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comment by rob05c
rob05c  ·  3541 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: ILL MIND OF HOPSIN 7

Wow, that was really powerful. Being raised fundamentalist, I really relate to this. It's hard for me to understand how anyone can be raised fundamentalist and go through a STEM education, or otherwise learn to think critically, and not have these questions.

But on the other side of the coin, I haven't rejected theism outright. I consider myself a Progressive Christian these days, and I probably believe in some sort of religious pluralism. I don't think Skepticism is the only valid philosophy.

The question I've been puzzling over lately is the "nuclear weapons" analogy. Nuclear weapons are only useful for killing large numbers of people, and as a deterrent against other nuclear weapons. They are only bad. It would be better if no nuclear weapons existed.

Does the same apply to religion?

Intelligence² held a debate a few years ago, Is the Catholic Church a force for good? So, as a non-fundamentalist, I've been asking myself, "is religion a force for good?" Or, like nuclear weapons, does it produce significantly more harm than good? If so, ought religion exist?

I mean, assume God exists, and lets "good" people into heaven rather than "pious" people. If religion is primarily harmful, even if it's "true," ought it exist?

The Crusades, the Inquisition, modern Israel, ISIS. How does one even balance these things against Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Mother Theresa? How does one measure the good Buddhism has done over the millenia?

Of course, the greater question is whether these people would have done their good and evil anyway, or if religion swayed them. Does religion or religious upbringing affect the goodness of a person?

Maybe religion is more of a gun, than a nuclear weapon? Something that can arguably be good and bad; a tool. If that's true, it might explain why the same people tend to support both fundamentalism and gun freedom. Maybe the same deeper imperative drives people to both. That would be interesting.





thenewgreen  ·  3541 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I really miss Christopher Hitchen's, he was fun to watch/read. Have you seen his debate with Tony Blair along the same topic?

    So, as a non-fundamentalist, I've been asking myself, "is religion a force for good?" Or, like nuclear weapons, does it produce significantly more harm than good? If so, ought religion exist?
-I think that many religious people would tell you that without religion, there would be no impetus for the kind of outreach and charity they provide. I think this is complete hogwash, but that seems to be a driving factor for Blair in that debate. I think that a world without religion is a far more peaceful one. But I think a world in which we deny our spiritual natures would be a dangerous one too.

I'm in the process of putting together a podcast ( #tngpodcast ) that asks the question, "what is the difference between spirituality and religion?" I'm still in the process of putting it together, any chance you'd be interested in participating? If so, PM me and I'll fill you in.

rob05c  ·  3540 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I hadn't seen that debate. It was worth watching, but there was a great deal of cherry-picking on both sides. To be fair, it's hard to assess the "goodness" of anything. Suppose you eschew the cherry-picking and exclusively use statistics. Is that any better? Strict Universalism leads to some dark places.

thenewgreen  ·  3540 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    o be fair, it's hard to assess the "goodness" of anything.

I completely agree, there can be no conclusive decision with such a objective. Still, the whole debate makes for some good theater. Hitchen's is always good for that.