Religion can definitely turn a person's brain into tapioca. A recent post by Roger E. Olson could certainly be used as exhibit A on this assertion. "Reasons for Believing the Bible is God’s Word" is equal parts confusing, contradictory, and delusional. Better than half of the post seems to confirm reasons not accept the Bible as the word of God. The little tid bits that Olson seems to think pass as reasons apply a warped sense of logic that is so tortured it would make the Marquis de Sade blush. Then there is his conclusion:
"Having said all that, I will go on to say that there is a vast difference between the Bible and other so-called “holy books.” The difference between the Bible and others book people claim to be inspired is a difference in kind, not just in degree. The Bible only is supernaturally inspired and authoritative for Christian belief (doctrine). Other books for which people make that (or similar) claim are, in opinion, unworthy of it as they contain not only errors but simple nonsense. Of course, I can’t prove that to their adherents, but to anyone open-minded enough to investigate them objectively, their lacking the normative dignity of the Bible is easy to show. That is the role of apologetics—not to prove the Bible is the Word of God (let alone inerrant) but to show its superiority to competitors. Emil Brunner called this “eristics”—the task of comparing world views with the aim of showing that Christianity (and I would add the Bible) is superior in addressing the human condition and revealing God’s solution."
Wow! So many words and phrases raced through my head as I read this last paragraph I could hardly latch on to any of them. If there were a prize for blatant projections, double standards, faulty logic, delusions, or just being bat-shit crazy Olson would be the top contender. If nothing else, he serves well as a cautionary tale about what can happen to an individual who never questions or scrutinizes what they believe.
Showing posts with label Illogic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illogic. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
We're All Assholes?
That's right you heard me. We're all assholes and I can prove it. Anatomically speaking we've all got one. Being flawed we all sometimes behave badly, sometimes very badly. So, we are as I've said. If you don't find my reasoning to be that convincing, good. I won't completely loose my respect for human intelligence.
Unfortunately, this kind of flawed and ludicrous rationalization is all too common. Huffington Post is always an excellent source for this kind of lame thinking, especially the Religion section. Rabbi Eric Yoffie jumps to this type of conclusion in his "There Are No Irreligious People" piece. Despite his own use of the statistic that "approximately 85 percent of the world's population is made up of 'religionists" he insists that religion is such a natural part of humanity that everyone is in fact religious. So what about that missing 15%? I can honestly say that I have never been religious. I know I'm not an alien. He goes on to state "that those outside of religious frameworks, even if they speak in secular language, find it impossible to suppress in their own lives the awe and wonder that religious people cherish." If you didn't catch what he's doing it is a matter of false comparisons. Even though people sometimes say that awe at the universe is part of why they are religious that is not an innate part of religion and is certainly not unique to religion. Being amazed by life and the universe does not imply religious ideas or feelings.
Personally, I have always been confused as to why people insist on connecting the two. To me, religion is in many ways the opposite of awe and wonder. It is restricting and denigrating. Rather than encourage curiosity and exploration it stifles it. The ready made answers that religion attempts to foist on us are pathetic, frequently unimaginative, and provably false. In short, I see religion as sucking the wonder out of everything it touches. According to Yoffie, that somehow makes me religious. That is some seriously fucked up logic.
Unfortunately, this kind of flawed and ludicrous rationalization is all too common. Huffington Post is always an excellent source for this kind of lame thinking, especially the Religion section. Rabbi Eric Yoffie jumps to this type of conclusion in his "There Are No Irreligious People" piece. Despite his own use of the statistic that "approximately 85 percent of the world's population is made up of 'religionists" he insists that religion is such a natural part of humanity that everyone is in fact religious. So what about that missing 15%? I can honestly say that I have never been religious. I know I'm not an alien. He goes on to state "that those outside of religious frameworks, even if they speak in secular language, find it impossible to suppress in their own lives the awe and wonder that religious people cherish." If you didn't catch what he's doing it is a matter of false comparisons. Even though people sometimes say that awe at the universe is part of why they are religious that is not an innate part of religion and is certainly not unique to religion. Being amazed by life and the universe does not imply religious ideas or feelings.
Personally, I have always been confused as to why people insist on connecting the two. To me, religion is in many ways the opposite of awe and wonder. It is restricting and denigrating. Rather than encourage curiosity and exploration it stifles it. The ready made answers that religion attempts to foist on us are pathetic, frequently unimaginative, and provably false. In short, I see religion as sucking the wonder out of everything it touches. According to Yoffie, that somehow makes me religious. That is some seriously fucked up logic.
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