Religion, like life, is better lived than debated

I followed with amusement an online debate on religion at the webpage of the Worldwide Filipino Alliance. I had lost track of it when I went on vacation in the Philippines and a tour in Hong Kong and Shenzen in China. Back from my vacation, I was amazed to find out that the debate is still on.
Personally, I have no appetite for a debate on religion which has been going on for a long time but has gone nowhere. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had predicted that Christianity would have been gone a hundred years from his time but the religion is still very much around.
Erstwhile unknown neuroscientist Sam Harris shot to fame with his books "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" but his popularity loses steam after the initial fervor for his tomes waned. Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author of the bestseller "God Delusion," has stopped debating with the theists.
Despite the advances science has achieved since Copernicus had disproved the Church's belief that the sun revolves around the earth, most people have not abandoned the faith. It's simple because spirituality has been part of human existence.
Darwinists believe that religion is a byproduct of human evolution. Anthropologists like Barbara King, for instance, argue that the religious mind developed in keeping with the growth of the hominid brain that tripled in size at its peak about 500,000 years ago.
Darwin's theory of evolution has undoubtedly made a big crack on the religious belief that Adam and Eve are the descendants of the human race but has not stopped people from their spiritual pursuits. Materialist science has breed such movements as theosophy, a mix of theology and philosophy, and intelligent design, a movement led by scientists who believe that human evolution is guided by divine hands.
This is because science has its own shortcomings. Darwin's theory of evolution has not given an adequate answer to questions like why do birds have wings, spiders have eight legs while some animals have four. Neuroscience, which has been trying to prove that the soul is an illusion created in the brain, has been stuck in the problem of qualla or people's subjective experiences.
Every discovery that science has made has always been followed by more questions that continue to beg for answers. Science has discovered black holes and dark energy but has no explanation on why they are there and what role do they play in the whole cosmic scheme. Science is an infant being bedazzled by life's mysteries.
Debate on religion often brings animosity. In the debate at the WFA website, some atheists call the creationists morons as if they have the monopoly of the human intellect or wisdom. Throughout the debate, both sides traded insults.
Religion is a sensitive issue that, despite our claim to reason, would draw out our emotion. Until we find the elusive "absolute truth", our faith is better lived or practiced than being debated. Our belief or disbelief is but a product of our individual experiences.
My poltergeist experience (please see my previous blog The Poltergeist Mystery), the strength and peace of mind I draw from my Faith, our intuitive mind and life's uncertainties always remind me that there's more to life than what science and human reason can offer.

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