RE: God: No magic required
January 26, 2014 at 2:06 am
(This post was last modified: January 26, 2014 at 2:11 am by Mudhammam.)
"(1) There are objective "this life" personal advantages associated with theism, as opposed to atheism, in terms of mental and physical well-being, including longevity.
(2) Therefore, it is not irrational for a present day non-theist to determine if it's possible for he/she to morph into a theist."
It seems like your conflating "personal advantages" with rational behavior. For a quick, on-the-spot (and therefore, perhaps somewhat inadequate) example, there may be personal advantages to running red lights when I don't see anyone else around but common sense dictates that there are many factors that I cannot account for, and thus it would indeed be an irrational act if I value my life or my driving record. Likewise, that religion or theism might make us feel better emotionally or even lead to a healthier lifestyle does not mean it is rational--there are negative consequences we might not immediately be aware of or even personally endure but certainly it is irrational to adopt running the risk.
"(3) Theism is perfectly compatible with state of the art knowledge and theory, relating to physical cosmology, without the need to invoke mysticism or magic."
Unfortunately, once you attempt to articulate "God," it doesn't stand up to rational scrutiny or coherency; many ignore the task of defining God at all, thinking it saves face when in actuality it just dismisses their own claims.
(2) Therefore, it is not irrational for a present day non-theist to determine if it's possible for he/she to morph into a theist."
It seems like your conflating "personal advantages" with rational behavior. For a quick, on-the-spot (and therefore, perhaps somewhat inadequate) example, there may be personal advantages to running red lights when I don't see anyone else around but common sense dictates that there are many factors that I cannot account for, and thus it would indeed be an irrational act if I value my life or my driving record. Likewise, that religion or theism might make us feel better emotionally or even lead to a healthier lifestyle does not mean it is rational--there are negative consequences we might not immediately be aware of or even personally endure but certainly it is irrational to adopt running the risk.
"(3) Theism is perfectly compatible with state of the art knowledge and theory, relating to physical cosmology, without the need to invoke mysticism or magic."
Unfortunately, once you attempt to articulate "God," it doesn't stand up to rational scrutiny or coherency; many ignore the task of defining God at all, thinking it saves face when in actuality it just dismisses their own claims.
