
Secondly, because Cain sought to build himself up without God, he became insecure and this led him to become ambitious. Because he could rely on no one but himself, he became jealous of the success of Abel and this led to further sins, ending in killing. The Lord warned Cain, “But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?” Cain allowed sin to devour him and lead him from one sin to another. St James said, “But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind” (Jms 3:14-16)
Isn’t ambition and insecurity the cause of division in the world where everyone wants to grab more for himself? This leads to selfishness, greed, envy, stealing and killing. When man can only depend on himself, he becomes inward-looking because self-preservation is a human instinct, since we all fear death.
Thirdly, he forgot that life came from God. Cain took the place of God and killed Abel. In killing Abel, he forgot that only God can take away our life because life is bestowed by Him alone. No one can create life. “‘What have you done?’ the Lord asked. ‘Listen to the sound of your brother’s blood, crying out to me from the ground. Now be accursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands.'” St John warned us, “We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.” (1 Jn 3:12)
Finally, like many of us, the loss of faith does not happen overnight. It is always preceded by the sin of disobedience and pride, before it ends in hostility against God. The sin of Cain began with pride; wanting to build an earthly paradise without God. This was a repeat of the sin of Adam and Eve because they, too, wanted to be like God without God. This led them to disobedience because of pride. So we read that after killing Abel, “Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Gn 4:16) Eventually, he went away from the Lord completely. He attempted to build a human civilization without God. (cf Gn 4:20f) This reached its height in the story of Babel when man sought to develop creation without God and to reach the heavens without Him. (cf Gn 11:3-9)
So is it true that religion causes division and dehumanizes man? Does faith in God impede the full development of humanity and unity among all? Does faith take away the freedom of man and hinder his growth? Does faith impede the progress of science? On the contrary, it is because of a lack of faith in God, that man, left to himself, supplanted the place of God, and caused the world to be more confused, having lost the ground of his existence, his origin and goal in life. We, too, must not be misled by humanism and secularism into thinking that the path to peace and development is dependent and reliant on our intellect and strength alone.
Indeed, without God, man makes himself gods. In the name of autonomy, every man becomes his own god and when there are many gods claiming to be right, division prevails because of half-truths and deception. It is because of the lack of faith, that science and technology are used for the destruction of humanity because it is without moral guidance and the capacity to do good. Science and technology are used to destroy peoples’ reputation, like propagating fake news, scamming ignorant people, leaking confidential matters, taking the lives of embryos, vulnerable babies and elderly demented people. Powerful technology is used for war, conquering territories and annihilating innocent lives.
Without God, man cannot explain his existence, his origin and purpose in life. He has no basis for morality because there are no objective principles for him to follow. His only purpose in life is to enjoy and indulge in pleasure, after which he would just disappear from the world. And with everyone seeking his own interests, how can the world ever be united in love, forgiveness and charity as one big family? We will all end up fighting with each other as is happening in the world, in society and even in our own families, over money and wealth. This will lead to the destruction of humanity.
It is true that religions can also divide and impede humanity because of the lack of wisdom and revelation. Not all religions are equally enlightened, just as not all human reasoning is rational and acceptable. Some religions only have rays of truth but not the fullness of truth, hence the disagreement among religions on certain doctrines. This is where dialogue remains the key to unity among religions and with secularists. It is not true that religion is the cause of disunity and impedes human development. On the contrary, religion seeks to grow in the fullness of truth and love. Faith is not against reason but reason enlightened by faith will enable all men and women to come to the fullness of truth and love.
If religion divides it is because of narrow-mindedness, selfishness, fear and ambition. True religion enriches life and sets people free to love authentically. It unites people regardless of who they are. True religion loves everyone, even sinners and criminals. It gives hope to people and inspires faith, it empowers people to develop their potentials to the fullest and become truly sons and daughters of God. So it is not true that religion hampers the growth and development of humanity. Only fanatics of a religion who misinterpret the faith or use their religion for selfish, ambitious and economic or political motives distort the beauty of their doctrines which teach love, compassion and forgiveness.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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