In a recent post (last Sunday's?), I saw that you brought up Pascal's Wager as one of the reasons you're a believer. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't work that way. (I can't flip a switch to fully believe something without enough evidence beforehand, and I actually tried as a young Christian.) However, as we non-believers are eager to point out, we don't believe (there's that word again) that the knowledge of what constitutes Good and Evil is limited to those who have subscribed to supernatural benefactors. We can observe and appreciate the Good that the atheists, Hindus, Wiccans, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. do in this world, even if the underlying theologies that purport to serve as the basis for those moralities conflict in irreconcilable ways.
I appreciate your call for Christians and other religious folks to get out and DO their religions in the interest of advancing Good over Evil. If I may be so bold, for those of us without a higher-up calling the shots, let me suggest an amended Pascal's Wager for us non-believers:
Rather allow the philosophy of hedonism and selfishness to guide our actions (in the absence of an eschatology that would otherwise hold us accountable), lead a life and engage in actions that would earn the appreciative nod of a Good, Just, and Fair deity, should we be wrong in our metaphysical conclusions and some of our religious counterparts end up being correct. As non-believers, we do not hold that religion has a monopoly on moral reasoning, nor are all the supernatural actors in the various world religions aligned on the side of the Good. Act in such a manner in that you would be fulfilling the spirit of the moral commandments from those hypothetical Good, Just, and Fair gods, even if you're not fulfilling the letter of those commandments, as variously interpreted by our religious counterparts.
This has been a principle I've tried to hew to, and I think it's a solid one. In the most likely case (as per my own metaphysical reasoning), I end up doing some additional Good in the world during the short period of time before I become worm food. In the case that my metaphysical reasoning is incorrect, I'll go to the afterlife firm in the knowledge that I did my best to serve in the spirit of the best god that deserved that devotion. If the god calling the shots decides that I should suffer for my lack fulfilling the letter of the Good over the spirit of the Good, then that's on them.
The problem with the classic Pascal's Wager is that you can't be sure you're wagering on the correct god in the end. This amended version attempts to address that problem, with the caveat that assumes that in the absence of atheist oblivion that there's a Good, Just, and Fair deity calling the shots. This amended version won't address case where its an Evil or indifferent god calling the shots.
Go out and do Good in the name of your chosen gods (or non-gods) to make this country and world a better place that you found it, just as Lord Baden-Powell wrote in his last epistle to the Scouts. :-)
I checked out Mike Luckovich today. He places the blame for the Afghanistan debacle squarely on G. W. Bush for painting us into a corner. He is an apologist for the democrats and has gotten more so over the years.
In a recent post (last Sunday's?), I saw that you brought up Pascal's Wager as one of the reasons you're a believer. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't work that way. (I can't flip a switch to fully believe something without enough evidence beforehand, and I actually tried as a young Christian.) However, as we non-believers are eager to point out, we don't believe (there's that word again) that the knowledge of what constitutes Good and Evil is limited to those who have subscribed to supernatural benefactors. We can observe and appreciate the Good that the atheists, Hindus, Wiccans, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. do in this world, even if the underlying theologies that purport to serve as the basis for those moralities conflict in irreconcilable ways.
I appreciate your call for Christians and other religious folks to get out and DO their religions in the interest of advancing Good over Evil. If I may be so bold, for those of us without a higher-up calling the shots, let me suggest an amended Pascal's Wager for us non-believers:
Rather allow the philosophy of hedonism and selfishness to guide our actions (in the absence of an eschatology that would otherwise hold us accountable), lead a life and engage in actions that would earn the appreciative nod of a Good, Just, and Fair deity, should we be wrong in our metaphysical conclusions and some of our religious counterparts end up being correct. As non-believers, we do not hold that religion has a monopoly on moral reasoning, nor are all the supernatural actors in the various world religions aligned on the side of the Good. Act in such a manner in that you would be fulfilling the spirit of the moral commandments from those hypothetical Good, Just, and Fair gods, even if you're not fulfilling the letter of those commandments, as variously interpreted by our religious counterparts.
This has been a principle I've tried to hew to, and I think it's a solid one. In the most likely case (as per my own metaphysical reasoning), I end up doing some additional Good in the world during the short period of time before I become worm food. In the case that my metaphysical reasoning is incorrect, I'll go to the afterlife firm in the knowledge that I did my best to serve in the spirit of the best god that deserved that devotion. If the god calling the shots decides that I should suffer for my lack fulfilling the letter of the Good over the spirit of the Good, then that's on them.
The problem with the classic Pascal's Wager is that you can't be sure you're wagering on the correct god in the end. This amended version attempts to address that problem, with the caveat that assumes that in the absence of atheist oblivion that there's a Good, Just, and Fair deity calling the shots. This amended version won't address case where its an Evil or indifferent god calling the shots.
Go out and do Good in the name of your chosen gods (or non-gods) to make this country and world a better place that you found it, just as Lord Baden-Powell wrote in his last epistle to the Scouts. :-)
I checked out Mike Luckovich today. He places the blame for the Afghanistan debacle squarely on G. W. Bush for painting us into a corner. He is an apologist for the democrats and has gotten more so over the years.