At what point do the religious beliefs of others begin to seem absurd? I believed in God when I was a child - belief in God was handed to me - but once I got old enough to ask questions, that disappeared fairly quickly. Religious folks would be quick to point out that I put my faith in science, which is certainly true. What I like about science is that it embraces its fallibility, and struggles to improve; most other faiths cling desperately to a variably ancient creed structure, interpreting it in the context of their lives, and generally ignoring the way that that faith has been interpreted through the generations. Defense of their beliefs tends to seem increasingly shrill, and not infrequently becomes violent, meting out various horrible fates to those who question the sacred tenets. I dont feel that the beliefs of Haredi Jews are any more absurd than the Papist stuff with which I was raised - a man with a big white hat and a big jewel-encrusted stick stepping through a big white church in Rome doesnt seem intrinsically un-silly to me, once you step back and look at it. And I recognize the very real benefits that religion confers, both on its adherents (sense of community, dissolution of the fear of death, answers for why your life is so miserable) and non-adherents (charity, largely). But at this point in my life, religion is not for me, and I am somewhat childishly entertained when True Belief comes up against the Bewildered Secular.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 22:36:39 +0000
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