Posted by Gunnar on October 03, 1999 at 23:04:17:
In Reply to: Two points about the book. . . posted by blue on October 03, 1999 at 21:41:59:
:
: Shermer states:
: "My only beef with believers is when they claim they can use science and reason to prove God's existence, or that theirs is the One True Belief. . ."
: I always find this statement fascinating. Obviously there can only be One True Belief. The question is, which one is true? Atheism, Christianity, Buddhism? Pick one and defend it rationally. Pick another and defend it rationally. Compare the defenses. Which is more sound?
I think what his "beef" is really based on the fact that believers almost always take for granted that they are more justified in concluding that they have the "One True Belief" than anyone else with conflicting beliefs.
:
: Point two:
: Interestingly, he says he has found that most people believe because of reason, not faith. Namely, most don't believe that our universe could have been created by chance. That is exactly the reason the Apostle Paul gives in the first couple chapters of his letter to the Romans. Paul basically states that there is no reason for anyone who looks around and sees (hears, feels, smells, etc.) creation to deny the existance of God except for a pure refusal to accept the apparent. According to Shermer, that's what most people do whether they've read Romans or not.
He also said that many of the same people who claim that their own religious beliefs are based on reason seldom think the same is true of other believers, even those with the same or similar beliefs. This is probably even more true when others have conflicting beliefs.