Should this obviously stupid and dangerous human being burn FOREVER in some mythical lake of fire?
Really? Do you really think that a god that demands worship ... by threat of torment ... is a god worth having, much less serving? If there were such a god, operating at such a transcendent level of abstraction from my own ability to even THEORIZE or SPECULATE ... it would be MORALLY INCOMPREHENSIBLE that such a being could intentionally create even the POSSIBILITY for some of his created entities to suffer such a fate.
Of course, if you find this person "stupid" or "dangerous" then we have absolutely nothing to talk about. The subject line was only a feeble ploy to capture attention. Moreover, I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge a part of me that wishes a rigorous intellectual analysis of these things could result in a different conclusion. There are many advantages to latching on to the idea of a single supreme being who cares mindfully about me in a personal way. Building relationships with humans is damned difficult at times and finding peace within ourselves is no walk in the park, either. If there is a benevolent master ruler of all things who is my secret friend and defender, it can really help me to cope with the difficulties of everyday life. In fact, there was a time when that belief fulfilled that very role for me. Lacking any other ready tools at the time of crisis, it worked out quite well for me, in fact.
Still, the fact that a coping strategy works for a period of time is not sufficient to enshrine it ever after. Alas, like so many others before me, once the strategy effectively "saved" me from ploughing further down the road to self-destruction, it subsequently gained an internal immutable quality that long resisted any new information whatsoever. It should not be underestimated that the experience of being "saved" was a powerfully transformational subjective experience that was quickly ratified and validated by others who had similarly crossed that threshold. The combination of internal and external experiential validation creates one damned powerful cognitive epoxy that does not require objectively verifiable truth as a bonding catalyst. Outside of empirically testable phenomena, our tools for determining the reality or authenticity of subjective experiences are pretty limited both in number and effectiveness. So, I can't much blame the masses of religious minded people in every culture for being stuck.
Of course, I can continue to share my own experiences and gain new external validation from people who have crossed the current subjective threshold of being done with religion. Somehow, however, it does not seem likely that the same process which got me into this whole mess in the first place, can also eventually lead me out. There's got to be a better way; however, that better way likely involves at least a molecule-by-molecule reverse engineering of the human brain; which we probably won't have for another 20 to 50 years. Unlike previous generations of humans, we do live in a uniquely acclerating era when such an expectation can be made with relative confidence.
Of course, if you find this person "stupid" or "dangerous" then we have absolutely nothing to talk about. The subject line was only a feeble ploy to capture attention. Moreover, I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge a part of me that wishes a rigorous intellectual analysis of these things could result in a different conclusion. There are many advantages to latching on to the idea of a single supreme being who cares mindfully about me in a personal way. Building relationships with humans is damned difficult at times and finding peace within ourselves is no walk in the park, either. If there is a benevolent master ruler of all things who is my secret friend and defender, it can really help me to cope with the difficulties of everyday life. In fact, there was a time when that belief fulfilled that very role for me. Lacking any other ready tools at the time of crisis, it worked out quite well for me, in fact.
Still, the fact that a coping strategy works for a period of time is not sufficient to enshrine it ever after. Alas, like so many others before me, once the strategy effectively "saved" me from ploughing further down the road to self-destruction, it subsequently gained an internal immutable quality that long resisted any new information whatsoever. It should not be underestimated that the experience of being "saved" was a powerfully transformational subjective experience that was quickly ratified and validated by others who had similarly crossed that threshold. The combination of internal and external experiential validation creates one damned powerful cognitive epoxy that does not require objectively verifiable truth as a bonding catalyst. Outside of empirically testable phenomena, our tools for determining the reality or authenticity of subjective experiences are pretty limited both in number and effectiveness. So, I can't much blame the masses of religious minded people in every culture for being stuck.
Of course, I can continue to share my own experiences and gain new external validation from people who have crossed the current subjective threshold of being done with religion. Somehow, however, it does not seem likely that the same process which got me into this whole mess in the first place, can also eventually lead me out. There's got to be a better way; however, that better way likely involves at least a molecule-by-molecule reverse engineering of the human brain; which we probably won't have for another 20 to 50 years. Unlike previous generations of humans, we do live in a uniquely acclerating era when such an expectation can be made with relative confidence.
Labels: infective.invective
posted by ftw at 1:37 PM
0 comments
