i dunno man, i suppose if someone was utterly ignorant of how the world works and the idea of discovery, then maybe their religion might stand up to this pathetic scrutiny, but then i can't really imagine that either. as long as i can remember i've been taught science and critical thinking. maybe i lack empathy or something, but i still can't wrap my head around it.summerof2010 said:>implying the religious do not think about their beliefs.viking97 said:someone said the religious, i'd extend that too anyone who simply doesn't think about something.
Now, I don't think it's right of course, but certainly you can see how at least some religious beliefs (there's more than fundamentalist Christianity, you know) are at least plausible enough to hold up under the scrutiny of lay people not trained in philosophical thinking, and who have not been exposed to the arguments against the existence of God(s) or the validity of certain religious beliefs. And this is no better or greater scrutiny than we can really expect of them, don't you think? It is awfully hard to be aware of your ignorance unless you are aware of it in retrospect.
That, and it's worth mentioning that some of the greatest minds ever, have been religiously. Sir Issac Newton (who was so unimpressed by his own invention of calculus that he didn't even fucking tell anybody for the better part of a decade), actually taught specifically about the Christian faith. That was like his day job.
(also, newton was kind of nuts. jus sayin)