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Science of course, is the ultimate methodology in the gaining and understanding of knowledge. The concept of science started with ancient Greek geniuses such as Aristotle and Pythagoras. As time went on, its methods were improved, and Renaissance geniuses such as Galileo and Copernicus helped to create the scientific method as it is today.
The rejection of science and the acceptance of faith is truly a cultic property of an organization. It might not always seem that obvious to those who never think about it, but such behavior is truly dangerous not only to members of a cult, but non-members too, as well as the whole planet.
A long time ago, when we didn't have much knowledge or any concept of how to learn knowledge, we often believed in things that simply weren't true, and we made up our own explanations to answer the questions we had about our existence. This is how many of our religions, which consisted of the supernatural and deities, were formed. Through science, we started to actually learn the real truth, and we could explain things now, and know how things really happen, instead of believing folklore. Through science, most religions today such as Christianity and Islam have been discredited and verified as untrue. It is through science, that we have gone from hunter and gatherer cavepersons to the advanced civilizations we have today.
However, religions still exist, as it has been very difficult to introduce many persons who were raised to believe in the old ways to the new ways of science and true knowledge, and to properly teach them and to inscribe this true knowledge into them. This is because so many persons are still too used to knowing the incorrect teachings they were taught beforehand. They are just too comfortable believing in their gods and goddesses.
Also, many religions teach negative concepts concerning morality. Such as, persons enjoy not having to answer to civilized authorities when doing something wrong. They would rather just pray to a god to forgive them, and this makes their behavior justified in their minds. Basically, this excuses them from having to act in a moral manner. Just as well, many religions teach negative concepts concerning social involvement. Such as, many persons who are still religious are encouraged to pray rather than to learn, and that it is more important to worship than to contribute to the civilization they are a part of. Also, as it was very common in the olden days, persons of dominant religions still believe that if they reject their religion and accept science, that their gods will punish them and that they will be tortured when they die. In other words, there are still so many religious persons who are still just too superstitious to let science give them true knowledge.
In addition to all of this, churches actively teach against science because they know that science will lead members away from them and will no longer want to be members of the church. Because those who are religious must ignore evidence and believe what they do without such evidence, they are forced to base their beliefs on faith instead. Believing in faith means you believe in something simply because you want to believe it, not because there is any evidence to support it.
When you believe in something on faith, rather than evidence, you are simply believing in something only because you want to, and which is not supported by science and thus is probably not really true at all. Accepting religion through faith and rejecting science through evidence is unwise, dangerous, and immoral. It is because of science that we have unlocked so many mysteries of the universe and our existence. It is because of science that we have all of the great technologies we do today. It is because of science that we have reduced the suffering of those who are ill and have extended the lives of so many persons. All religion has ever done is made us believe in things that weren't true, with the addition of making weak-minded superstitious persons starting wars, killing others, making the lives of all persons as miserable as possible, and limiting and even throwing back the progress that the human race has accomplished on this planet. Imagine if everyone believed in a flat earth, talking serpents, and angry gods. Unfortunately, there are those religious fools who still believe in these very things!
The Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) is of course, a religion, so it should be no surprise that they still believe in many false teachings and believe in things like deities and magic. Also, as with many religions, they reject science by basing their beliefs on faith rather than evidence. They have the principal philosophy of "living by faith, not by sight", which is very cultic, since it is extremely dangerous to live life with this kind of attitude. While some cults pretty much eliminate all scientific benefits as they possibly can, the 4th Watch does not do this. For instance, some cults refuse to drive cars or use electricity. That is not the case with the 4th Watch cult. In fact, they embrace advanced technologies when they can, using computers and going on TV to spread their message. However, even though they have no problem with enjoying the benefits and knowledge that science has brought them, they still dismiss much of what science has done for the world, while still believing in their religious nonsense, and dismissing the importance of science itself. In other words, they find joy in ridiculing science while enjoy benefiting from it.
The 4th Watch church discourages the use of science for several reasons. Among these reasons is that 4th Watchers like many other religious persons, are just too used to the teachings of their parents which they were brought up in. Many 4th Watchers are just too comfortable believing in what they believe, such as their god and their apostle. The 4th Watch is very cultic in the way it encourages prayer and worship, and they encourage such behavior such as worship over study, prayer over medicine, and church attendance over work. With attitudes that cause these behaviors, science is also deemed not as important, and faith always encouraged over evidence.
Also, as with many religions and especially cults, the 4th Watch teaches that accepting science over religion is behavior which deserves the punishment of their god, and members are threatened with not only punishment, but death and suffering in hellfire for the rest of their lives after they die. The 4th Watch members are just way too superstitious to reject their religion and accept science. Further more, the cult knows that science has the potential to lure members away from the cult into mainstream organizations, particularly secular ones. This is not good for the 4th Watch or their apostle, as the more members learn about science, the less control he will have and the more potential there is for members to leave the cult. And that of course, means less money and power for the cult leader.
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