In the Battle Between Curiosity and Dogma, It's Time to Choose Sides

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the strange, paradoxical world we live in. We’ve made mind-blowing advances in science and technology, unlocking secrets of the universe that would have been unimaginable just a few generations ago. We’re talking quantum physics, genetic editing, exploring other planets—stuff straight out of science fiction. And yet, alongside all this progress, we’re still stuck in the muck of ancient superstitions and rigid dogmas that should have gone extinct by now.

It’s like we’re living in two different centuries at once. On one side, we have this incredible drive to explore, to question, to push the boundaries of what we know. On the other, there’s this powerful pull back into the comforting embrace of old stories—stories that, let’s be honest, have caused a lot of harm along the way.

What really baffles me is how these two worlds coexist in the same people. I mean, there are scientists out there—people who devote their lives to the pursuit of knowledge—who still believe in a supernatural being that controls everything. And I’m not talking about a vague belief in some higher power or a love of metaphorical stories; I’m talking about the full-on, old-school idea of a God who micromanages the universe and yet somehow leaves everything up to “free will.”

How does that even make sense? How can someone spend their days unraveling the mysteries of the natural world, then turn around and surrender all that curiosity at the feet of an ancient, man-made myth?

It’s not just a philosophical puzzle; it’s a problem with real-world consequences. Take climate change, for example. We’re facing the greatest existential threat of our time, and yet there’s a whole subset of people who refuse to act because they believe God gave us this planet to do with as we please. They see environmental stewardship as a threat to their religious freedom, as if their right to exploit the Earth trumps our collective need to save it.

And then there’s the absurd connection between Christianity and gun culture in the U.S. How did the teachings of a non-violent, peace-loving figure like Jesus get twisted into a justification for stockpiling weapons and glorifying violence? The same people who claim to be following Christ are often the ones most resistant to any form of gun control, screaming about their Second Amendment rights as if the Founding Fathers were inspired by the Bible to arm the masses.

It’s like they’re so caught up in defending their “freedoms” that they don’t see how they’re just trading one kind of submission for another. They’ll kneel at the altar of their religion, their guns, their chosen leaders, all the while claiming they’re the ones who are truly free. But what kind of freedom is that, really? It’s freedom as long as you stay within the lines they’ve drawn, freedom to conform, freedom to not think too hard.

The saddest part of all this is the missed potential. We have such a short time on this planet—just a handful of decades to live, to love, to wonder at the incredible world around us. When we let these old stories, these rigid beliefs, satisfy our curiosity, we stop asking the questions that really matter. We stop exploring, stop looking deeper, and in doing so, we cut ourselves off from the very thing that makes us human: our ability to wonder, to seek, to imagine something better.

I can’t help but think about all the progress we might have made, all the discoveries that could have been ours, if we hadn’t been so bogged down by these outdated, divisive ideas. The real tragedy isn’t just the harm these beliefs have caused—it’s the futures we’ve lost because of them.

But here’s the thing: it’s not too late. There’s still time to choose curiosity over dogma, exploration over blind faith. There’s still time to build a world where questions are encouraged, where imagination is celebrated, and where the stories we tell ourselves are ones that lift us up rather than hold us back.

So let’s start asking those questions again. Let’s refuse to settle for the easy answers. Let’s embrace the wonder of the unknown, and in doing so, let’s create a future that’s worthy of the potential we’ve always had.

Because in the end, it’s not faith that will save us—it’s the courage to question, to imagine, to explore. That’s where our true freedom lies.

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