Sir – In reply to Bob Forster’s letter, (March 10), contrary to Bob’s reasoning, religious indoctrination is the foundation of belief.
The building blocks of character development are solely dependent on knowledge with genetic influence. Knowledge can only be acquired through experiences, howsoever they may be gained.
The quality of decision making is directly proportionate to the degree of acquired knowledge. Because these conditions of character development precede any decision making process, “free will” becomes nothing more than the conclusion of a pre-conditioned decision. Unless there is another component to character development, then freedom of choice is established as a misconception.
Therefore, religious worship in all its endeavours is shown to be both futile and naïve. So can religious education really be in the best interest of children!
This principle also impacts on our understanding of punishment and the distribution of wealth, given that the widely accepted, but misguided, assumption that monetary advantage is the result of “free will”, and crime a chosen way of life, could not be further from fact. Environmentalism + Hereditarianism = Determinism. Can there be an alternative?
John Miles, Weston-on-the-Green
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