Skylar
Diamond Member
- Jul 5, 2014
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Is that the argument where even if it doesnt make sense to someone you tell them to let god in because its better to be safe than sorry? I think a lot of theists fall into this category.You're running headlong into the scarriest part of religion, in my opinion: the certainty of it. You have folks that are absolutely certain that whatever they've chosen to believe must be objective truth. No matter how baseless, subjective, or unverifable.
They are certain. Certain that they are right. And certain that their perspective defines what is right and good.
Which means that anything that doesn't conform to their beliefs must be, by definition, evil and wrong. And there's very little that goodness and rightness isn't justified in doing to defeat evil.
There aren't a lot of ambivalent suicide bombers.
To me the world we live in seems complex enough to understand without muddying the process with nonsense.
It will be a sad day for those that want to believe in something more than what we have right in front of us when they discover that we have wasted any chance to survive by using up all of our energy resources.
I know, it's a long way into the future but, our sun will eventually run out of fuel and when it does we will perish if we haven't planned for that certainty. We are seemingly stuck on stupid with all this religious gobblety gook. Hopefully we will start acting like mature adults and abandon these childlike ways.
Religion is the epitome of narcissism. Every thing is about us. This "god" is for us. His "son" was for us.
The bible says we are all sinners. No, we are all just stupid to varying degrees. We all make bad choices from time to time. Rather than just confront our failings on our own we seem to need approval. We can correct our own behavior and usually the consequences of our mistakes. Sometimes we can't. Either way we do not need an outside source or organization to be involved.
I won't be around to see if we evolve into a truly intelligent species but it would be satisfying to see us make an effort to head in that direction.
I'm not arguing against religion in particular. I'm arguing against certainty. Believe in God all you like. Just maintain a manageable kernel of doubt. It doesn't have to be particularly big. Its shocking how little skepticism and doubt it takes to keep someone from doing the most idiotic shit in the name of their religion.
Certainty is the end of intellectual curiosity, the end of discovery, the end of questions. Its a terminal destination. And one from which you can do some truly awful things.
Which is worse? Certainty there is a supreme being or certainty that one does not exist?
Either are pretty limiting. Though I'd say you'd have an easier time convincing someone who is certain there is a god to do awful, awful shit if you can convince that person that you speak for god. Its a much more difficult task with someone convince God doesn't exist.
Faith, by its very nature, mandates that we set cold reason aside. That we lessen our reliance on what we can see and instead rely more fully on what we cannot. That we abdicate our own capacity for moral reasoning and accept that of God instead. So even if something seems wrong, God's commandment makes it righteous.
I could get many 'certain' Christians to agree that slaughtering babies in their cribs was righteous, given a commandment from God. I'd have a harder time convincing someone convinced God doesn't exist.
If I believe there is no god for what reason would I cling to your "kernel" that I am wrong.
Because maybe you are wrong.
That's the argument to keep a small seed of doubt when considering religion or most anything else. If religion doesn't make sense to you, don't follow it. But remain open to the idea that you could be wrong.
Mine is an argument against certainty. Not religion, atheism or any other system of belief. I advocating remaining at least a little uncertain. As even that tiny amount will keep most folks from the folly of extremism.