I need to be the Apostle of The Blindingly Obvious for a bit here. The conviction of theists of all flavors is that God (or gods, if you like) has spoken. Among theists, then, disagreements center around either the source or the content of divine revelation. Most of the disputes in the "culture wars" arise because non-theist people have a fundamental assumption that religion as we find it is merely human; the natural world is all that truly matters or exists. So, the answer to the question, "Why don't these Christians just live like normal people and embrace X, Y, and Z?" is, "We can't. God has spoken in Jesus Christ." Not that most seculars live consistently by what we find in nature anyway, but the point is, if you're arguing with a Christian, if you hold on to the assumption that religion is a nice story with an ethical gloss, you'll think he's nuts. But you should question your own premise on that one. I agree with the atheists on this point: if religion is merely human, it's pointless. Three basic options in the world, as I see it. 1. Theism; 2. Existentialism (it's like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book, but with life) or 3. Death. The funny thing is, even if you choose (2), you'll move toward one of the other ones. If you move toward others as you are enjoying yourself, you'll end up a theist, probably. And, if you're any sort of reasonable person, you'll start to notice that you can't really create meaning; it's already there. If you have a friend, truly, you'll be sharing in his meaning, not creating it. Since he knows he didn't create squat either, that should be an interesting conversation. There also appear to be people who look like they are enjoying themselves, but they've actually chosen (3) in slow motion. How did Red say it? A man either gets busy living, or gets busy dying. Captain Pike was talking to the doctor (in the first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," set in 2254) and he said the same thing. Dr. Mark something. I digress.
The will to power is the only thing left, if there is nothing in nature that binds human organizations to a higher law. Which leads me to ask, "Why should I trust your benevolence?" Even revelation is yet higher than the law of nature. Yet, secularist, are you certain you are living in that accord?
Personally, I don't need religion to be ethical. I'm ethical regardless. If you are thinking that religion is a moral compass only, I don't get that. We don't need a fancy story to be good to one another. That should be obvious. But that explanation holds a lot of sway for some reason. Help me out. No; I'm religious because God exists. I wouldn't do or say any of these things common to the life of faith unless I thought it was true.
I appreciate the self-centered atheist all that much more, because he's being consistent, at least. He's in denial, on some level, but he at least acknowledges the logical conclusion of what he believes. Self and Death. Most people are somewhere in between, and thus, are inconsistent. And that's good, on one level. It can be irritating when people who claim to be relativists are so full of moral outrage about tons of things. OK, sometimes amusing. Not often, though. I digress, again.
Christopher Hitchens was one of my favorite dudes to read. Not his philosophy. But he was interesting on many subjects. He mentioned that this was his favorite verse. I agree with Hitch; do this verse. Assuming the words correspond to real concepts, do this verse. When you hit a wall, it's really a door; knock on it. Someone will answer.
The will to power is the only thing left, if there is nothing in nature that binds human organizations to a higher law. Which leads me to ask, "Why should I trust your benevolence?" Even revelation is yet higher than the law of nature. Yet, secularist, are you certain you are living in that accord?
Personally, I don't need religion to be ethical. I'm ethical regardless. If you are thinking that religion is a moral compass only, I don't get that. We don't need a fancy story to be good to one another. That should be obvious. But that explanation holds a lot of sway for some reason. Help me out. No; I'm religious because God exists. I wouldn't do or say any of these things common to the life of faith unless I thought it was true.
I appreciate the self-centered atheist all that much more, because he's being consistent, at least. He's in denial, on some level, but he at least acknowledges the logical conclusion of what he believes. Self and Death. Most people are somewhere in between, and thus, are inconsistent. And that's good, on one level. It can be irritating when people who claim to be relativists are so full of moral outrage about tons of things. OK, sometimes amusing. Not often, though. I digress, again.
Christopher Hitchens was one of my favorite dudes to read. Not his philosophy. But he was interesting on many subjects. He mentioned that this was his favorite verse. I agree with Hitch; do this verse. Assuming the words correspond to real concepts, do this verse. When you hit a wall, it's really a door; knock on it. Someone will answer.
Comments