Honesty over loyalty

If you look at the rise of fundamentalism in the last century and a half, you see the rise of dishonesty in behalf of 'traditional' faith, which has recently been on my mind. Science is good and trusted, and people shape their beliefs to match the truth, in the full assurance that their faith will eventually converge with the science. People like William George Jordan and our own James Talmage personify this way of thought.

Unfortunately, as the science progresses, it completely contradicts the tenderly held faith. In order to save their faith, people make their beliefs the unchangeable truths and fit the science around their tenets. Pretty soon you have a divide that is hard to cross, because people are willing to piously lie in behalf of their beliefs, instead of accepting honesty and evidence as their credo.

Fundamentalism is born of intentionally turning away from honest examination of evidence. Sometimes I feel like our forebears, 100 years ago, failed us by refusing to recognize truth, as if that would make the truth go away. And now today we live in a nation of hypocrisy.

There are many people, including myself, who justify themselves in keeping up a façade so as to not 'hurt' others who don't want to see reality, but we're just pushing the problem onto future generations. In the meantime, it's the honest among us that are the most hurt.

I think the time may soon be upon us, what with the resources now at our disposal, that the honest will need to make a stand. Many already have, and I am impressed by the candidness and bravery exhibited. It means more hurt and more pain in the short run, but it will save our children and their children from having to go through it themselves. I believe the way has and is being carved by the suffrage, anti-apartheid, civil rights, and gay rights movements.

All this to say, perhaps things would have been different if our forebears valued honesty above loyalty. Unfortunately, loyalty seems to be built in. Maybe we can save the next generation the same trouble, if we have an honesty over loyalty movement.

A good credo that would get on people's nerves could be, "I believe that the God of this universe values my honesty over my devotion". Can you really argue with that? Why else would loyalty give us the crusades and honesty the microwave oven?