Doug Pensinger wrote: > Actually, and I posted about this a few weeks ago, I think > that people in > general feel a need to be able to understand things and that > an imaginary > god helps fulfill that need. Contemplating the unknown can be very > frightening, and that fear is a valid reason for seeking the > security of a > god.
Indeed. I have long agreed with that. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said something about the necessity of inventing God? But that doesn't really bother me - I like the idea of believing in a lot of nice ideas like a source for unanswered questions, alien life-forms, the notion that everyone is good and can be talked into acting rationally...None of these have any impact on my daily life [well, I do often try the latter] but they are fun thoughts to ponder when I'm free. :) > I did not mean to imply that my validation was required (or even > considered) for your beliefs and am sorry if that came across too > strongly. I appreciate your honesty and candor in discussing > these most > inner, personal thoughts. The apology is not necessary though I do think it is very nice of you. As for the rest, well, you have known me long enough to know that I am usually ready to talk. :) > I consider myself agnostic and not atheist because while > ultimately a god > doesn't really answer any of my questions, I believe in > possibilities. > Thus denying the possibility that some vastly superior entity > might exist > goes against my nature. Thank you for sharing that. :) > > I see progress and wonderful potential too, Doug, but that > is not the > > same as having faith that it is the only direction we are traveling > > in/we would travel in. And Brin hasn't expressed any such faith, or > > reason for it, in that essay either. Hope and optimism, > yes. Faith in > > the inevitability of the golden age, no. So you will have > to go into > > greater detail if we are to discuss it any further. :) > > I don't recall saying anything about a golden age. No, you didn't. But Brin did in that essay and you *had* directed me to that. :) > My > (humble?) faith is > only that we will continue to make progress and will not destroy > ourselves. I don't have that faith. Even if we don't destroy ourselves [and I hope we don't], I am still not sure that we will keep on making progress. The more common pattern seems to be of taking on step forward and then two steps back. > Optimisim _is_ faith! Heh. I tend to think of it as sheer bloody-mindedness. Y'know, being optimistic in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Not because I am sure that my optimism is well-founded, but simply because *someone* has to be optimistic. > I think that we increase > our rate of > success as more and more people come understand that it is > more important > to have faith in ourselves rather than in a fictional deity. While I cannot stress the importance of having faith in yourself enough [for if you don't have that, you have nothing left], I'm not quite sure that I agree with you. I know too many people whose morality seems to be hinged on their religious beliefs. And I'm not sure how they would act if that constraint is removed. Y'see, they are devout believers who seem more worried about offending God than about causing pain to another person. I'd really rather have them afraid of God's judgment if that means that they behave better. :) Ritu, who is aware that she is a curious mix of optimism and cynicism _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
