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kentauros

(29,414 posts)
27. I saw cbayer's thread in Religion on this Salon article.
Sun May 10, 2015, 06:54 PM
May 2015

And I saw the "Whoosh! Over the head" reactions to it. Either it's an example of willful ignorance, or the connection to a belief is perceived as inconsequential to being religious.

It is a good article, though I have to admit that my education in philosophy is severely lacking. Mostly because I just don't have much interest in reading such things. So the following passage went over my head (or maybe it's just the Allegra clouding my mind) :

The more interesting question is why religions endure in spite of being empirically untrue. There are, of course, millions of fundamentalists for whom God is a literal proposition. Their claims concerning God are empirical and should be treated as such. For many, though, God is an existential impulse, a transcendent idea with no referent in reality. This conception of God is untouched – and untouchable – by positivist science; asking if God is true in this sense is like asking how much the number 12 weighs – it’s nonsensical.

To me, God/Source does indeed exist, and I'm as far from being a fundamentalist as one can get. I simply don't attempt to define Source in terms most religions use. I'm still a dabbler, cherry-picking what sounds good to me, and finding my particular meaning from all that. Yet, I still believe in something larger than any of us, encompassing All (as in the universe, all dimensions, and everything else science has yet to discover.) If my life depended upon me renouncing all of that in order to live, I could certainly say the words, but they wouldn't be sincere. That connection to what gives me meaning in life is as permanent as the coding in my DNA.
Violence is wrong and the attack on them is wrong. hrmjustin May 2015 #1
Oh, I'm not saying that violent reactions are acceptable. kentauros May 2015 #2
Yes you can say it is a part of their identity. hrmjustin May 2015 #3
I agree with that about some people. kentauros May 2015 #4
It is a good op. hrmjustin May 2015 #5
Not only people of faith, but all who do criticize their mocking Starboard Tack May 2015 #8
Lol. well i find most atheists to be live and let live but there are a few that are rather dogmatic hrmjustin May 2015 #9
Very healthy attitude. Starboard Tack May 2015 #10
It is only recent. hrmjustin May 2015 #12
I think this is right on. okasha May 2015 #11
I honestly don't think there is anyway to make this argument fly el_bryanto May 2015 #6
Okay, finally have a clear enough mind kentauros May 2015 #7
There was a good article at Salon this last weekend about what religion provides el_bryanto May 2015 #26
I saw cbayer's thread in Religion on this Salon article. kentauros May 2015 #27
Beliefs are inanimate. It's like mocking a stone. rug May 2015 #13
Agreed! I think some of them realize they hurt people with their mocking and just don't care hrmjustin May 2015 #14
The realize it before they open their mouths. That's the intent. rug May 2015 #15
I can take a good natured joke or two but I must admit irl i never experience hrmjustin May 2015 #16
The thing is, they lose the power to hurt okasha May 2015 #17
Well put. Something is missing in their lives so they need to inflict it on us. hrmjustin May 2015 #18
The internet lets them do it anonymously, too, okasha May 2015 #19
Keyboard warriors. hrmjustin May 2015 #20
There was a truly ridiculous post yesterday okasha May 2015 #21
I have no problem with good questions that make you think. hrmjustin May 2015 #22
It does happen, but not often. okasha May 2015 #23
It is what it is. hrmjustin May 2015 #24
kicking. hrmjustin May 2015 #25
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