Godlorica
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Why Being an Atheist is Reasonable
"Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake.
If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time." -- Bertrand Russell
If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time." -- Bertrand Russell
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I don't think that in today's society can claim to be at risk of being sent to a psychiatrist for not believing in $DOCTRINE (well, not in a Western society anyway). Maybe when he spoke this quote some time between 18 May 1872 and 2 February 1970 there was more of a risk.
Of course religion is irrational most of the time. One principal idea of Christian traditions is to cultivate faith; notice the biblical passage about "blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe". This is also why people who try to prove some sort of creationist theory using modern science are doomed to failure even if the world was created.
Religion is irrational, so deal with it- and I say that to both religious and nonreligious people. Note also that many other things in life are irrational too, perhaps most notably Love...
Of course religion is irrational most of the time. One principal idea of Christian traditions is to cultivate faith; notice the biblical passage about "blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe". This is also why people who try to prove some sort of creationist theory using modern science are doomed to failure even if the world was created.
Religion is irrational, so deal with it- and I say that to both religious and nonreligious people. Note also that many other things in life are irrational too, perhaps most notably Love...
Love irrational?? It seems not, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-2022366,00.html
Religion is irrational, so deal with it- and I say that to both religious and nonreligious people. Note also that many other things in life are irrational too, perhaps most notably Love...
But why should I deal with the irrationality of religion. It is my belief that too often in debate about religion the atheist must simply take on ‘faith’ the notion of faith.
Religion is irrational, so deal with it- and I say that to both religious and nonreligious people. Note also that many other things in life are irrational too, perhaps most notably Love...
But why should I deal with the irrationality of religion. It is my belief that too often in debate about religion the atheist must simply take on ‘faith’ the notion of faith.
# posted by 
: 9:05 AM
: 9:05 AM
Can you maybe then
calm down all those
Mohammed cartoon riots,
and put your assertions to use?
calm down all those
Mohammed cartoon riots,
and put your assertions to use?
# posted by : 3:21 PM
: 3:21 PM
Theofrenia rules the thought of most of the people on the planet, so being an atheist the only real form of sanity left to the rest of us.
# posted by : 7:36 AM
: 7:36 AM
What relevance does an interplanetary teapot have to human life on Earth? Give me a teapot in the kitchen.
A warm cup of something sweet and mysterious, name your poison. That would be worth learning some dogma about.
Russell's point as I see it was that pressuring others to conform to dogma or to have some religion for heavens sake! is unchristian, unphilosophical, etc.
Which is better: Going shopping and buying a teapot and some "hot drink mix" and trying to live vicariously through reading the advertising copy on the label: choice traditional ingredients from some authentic place, or going outside and picking something to make tea or soup from yourself?
Religion seems to be a reaction to life being thin in authentic emotional experience. Religions like Christianity came in with popular literacy. Life nowadays is so thin in authentic experience that you're not even having a conversation about this or reading it in a shared traditional book, you're looking at some temporary bits on a computer screen.
Thus the 21st century religion so far: The universe is a computer. We're just hoping god has AI.
A warm cup of something sweet and mysterious, name your poison. That would be worth learning some dogma about.
Russell's point as I see it was that pressuring others to conform to dogma or to have some religion for heavens sake! is unchristian, unphilosophical, etc.
Which is better: Going shopping and buying a teapot and some "hot drink mix" and trying to live vicariously through reading the advertising copy on the label: choice traditional ingredients from some authentic place, or going outside and picking something to make tea or soup from yourself?
Religion seems to be a reaction to life being thin in authentic emotional experience. Religions like Christianity came in with popular literacy. Life nowadays is so thin in authentic experience that you're not even having a conversation about this or reading it in a shared traditional book, you're looking at some temporary bits on a computer screen.
Thus the 21st century religion so far: The universe is a computer. We're just hoping god has AI.
The assumption:
If GOD
then
no athiests
fi
doesn't work because
If pGOD = infinity
then
athiests
dog catchers
lesbians
you
me
W
etc
fi
If pGOD != infinity
then
pGOD != GOD
fi
If pGOD = GOD
then
sideways-elongated-8 = 0 = any other portion of sideways-elongated-8
fi
Which part can you detach and un-infinitize if non-existance is just an infinite part of infiniteness? And how will that be measured? Being right misses the mark. Whatever you call it, you are smack in the middle of it.
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If GOD
then
no athiests
fi
doesn't work because
If pGOD = infinity
then
athiests
dog catchers
lesbians
you
me
W
etc
fi
If pGOD != infinity
then
pGOD != GOD
fi
If pGOD = GOD
then
sideways-elongated-8 = 0 = any other portion of sideways-elongated-8
fi
Which part can you detach and un-infinitize if non-existance is just an infinite part of infiniteness? And how will that be measured? Being right misses the mark. Whatever you call it, you are smack in the middle of it.
# posted by : 6:07 AM
: 6:07 AM << Home
