(June 2, 2013 at 3:13 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Suddenly? Pretty sure that they already think they're using it "the right way" .......? Who am I to argue, it's their damned cult.
I know, I know. It was a hypothetical question to get at the root of what bothers him. I realized the problems with it as I was typing, but I didn't think it prudent to go into them.
(June 2, 2013 at 3:23 pm)Rationalman Wrote: If their religion affected absolutely nothing in the world and didn't change their behaviour at all then yes I would be fine with them being theists. However this is not the case. Religious beliefs cause wars and conflicts and is a regular excuse for murder and the oppression of women.
I know they do, and I know my question wasn't a realistic one. I think it's important, however, to differentiate between a person's beliefs and their actions. Sure, beliefs influence actions, but they don't necessarily have to.
Rationalman Wrote:Even then I'm not sure if I would be OK with theists, they way they think and see the world (in my opinion) is wrong. They want to know how life began and what the purpose of it is but they aren't prepared to work for it. They are scared of not knowing so they just blindly accept their religion. I'm fine with not knowing how the universe began and i'm not arrogant enough to assert that I do know. Also religion teaches blind faith as a virtue rather than something to be stamped out. Basically it teaches you what to think and not how to think.
I think you are underestimating the ability of the human mind to hold conflicting viewpoints. For instance, my father has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, was hired by one of the world's largest chemical companies to work in their research department right out of graduate school, accepts evolution, and even owns the book "Climbing Mount Improbable" by Richard Dawkins. He raised me to value empirical and verifiable evidence, and he taught me that the scientific method was the best way to discern the truth. Yet he is a Christian, and it never once affected his job as a scientist.
As long as someone holds to the methods of determining what is real and what isn't that is valued by science, who are we to judge them for failing to utilize that method in one aspect of their life that gives them sense and purpose?
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
