RE: Understanding/Sympathizing/forbearing people
February 8, 2012 at 7:05 am
(This post was last modified: February 8, 2012 at 7:13 am by Whateverist.)
We don't all seem to be using the word "respect" is the same way. It doesn't have to mean to "esteem highly".
I don't have to agree with someone's choices or feel they were the best choices possible to "respect" that they made the best choices they could from their point of view.
Someone who has grown up in a culture of praying and interpreting events in terms of God, is not necessarily being stupid or spineless when they don't accept rational arguments for rejecting gods. I think most of us recognize that we don't actually have conclusive evidence that God doesn't exist, we just demand a good reason for thinking He does in the first place. It is easy to overlook how deeply these sorts of beliefs that are inculcated from birth can go. You have to realize that the believer has assembled the world around these core beliefs. So it isn't so easy to remove the 'god delusion' as it would be for those of us in whom that belief never metastasized.
In evaluating the words and actions of believers I think it is reasonable to take into account context. As has been pointed out, I don't have to agree with them or think they make good points. For the most part, I respect someone if I think they are reasoning honestly given their core beliefs and acting with good intentions even if I wouldn't want the outcome. What really interests me is how profound, subtle and insightful the thinking of some theists can be. Bill Moyers is someone I'd love to have a chat with.
Now this forum is a special case. Anyone who wonders in here doesn't get to be completely oblivious to where they are and they have to show respect to those of us who are operating from different core beliefs than their own. If they are here to save us from our selves, they deserve what they get after they have been reminded we are not here for that. If they are here to try to understand how we can believe as we do, let those who wish to answer but rudeness is just uncalled for. Being right about god doesn't excuse poor manners. Unless we want this to be an atheists only club where you can count on preaching to the choir, we should be civil.
I don't have to agree with someone's choices or feel they were the best choices possible to "respect" that they made the best choices they could from their point of view.
Someone who has grown up in a culture of praying and interpreting events in terms of God, is not necessarily being stupid or spineless when they don't accept rational arguments for rejecting gods. I think most of us recognize that we don't actually have conclusive evidence that God doesn't exist, we just demand a good reason for thinking He does in the first place. It is easy to overlook how deeply these sorts of beliefs that are inculcated from birth can go. You have to realize that the believer has assembled the world around these core beliefs. So it isn't so easy to remove the 'god delusion' as it would be for those of us in whom that belief never metastasized.
In evaluating the words and actions of believers I think it is reasonable to take into account context. As has been pointed out, I don't have to agree with them or think they make good points. For the most part, I respect someone if I think they are reasoning honestly given their core beliefs and acting with good intentions even if I wouldn't want the outcome. What really interests me is how profound, subtle and insightful the thinking of some theists can be. Bill Moyers is someone I'd love to have a chat with.
Now this forum is a special case. Anyone who wonders in here doesn't get to be completely oblivious to where they are and they have to show respect to those of us who are operating from different core beliefs than their own. If they are here to save us from our selves, they deserve what they get after they have been reminded we are not here for that. If they are here to try to understand how we can believe as we do, let those who wish to answer but rudeness is just uncalled for. Being right about god doesn't excuse poor manners. Unless we want this to be an atheists only club where you can count on preaching to the choir, we should be civil.
