(September 22, 2017 at 1:24 am)Astonished Wrote:(September 22, 2017 at 12:47 am)Kernel Sohcahtoa Wrote: Well said. Out of curiosity, if someone does want to believe in a deity, then what's wrong with people exercising some creativity and free thought that is not confined to the current religious thought patterns? IMO, if such free thought were exercised in this domain, then perhaps new thought patterns may emerge, which might actually produce unambiguous, credible arguments and evidence for the existence of a deity-like lifeform (whatever that is); thus, providing religions with new insights that may provide a clearer direction toward spiritual truth. However, this is assuming that practitioners of religion would actually like to pursue spiritual truth, especially if it means embracing new/unfamiliar thought patterns, and are not just interested in the comforts of social control and maintaining the status quo regardless of how backwards it may be.
It seems to me like that pursuit would just break down in meaninglessness. Science and philosophy are both better off without dealing with the pseudospiritual domain. Yes, we'd be better off if every stringent theist adopted this sort of practice instead but ultimately there's still no good that will come of it. That whole enterprise is a philosophical dead end (or gangrenous limb).
You might be right about it breaking down into meaninglessness. However, perhaps such a breakdown is a necessary step toward creating one's own meaning/value and distancing oneself from obtaining meaning via dogmatism and the suppression of different ways of thinking.
