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Originally Posted by Stormcaller  What I see with all the Richard Dawkins book advocates is the same as what I see with the Bible advocates. ....
Can't you both see your arguments against each other are sometimes arrogant and ignorant? |
I may have stepped into this pile of p ... uh, thread without realizing it started with a Dawkins-oriented POV. I don't buy Dawkins either, pretty much for the reasons you state, nor am I an atheist. I am what I would term a "soft agnostic" -- I am pretty sure there is or was a god, just don't know how relevant god is to practical living or how involved he really is, and don't think he has a whole lot of regard for us. He is not the indulgent, glorified human that many make him out to be.
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Originally Posted by Stormcaller But can't the anti-religious people see that their hate for dogmatic rules and quest for "truth" is based on a similarly biased opinion that all mass
beliefs are wrong. |
I wouldn't judge a belief based on the number of adherents. Millions of people believing something doesn't make it so ... millions of people not believing something doesn't make it false. Any belief has to be judged on its merits, viz., how well it actually fits with reality as best as can be determined. Most beliefs have some worthwhile nugget of truth within them that can be gleaned for what it's worth. Some have surprising amounts of validity.
I get a little strident with Christianity mainly because it is a widely held belief that generally gets a free ride and badly needs some rigor in its thinking. I get a little strident with it because at least as delivered to me, it so ill-served me and ill-equipped me for life and I have seen this happen to others, too.
I'm actually more empathetic to Christianity than your run of the mill axe-grinding atheist because I understand its appeal and its promise from the inside. Quite aways further inside than most people, actually.
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Originally Posted by Stormcaller You have beliefs too whether you know it or not. You can not live without belief... and I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean it physically...Just because you do not trust religion, does not mean you are belief-less. |
We are on the same page then.
Avoiding belief is both impossible and not the problem. The challenge is finding beliefs that are reality based and do not limit our growth and potential.
--Bob