Improve your chances of having correct beliefs…

there are lots of reasons for religion, and for people to believe in religion. to just dismiss a set of beliefs just because you don’t believe them is basically dismissing a huge part of every human culture and history on earth. [schaef]

All right let’s look at this…

“there are lots of reasons for religion, and for people to believe in religion.”

Ok, tons of reasons, are any of them GOOD reasons?
Are they reasons which can justify all sorts of various contradictory statements which the person arbitrarily chooses one set?
“Reason to believe” is different than “reason to believe that the belief is in fact true”…
What are these reasons [presumably good reasons]?
Or just give one?

“to just dismiss a set of beliefs just because you don’t believe them is basically dismissing a huge part of every human culture and history on earth.” [schaef]

First of all, dismissing a huge part of many human cultures and history on earth does not mean that that is necessarily bad. For example, most cultures throughout the history of the world have thought of the Earth as the center of the universe. Dismissing that belief (which is a huge part of many human cultures and histor) is the CORRECT action to take.

I agree, to just dismiss a set of beliefs “just because you don’t believe them” is dismissing a huge part of many cultures.

You haven’t made the case that that’s necessarily bad, either, but let’s assume that it is.

So, “to dismiss a set of beliefs just because you don’t believe them” is a bad thing.

I get the distinct impression that you think that this is what I’m guilty of…

If that is the impression you’d like to give, why do you think that I’m guilty of dismissing beliefs just because I don’t believe in them?

You were responding to my note that said:
“Essentially because like many religions, they believe without reason a list of absurd declarations – and call that belief a virtue, as though that were a noble and right thing to do. [A Thinking BUM]”

– A supernatural being who is all-powerful and all-knowing exists that is concerned with my everyday life, and specifically what I think about him.
– An invisible pink unicorn exists and is concerned with whether I wear socks.

Is there any good reason to think that either of those things exists?

Is there anything like either one that we can say, “oh it’s like that one, except different in this way…”
What kind of evidence would be required for a person to have a good reason to think that a being is all-powerful, and not just “really” powerful?

If that forces a person to dismiss an idea held important in many cultures, that doesn’t mean that that’s bad, or incorrect, or any number of negative things…

Both ideas can be taken on faith – belief that a being exists without evidence or reason or probability that such a being exists – but when is that EVER a good idea? When does operating like that EVER improve a person’s chances of having correct beliefs?

I don’t think he/she meant that it was bad for a PERSON to dismiss their cultural beliefs. I think what was meant is your attempts to get everyone in that culture to dismiss their beliefs. That’s what you are, after all, trying to accomplish, right?

schaef

December 31, 2004

dismissing beliefs and thinking those beliefs aren’t tru are entirely different things. i don’t think creationism is true. but i don’t outrightly dismiss people who believe that, because it is a fact that people believe in that. and i din’t mean to start a big deal about it, and i’m definitely not attacking you. it’s just a different point of view.

and it must be nice to know the truth about everything. it must take a lot off your mind, to know that you’re right. you preach atheism just as much as people preach any other religion. and you seem to attack people for believing in what they want to believe, like believing is some sort of fault. i can understand getting angry when people try to push their beliefs on you unsolicited, or use their

religion as an excuse for imperialism, violence, and discrimination. but to get so up in arms simply because some people believe in something you don’t would be very tiring to me.

I agree with schaef. You do preach atheism as much as anyone with a religion preaches their religion. There needs to come a time for you to step back and realize that you or no one else can just keep quiet about their strong beliefs. Preach about atheism all you want, but gently, and let others preach what they believe as well without reprimand. What they believe matters, too.

Lillake

Why are there people coming to your diary complaining aobut you “preaching atheism”? Its you diary, you can preach applesauce all day if you want to. If they don’t like it they don’t have to read it, simple enough. Sorry, a big pet peeve of mine lately.

To those who complain about the “preaching”; preaching, debating, and presenting are different things. Not only that, but I could bitch and moan all day about Scarlett O’Whore being such an ignorant bitch and blasting her ignorance, or I could simply NOT read her journal. I’d say someone who claims to have knowledge of the unknowable is much more in the calss of “know it all” than ATB. *shrugs*

Damn my 3AM spelling errors. *class Happy new year, by the way.

To believe may bring positivity to some, yet it also brings war to many. – THAT, is an oppinion. My oppinion. Just as this entry is the writers oppinion, and getting stuffy about oppinions is overwhelmingly Odd. Zest of seville

Ambassador4Christ

January 3, 2005

It seems to me that most religions we man-made to fulfill themselves – there is a void in all of us that we try to fill. Not truely finding that something or someone who can permanantly fulfill, until we find Christ/God our Creator.

Ok, let me try that one more time. Most religions were made by man to make man feel fulfilled. Taking certain things out of the Bible to follow and not all of it, “The Swiss Cheese Bible.”

“until we find Christ/God our Creator.” No shit? Were did you find Him? Were is he now? Wake the f-ck up!