We all believe in something or someone. We must believe, just as we must eat, sleep, and reproduce. (46) {{U}}Mankind has an insatiable need for and an irresistible attraction to a vast array of beliefs about gods and demons, magic and miracles, truth and falsehood, love and hate, same and different.{{/U}}
Implausible, even irrational ideas, have been cherished for centuries. Saints and other martyrs suffered indescribable pain and agony, even death, for their beliefs. Scientists have been put to death for their belief that the earth is round, or that there is an invisible force called gravity, or that the earth is not the center of the universe with the sun revolving around it, or that the blood circulates throughout the body, or that Man evolved from lower forms of life. (47) {{U}}Religious leaders have attracted millions of people with their version of how life began and how we must behave; if people do not believe in medicine and science religion, education, government and the social contract, chaos results 'and no society can tolerate that which is why all societies impose order on their members.{{/U}}
We must believe or face unbearable ambiguity and anxiety. Is the most effective belief system one that is composed of absolutes—unyielding, unvarying and eternal? (48) {{U}}The answer is yes. because when we eliminate doubt from a situation we feel secure, restored to balance but if the belief system is science and is based on objective information without absolutes and requires a questioning attitude, it unnerves people.{{/U}} Any system that offers definitive answers to complex human questions and problems: this is right, this is wrong, this is true, this is false — one question, one answer only, is very appealing. (49) {{U}}All beliefs require confirmation from an authoritative source whether that be a priest, a rabbi, a family member, a special friend, an expert — one who commands obedience and respect.{{/U}} Perhaps all belief is composed of the same elements in approximately the same proportions for even science requires a suspension of some disbelief, some uncertainty, however miniscule. Black Holes and the Big Bang are metaphoric truths derived from the physics we know now.
But you have to believe, to have faith in the methods of science to gather information, to analyse and interpret it objectively in order to accept its conclusions. No one witnessed the Big Bang, or a Black Hole. These were inferred from careful study and analysis by many researchers. (50) {{U}}Fear of the unknown certainly lends credence to any charismatic figure who makes great promises of a better life now and after death, which has worked throughout the ages and still does.{{/U}}