RE: Suggestions for atheist framework
March 17, 2012 at 1:32 pm
(This post was last modified: March 17, 2012 at 1:38 pm by Whateverist.)
It is surprising just how much happiness making a garden can give you. (Not sure about "eternal" but so far so good, I'm not dead yet.)
Kidding aside, mralstoner, I watched the first of the videos and the 10 'aspirations' in the last one. I liked the first one better and I think he makes some good points. The main one I agree with is that there is no need to be rude toward theists. They're not going away any time soon. We will be living along side them for a very long time, and they with us whether they like it or not. It would behoove us all to strive less to win every possible concession and to try instead to promote the idea of win-win. You can enjoy your religion or mind set without feeling like you need everyone to adopt it. How in the world can we get Christians and Muslims to stop trying to make secular laws coincide with the bible or koran? I'm not sure it can be done but it needs to be done. If that means I have to stop telling theists that their beliefs are ridiculous, I can do that. People riding on dinosaurs, 6000 year old earth .. not in our public schools. But if people like my bible fearing cousin insist on home schooling their kids to keep them from learning science .. it's a bitter pill but I can swallow it. I agree that we need to think beyond being right about God and think more strategically about public policy objectives. Winning the hearts and minds is the game we're all playing now but one no one will ever win. Also we should think more about the value religion has added to people's lives apart from the factual incorrectness of their beliefs. Being a stone cold individual with no common values with any greater community may be enough, but maybe it imposes an unnecessarily austere and ascetic outlook. I accept that over the communal bliss of traditional religion of course, but maybe we should think more about what is possible and what is best.
Kidding aside, mralstoner, I watched the first of the videos and the 10 'aspirations' in the last one. I liked the first one better and I think he makes some good points. The main one I agree with is that there is no need to be rude toward theists. They're not going away any time soon. We will be living along side them for a very long time, and they with us whether they like it or not. It would behoove us all to strive less to win every possible concession and to try instead to promote the idea of win-win. You can enjoy your religion or mind set without feeling like you need everyone to adopt it. How in the world can we get Christians and Muslims to stop trying to make secular laws coincide with the bible or koran? I'm not sure it can be done but it needs to be done. If that means I have to stop telling theists that their beliefs are ridiculous, I can do that. People riding on dinosaurs, 6000 year old earth .. not in our public schools. But if people like my bible fearing cousin insist on home schooling their kids to keep them from learning science .. it's a bitter pill but I can swallow it. I agree that we need to think beyond being right about God and think more strategically about public policy objectives. Winning the hearts and minds is the game we're all playing now but one no one will ever win. Also we should think more about the value religion has added to people's lives apart from the factual incorrectness of their beliefs. Being a stone cold individual with no common values with any greater community may be enough, but maybe it imposes an unnecessarily austere and ascetic outlook. I accept that over the communal bliss of traditional religion of course, but maybe we should think more about what is possible and what is best.
