What atheists can learn from religion

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/26/opinion/de-botton-religion-atheists/index.html

by ekm2 • 14 years ago

5 6 14 years ago

schlomie• 14 years ago

Atheism to me (Buddhist) appears to just be a confusing mixture of nihilism and materialism. There are deities in Buddhism, but this is the display of your own mind.

WalterSear• 14 years ago

You don't get it.

hiptobecubic2• 14 years ago

This is the kind of argument that has lead Americans to rate atheists as scarier, more dangerous people than violent fundamentalists.

Just because you need to derive your sense of morality from a book doesn't mean everyone does. I find that most of the positive things that people hold up as some kind of justification for the existence of their religion tend to be painfully obvious. "Don't steal." "Help people that need help." "Don't rape." Do we really need to write this down as the law of the land? You don't need a deity to remind you not to be an asshole to everyone... hopefully.

The point the article is making is that the author apparently doesn't believe that last one, which is a shame. He seems to suggest that religion is stopping bad people from acting badly. He must not read the newspapers... or history books.

kls2• 14 years ago

Do we really need to write this down as the law of the land?

We reason from our perspective and it is easy for us to view ourselves as the model of people and when we reflect on ourselves and even our peer group we come to the conclusion that no we don't need to write this stuff down because we are civil. About this time some guy cuts you off in traffic and about flips you and your kids. It is at this point that having these simple rules written down helps. Not only might they help the guy that cuts you off, if he happens to see the wisdom of the book, but they also help us in reflecting on the situation and giving people the benefit of the doubt. What if that guy had a person having a heart attack in the back seat. It may very well change your entire perspective of the situation. I used to think that it was all common sense, until I realized that common sense is not common at all. I also think that there is a lot of wisdom contained in the book. Some of it is very nuanced such as the parable of the king and the servant in that particular parable it has a very nuanced explanation of forgiveness and why it is important. So while it does lay down some very simple laws, there is also a lot of depth that explain grey area situations that many people face.

What atheists can learn from religion

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