Religion
Related: About this forumCan Atheists Learn Anything from the Religious?
October 20, 2015
by Neil Carter
Fellow atheists give me a hard time because I talk a lot about fostering constructive dialogue between ourselves and people on the other side of the aisle, so to speak. They protest and ask, What good can come of maintaining conversation with people who believe nonsense? I understand where theyre coming from, but my feelings on the matter are different for at least a couple of reasons.
Ive explained many times before that one major reason I keep trying to engage in these conversations (rather than simply burning those bridges and telling them all that theyve been collectively duped) is that I still have too many precious relationships that would be damaged by the slash-and-burn approach of so many anti-theists to whom I am connected. Most of my friends who want me to cut the crap and start truly ripping away at the foundations of religious belief dont have many close friends or family remaining who would be lost over such an approach. Most likely those bridges have already been burned for them so theres nothing left to lose. I am not in such a position.
But theres another reason why I dont take the same posture toward religions of all stripes and strains, and it has to do with being wary of the overconfidence I see in my fellow atheists when it comes to the proper use of reason, science, and perhaps ultimately technology as well. For all of the sharp disagreements and logical departures I encounter when I discuss important matters of belief with my religious friends, I remain convinced that I gain something from these interchanges which cannot so easily be found without attempting this admittedly maddening process.
Despite our differences, my religious friends often remind me that we dont know everything, and that theres great value in maintaining at least a modicum of epistemic humility while we search for answers to our biggest questions.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2015/10/20/can-atheists-learn-anything-from-the-religious/
jonno99
(2,620 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Of course though it's the atheists who are once again the problem with their slashing and their burning.
edhopper
(33,573 posts)going on there. youbetcha.
yodermon
(6,143 posts)from the article:
YES! That's the POINT of science! Self-correcting, always improving upon itself, always expanding what we know to be true. If "scientism" means being overly enamored of a particular theory, only become distraught and defensive when that theory is disproven, then YES! The scientific method, when practiced properly and dispassionately , is the cure for scientism.
The limitations of our knowledge is exactly what provides the impetus to keep searching. Humility means overturning what we thought was true with wherever the evidence leads. Saying "well, we just don't know, God must have done it" (or variations thereof) doesn't lead to further inquiry, it STIFLES it.
◾The importance of passing ideas on to children, and taking the time to make that a priority.
◾The value of intentional community, regular gatherings, and organized activities.
◾The value of family, perhaps enriched even more by those who sacrifice professional goals to focus on the care of the children.
◾Warning against the dangers of materialism and greed (depending on which kind of preacher theyve got, of course!)
◾Learning to unplug sometimes from the world of electronics just long enough to remember what its like to be a living thing.
These things are wonderful of course, but the idea that theists have some sort of claim on these things, or that we must "learn" from them is patronizing and offensive in the extreme.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)To their level. And it fails miserably. Agiain.
rug
(82,333 posts)Failed miserably. Again.
Yorktown
(2,884 posts)Who was the Pharaoh of Moses? Traces of the great flood?
Where did Adam and Eve make landfall on Earth and in which millenium?
Who did Adam and Eve's children mate with? Why was Gabriel hiding from muhamad's tribe?
Religious epistemic humility. Indeed..