1) I think I know what you mean. But we are not robots right? I think there is a great amount of irrationality in the human being itself. I personally see reason or “The mind” as a tool rather than a goal in itself. And that’s my objection to the positivist approach. The mind solves one solution and create 2000 other problems with this one solution. SO maybe there is something that is even greater than the mind.
But still. The general rule is to question your own beliefs if you see a contradiction with science or with reason in general. That’s why I see creationism a pure madness. In fact, many mystics will tell you that evolution itself is a wake-up sign to the intelligence that created the universe in the first place. Yet these are all debatable issues.
2) I use religion in its original sense. That means “reestablishing a connection with the supreme being”. So when I see this kind of nonsense, I ask the same question that Renée Descartes has asked: “If reason in inherent to all of us, Would God (Descartes’s God is Reason itself) want us to be irrational”. So no. This is the kind of stuff that goes to trash in the very instant. It’s the same as believing the earth is 5600 years old while evidence says the age of the planet is 4,5 Billion year. This is the opposite of reason. So if Reason is inherent to us, we are supposed to use this reason. (The Quran says “don’t become a flock of animals” + it reminds us in many places by saying “Don’t you ever use your reason/intellect?”)
3) There are religious sects who combine a cocktail of religious beliefs with some scientific facts to create UFO cults or use mass hypnosis to make all their followers commit suicide at one point. Religious sects like Scientology are said to be exploiting people’s money and energy + the bodies of young female devotees for the personal good of the ruler of these sects. (And the Quran is against religious sects / I think religious sects should be completely banned). So the holder of any faith should always ask questions. I am thinking of the rising Hindu nationalism in India for instance. The Hindus I met were the most tolerant people of the world. So it is their duty to ask: - “Yes but, my religion is a religion of tolerance. India is the state of Ghandi. Why is this jerk telling me to hate Muslims (Who live in India since perhaps 1000 years. There is Christianity in India since more or less the time of Jesus). So I always say: Think, think and think
4) a) That’s the biggest problem of all believers. We are basically “trying” to make things happen within ourselves. I am a modern believer right? In my first day in this forum I met a more traditional believer (who believed in the Hijab etc.). The thing is: There is nothing I can say to him because it may turn out that in his life he is much more spiritual than I am with far more spiritual knowledge that I have. So we don’t really mess with these things
b) That’s a huge debate also. I’ve had my time of atheism also. And the reason was exactly what you said. I opened a translation of the Quran, Decided it was all nonsense and put it back in the bookshelf. Than decades passed, I became more spiritual and I began to seen some “stuff” not only in the Quran but in other books as well (including Greek mythology for instance, or in the Baghavad Gita as another example). So I decided to give it a chance. But the answer to your question is “Absolutely not.” I think if that happened. It would be just another mythology for me. But knowing that similar wisdom is present in the old and New Testament also I sort of decided to look at these teachings from a different angle.
And The Quran is telling us to have a sense of respect toward people who have great scientific and philosophical knowledge. If there is a part of “true religion” that can be irrational, well these are the mystics. And I am not there yet. But, (If I understanding correctly) mystics believe in a divine intelligence that is even greater than reason itself (or something like that) So reason is obsolete for them. And they would probably laugh at everything I am writing here. But that’s the world of Lao-Tse, Rumi, or St-Francis etc. You and me, we are not there yet
But still. The general rule is to question your own beliefs if you see a contradiction with science or with reason in general. That’s why I see creationism a pure madness. In fact, many mystics will tell you that evolution itself is a wake-up sign to the intelligence that created the universe in the first place. Yet these are all debatable issues.
2) I use religion in its original sense. That means “reestablishing a connection with the supreme being”. So when I see this kind of nonsense, I ask the same question that Renée Descartes has asked: “If reason in inherent to all of us, Would God (Descartes’s God is Reason itself) want us to be irrational”. So no. This is the kind of stuff that goes to trash in the very instant. It’s the same as believing the earth is 5600 years old while evidence says the age of the planet is 4,5 Billion year. This is the opposite of reason. So if Reason is inherent to us, we are supposed to use this reason. (The Quran says “don’t become a flock of animals” + it reminds us in many places by saying “Don’t you ever use your reason/intellect?”)
3) There are religious sects who combine a cocktail of religious beliefs with some scientific facts to create UFO cults or use mass hypnosis to make all their followers commit suicide at one point. Religious sects like Scientology are said to be exploiting people’s money and energy + the bodies of young female devotees for the personal good of the ruler of these sects. (And the Quran is against religious sects / I think religious sects should be completely banned). So the holder of any faith should always ask questions. I am thinking of the rising Hindu nationalism in India for instance. The Hindus I met were the most tolerant people of the world. So it is their duty to ask: - “Yes but, my religion is a religion of tolerance. India is the state of Ghandi. Why is this jerk telling me to hate Muslims (Who live in India since perhaps 1000 years. There is Christianity in India since more or less the time of Jesus). So I always say: Think, think and think
4) a) That’s the biggest problem of all believers. We are basically “trying” to make things happen within ourselves. I am a modern believer right? In my first day in this forum I met a more traditional believer (who believed in the Hijab etc.). The thing is: There is nothing I can say to him because it may turn out that in his life he is much more spiritual than I am with far more spiritual knowledge that I have. So we don’t really mess with these things
b) That’s a huge debate also. I’ve had my time of atheism also. And the reason was exactly what you said. I opened a translation of the Quran, Decided it was all nonsense and put it back in the bookshelf. Than decades passed, I became more spiritual and I began to seen some “stuff” not only in the Quran but in other books as well (including Greek mythology for instance, or in the Baghavad Gita as another example). So I decided to give it a chance. But the answer to your question is “Absolutely not.” I think if that happened. It would be just another mythology for me. But knowing that similar wisdom is present in the old and New Testament also I sort of decided to look at these teachings from a different angle.
And The Quran is telling us to have a sense of respect toward people who have great scientific and philosophical knowledge. If there is a part of “true religion” that can be irrational, well these are the mystics. And I am not there yet.
But, (If I understanding correctly) mystics believe in a divine intelligence that is even greater than reason itself (or something like that) So reason is obsolete for them. And they would probably laugh at everything I am writing here. But that’s the world of Lao-Tse, Rumi, or St-Francis etc. You and me, we are not there yet
