Quotation

"You cannot do anything with knowledge unless you know where it stops and the costs of using it."
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"The Idea of Negative and Introgenic Science"
This Will Change Everything

Good idea, bad location

About a week ago there was a short piece on Religious News Service that once again called for dialogue between believers and non-believers. It is a sentiment I certainly agree with. However, I have always found it a little disturbing and possibly telling that when theists propose such things they always want it to take place in church. "Free Thought Exchange brings atheists to church for dialogue" is just a recent example of this emerging trend. It will never be nearly as successful as theists claim they want it to be so long as they insist it occur in places that many atheist are simply not comfortable. The sad thing is that there is absolutely no need for creating such an impediment to open honest discussions. There are many venues that could be used where neither party would feel unwelcome or ill-at-ease.

An Interesting Contradiction

A recent piece by Nick Sexton on HuffPo was very interesting in its approach. Throughout "'The World Would Be a Better Place Without Religion' -- A Sentiment Common on College Campuses" Sexton relies entirely on personal experience/anecdotes to try to distance what the average theist may or may not believe from what the religion they belong to promotes. To some degree he has a valid point. However, that point can only be taken so far before it not only loses any meaning but also turns into an outright contradiction. Why do individuals belong to a religion they disagree with most of the time? And, how does that let the institution of religion off the hook for any and all unethical/immoral doctrines and practices? It doesn't.

Such odd and indirect contradictions are both interesting and difficult to explain. Having a dark streak to my sense of humor I also find such things amusing. The last sentence of Sexton's third paragraph was particularly notable:
"When large religious institutions promote oppressive ideals, it is the fault of power-hungry, hateful individuals -- not the fundamentals that are most central to the religion."
It never seems to occur to Sexton that some of those "individuals" not only include prominent leaders within a religion (at one point he refers to the Pope) but central or founding figures as well. How can Christians excuse/reconcile the New Testament passages in which Jesus reveals himself to be a hateful and homicidal asshole?

Simply separating what the average believer actually believes from the teachings and policies of the religion they profess to follow does not in any way negate the horrible aspects of religion. If anything it makes the problem more complicated. It also does nothing to disprove the idea that the world would probably be better off without religion. Sexton's piece is interesting primarily for the questions that come to mind while reading it. In and of itself it is rather pathetic. Even setting aside that it is completely constructed on personal anecdotes, it is riddled with various logical fallacies.

Cowardly Costco

I have to admit that when I first heard about Costco labeling the Bible as fiction I was pleasantly surprised. For a big box chain to do something that would undoubtedly lead to controversy is rare. I was both amused and impressed. The sad truth is that any objective person should not be surprised or upset by such labeling. What sacred text is fact based? Why shouldn't it be labeled fiction? Just because people deem something important or wish to believe something does not automatically make it true.

Rather quickly and predictably Costco apologized. As it turned out the labeling was unintentional. It was an isolated mistake that probably would have gone mostly unnoticed. The only reason it was not corrected without incident is because another arrogant self-righteous asshole had to throw a hissy fit.

Oh well, at this point I have come to terms with living in a society that places little value on reality.

A couple of the articles related to this incident:
'Fiction' Label On Bibles At Costco Shocks Pastor [UPDATE]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/costco-bible-fiction_n_4304784.html

Costco Apologizes for Labeling Bibles as Fiction
http://business.time.com/2013/11/20/costco-apologizes-for-labeling-bibles-as-fiction/

Quotation

"Guardianship is not to give an order but to give one's self"
Nyika (Kenya and Tanzania) Proverb