Vault313
New
Taken from the sludge bucket of humanity,aka, Buzzfeed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/when-i-was-a-child-i-spake-as-a-child#.jsKrN22Wp
As expected there are your token "religion is childish" quotes along side "religious fairies" and the typical "atheists are the only ones with the courage and intellect to see reality as it really is" garbage. Also, when will Susan Blackmore ever be acknowledged as the single most overrated psychologist in history?
What I found interesting were two things:
1) that a rejection of God was more like a rejection of religion and a Judeo-Christian God. As if it's an either/or type of situation (again with the false dichotomies).
And
2) The comments after the article. I was floored by the number of people who claimed to be comforted by the thought that their life has no meaning. Not just ok with it, comforted.
These things were interesting to me because belief is often presented as an either/or type of situation. I'm always surprised at how little thought and effort many put into their actual beliefs. It's as though they think you can only either believe in the Judeo-Christian God, or none at all.
It was also interesting that so many are ok with the idea that life is inherently meaningless. It got me thinking about the idea of economic materialism and philosophical materialism being closely tied. How convenient it is for an economic and even political system that human beings believe that their lives are ultimately meaningless, and that its best they live, buy and consume for the present.
One last point, isn't it interesting that Atheism is increasing in the wealthy "developed" world? Could it be that those who enjoy a life of relative wealth and luxury are those who can afford to believe that this life, with all its comfort and decadence, is all there is? What do you say to those whose life has been suffering on a level most of us in our wealthy, priveleged positions could scarcely even imagine? How do you tell them to find the meaning in a life of abuse, starvation or endless war?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/when-i-was-a-child-i-spake-as-a-child#.jsKrN22Wp
As expected there are your token "religion is childish" quotes along side "religious fairies" and the typical "atheists are the only ones with the courage and intellect to see reality as it really is" garbage. Also, when will Susan Blackmore ever be acknowledged as the single most overrated psychologist in history?
What I found interesting were two things:
1) that a rejection of God was more like a rejection of religion and a Judeo-Christian God. As if it's an either/or type of situation (again with the false dichotomies).
And
2) The comments after the article. I was floored by the number of people who claimed to be comforted by the thought that their life has no meaning. Not just ok with it, comforted.
These things were interesting to me because belief is often presented as an either/or type of situation. I'm always surprised at how little thought and effort many put into their actual beliefs. It's as though they think you can only either believe in the Judeo-Christian God, or none at all.
It was also interesting that so many are ok with the idea that life is inherently meaningless. It got me thinking about the idea of economic materialism and philosophical materialism being closely tied. How convenient it is for an economic and even political system that human beings believe that their lives are ultimately meaningless, and that its best they live, buy and consume for the present.
One last point, isn't it interesting that Atheism is increasing in the wealthy "developed" world? Could it be that those who enjoy a life of relative wealth and luxury are those who can afford to believe that this life, with all its comfort and decadence, is all there is? What do you say to those whose life has been suffering on a level most of us in our wealthy, priveleged positions could scarcely even imagine? How do you tell them to find the meaning in a life of abuse, starvation or endless war?