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from the Fee-Fie-Fou-Fhum-Fideism-Falafel dept.
Commentary at Salon!
Should you believe in a God? Not according to most academic philosophers. A comprehensive survey revealed that only about 14 percent of English speaking professional philosophers are theists. As for what little religious belief remains among their colleagues, most professional philosophers regard it as a strange aberration among otherwise intelligent people. Among scientists the situation is much the same. Surveys of the members of the National Academy of Sciences, composed of the most prestigious scientists in the world, show that religious belief among them is practically nonexistent, about 7 percent.
[...] Now nothing definitely follows about the truth of a belief from what the majority of philosophers or scientists think. But such facts might cause believers discomfort. There has been a dramatic change in the last few centuries in the proportion of believers among the highly educated in the Western world. In the European Middle Ages belief in a God was ubiquitous, while today it is rare among the intelligentsia. This change occurred primarily because of the rise of modern science and a consensus among philosophers that arguments for the existence of gods, souls, afterlife and the like were unconvincing. Still, despite the view of professional philosophers and world-class scientists, religious beliefs have a universal appeal. What explains this?
[...] First, if you defend such beliefs by claiming that you have a right to your opinion, however unsupported by evidence it might be, you are referring to a political or legal right, not an epistemic one. You may have a legal right to say whatever you want, but you have epistemic justification only if there are good reasons and evidence to support your claim. If someone makes a claim without concern for reasons and evidence, we should conclude that they simply don't care about what's true. We shouldn't conclude that their beliefs are true because they are fervently held.
Another problem is that fideism—basing one's beliefs exclusively on faith—makes belief arbitrary, leaving no way to distinguish one religious belief from another. Fideism allows no reason to favor your preferred beliefs or superstitions over others. If I must accept your beliefs without evidence, then you must accept mine, no matter what absurdity I believe in. But is belief without reason and evidence worthy of rational beings? Doesn't it perpetuate the cycle of superstition and ignorance that has historically enslaved us? I agree with W.K. Clifford. "It is wrong always, everywhere and for everyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." Why? Because your beliefs affect other people, and your false beliefs may harm them.
I am checking to see what the Church of the Flying Spagetti Monster has to say about all this.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 20 2019, @11:51PM (11 children)
Wrong... pastafarian Muslims believe in the FSM.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 20 2019, @11:57PM (8 children)
How are they Muslims then?
Somali pirates fighting the good fight on the high seas against global warming?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @01:22AM (7 children)
Somali only believe in religion when it suits them.
This can change from one minute to the next.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @04:46AM (6 children)
The people who believe in Allah "when it suits them" are chopping heads, stoning women, and killing non-believers when it doesn't suit them. The people who believe in the Christian God "when it suits them" are charging usury, knocking on your door, and saying they don't want gay kids when it doesn't suit them.
It's one of those orders of magnitude things. I would rather have the most extreme Mormon as a neighbor than a "when it suits them" Muslim.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ledow on Monday January 21 2019, @08:14AM (5 children)
Way to ignore thousands of years of Christian-led persecution, not to mention things as recent as Protestants vs Catholics.
I thought that nobody forgets the Spanish Inquisition?
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday January 21 2019, @12:44PM (2 children)
>Christian-led persecution
Matthew 7,21-29
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @12:58PM (1 child)
Good goddess, what is wrong with you Yahweh worshippers?! It's a cool story bro, but normal people do not memorize cool stories verbatim! Pick a translation (and indicate which one you cretin!) and then post what you're looking at [biblegateway.com] (this is MSG):
(Emphasis mine.)
lolololol! Quite a fucking ironic thing to post! Maybe this is how Yahweh-worshippers should behave, but they objectively do not. You can believe in an ancient aliens lizard person theory for all I care, but when you assholes start trying to justify control over my body (such as whether or not I must provide life support for a child I did not want--you want the baby, you provide it life support!), lizard people conspiracy theories don't cut it.
That is what all the fucking sophistry in this discussion misses. Belief in delusional shit is fine for the most part, if all you need is a fairy story character to help you sleep at night. When you start forcing your irrational beliefs on other people with guns and nuclear weapons, well, good luck with the lake of fire after the white throne judgement, or however that myth went.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday January 23 2019, @10:19PM
> Maybe this is how Yahweh-worshippers should behave, but they objectively do not.
They who? they who don't behave are not Christian. Yahweh worshipers means nothing as in the very passage I cited.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’... (NIV)
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity... (KJV)
with these, and with the pretty identical orthodox Bible, we have a hefty majority of believers. These explicitly say that it is necessary to do like Christ in his return to the Father. The one you cited says it in a convoluted way.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2, Informative) by ChrisMaple on Tuesday January 22 2019, @01:36AM (1 child)
To use plural, you must have two or more. Christianity did not exist during the alleged life of Christ; it was only developed after his death. Consequently, another couple of decades must pass before Christianity is 2000 years old, and considerably more than than must pass before Christianity became powerful enough to engage in persecution.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday January 23 2019, @10:28PM
> Christianity did not exist during the alleged life of Christ.
Technically, it does since Peter spoke so it is near the end of the alleged life. Now, you might reject the historicity of what is written, but it is another matter.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 5, Funny) by martyb on Monday January 21 2019, @02:36AM (1 child)
They believe in a Finite State Machine?
Theology meets mathematics... I like it! =)
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 21 2019, @07:13AM
May his boolean appendage touch you.
- DEADBEEF