28th August 2010
“As soon as you realise that had you been born in Delhi, you would probably be Hindu, rather than Christian or Jewish, the idea that religion expresses universal truth, rather than historical accident, can seem wildly implausible.”
Julian Baggini
August 28th, 2010 at 2:00
I’d say fantastically improbable would be more accurate. Statistically, you would stand a better chance of getting hit by lightning while standing inside a cave, eating a turkey sandwich and whistling row, row, row your boat.
August 28th, 2010 at 3:36
What say you Tech and Sol? Do you agree? If you disagree and suspect that even if you were born in a Hindu culture to Hindu parents you’d somehow have found the ‘truth’ of your respective incompatible religions, can you explain how that might happen?
August 28th, 2010 at 3:49
Hell, the Bible itself proves this point. Why else would Jesus and God ask for everyone to proselytize and “spread the truth”. Uh, maybe because “God(s)” spoke to other people about other things and sent other people down to speak for “Him/her”. Now why would a supreme, all knowing, and loving being(s) want to do that? Certainly not to divide Their own creation so that they war with each other, then They wouldn’t not be loving, now would They? I guess that the only other explanation is that people let their wild imaginations run, all the while they’re clawing at the people’s ear for their attention, lavishing at every single person that decides to bite and fall into the drama like a snowball down a steep hill.
All hail to the Invisible Pink Unicorn!
August 28th, 2010 at 11:01
Sagan put it better than most when he said:
“The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and right. You can’t all be correct. And what if all of you are wrong? It’s a possibility, you know.”
Except I’d say that for anyone who knows much of anything about the history of ideas, it seems to be more of a possibility: It’s almost a certainty that they’re all wrong.
… and then Douglas Adams one-up’d Sagan by pointing out that not only are the answers provided by the religions of the world probably wrong, they also seem to be asking the wrong questions.
August 28th, 2010 at 15:55
“… religious people know, without evidence, that the faith of their birth is the one true faith, all others being aberrations or downright false” (Richard Dawkins “The God Delusion”). This is a true statement for probably 99% of religious people. Do they ever consider that had they been born of different parents or a different geography that their beliefs would be different? How do they reconcile this question? Maybe a “true believer” will weigh in on this.
August 28th, 2010 at 21:19
Contrary to what seems to be the popular opinion here, all those who believe in religion do not do so blindly. In the case of one born in a certain country to parents of a certain faith I do believe the chances of that child blindly following what he has been taught all his life is just about the norm. However there will always be the one who uses his own mind to seek truth for himself because he sees that what he has been taught doesn’t jibe with the facts. You already know that peer pressure is always an issue that most humans cannot or do not withstand well– so just as atheists so must also the one who believes in a truth that few believe, struggle to use reason to prove for himself the thing that he believes in. BTW I am what you would call religious. I answered your question not so much to persuade you of a God but to tell you that in my experience with such “believers” that they usually don’t want to go outside of the comfort margin, but some will.
August 28th, 2010 at 22:36
MyOwnNoggin,
Thats an honest opinion.
August 29th, 2010 at 1:41
MON,
Thanks for the reply. I fully appreciate the “struggle to use reason to prove for himself the thing that he believes in”. I was raised in a very middle class Methodist family. I went to church every Sunday until I reached the age of about 16 when I started to question the dogma. I struggled (somewhat) to find some reason to believe what was being preached. I could find none. Still can’t. My question to people of faith is always “what is the basis of your belief?” The answer I usually get is some variation of “God said it. I believe it. That settles it”. I really am no longer looking for a reason to believe in anything other than the wonder of the Universe. But if a good reason comes along, I hope that I’ll recognize it.
September 6th, 2010 at 4:54
Alright you ignorant atheists… if there is no god, then HOW DOES THE SUN KEEP ORBITING THE EARTH? BAM!
Atheism is a religion, because it requires just as much FAITH to BELIEVE in it! You are FUNDAMENTALISTS!
You can’t prove that there is no god, so why are you so sure that there isn’t one? That requires FAITH!
If we came from Monkeys, then why are there still monkeys? My grandpa doesn’t look like a monkey!
Evolution isn’t a fact, it’s only a theory! Why should I believe that theory instead of the one I was taught at church?!
And on that note…
Dunt dun duuh DAAAAHHHH!
!!!!!!!!!MY ATHEIST STORE!!!!!!!!!
Aristotle’s Muse
This is my store. If you’re as irritated by this kind of mindless banter as I am, speak your mind. Maybe wearing an atheist T-shirt won’t change the world, but enough of them just might help.