tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post888952952788603784..comments2024-01-10T17:36:15.040-07:00Comments on The Lippard Blog: The country shrink's other points, and my responseLippardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-38848530392006805572008-07-06T11:52:00.000-07:002008-07-06T11:52:00.000-07:00"3). There is something in their lives that they a..."3). There is something in their lives that they are afraid they would have to give up if they believed in God. It’s usually some pattern that brings them pleasure in a way that they feel believers might label as immoral. They are typically not conscious of this."<BR/><BR/>Ok!!! He's got a point! I like sleeping in on Sunday mornings! But I am conscious of this!Humanist.Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15306535562032283524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-68535086319852422932008-07-05T13:22:00.000-07:002008-07-05T13:22:00.000-07:00Wanderin' Weeta: Good point!Wanderin' Weeta: Good point!Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-10931741812317383642008-07-05T13:05:00.000-07:002008-07-05T13:05:00.000-07:00"As for tolerance, in my experience atheists are f..."As for tolerance, in my experience atheists are far more tolerant than Christians (including more tolerant of Christians than Christians are of atheists)."<BR/><BR/>I would add, ... and usually more tolerant of Christians than Christians are of Christians of a conflicting denomination.Susannah Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11923063322849781223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-56195010239271862842008-07-05T12:37:00.000-07:002008-07-05T12:37:00.000-07:00Re: Re #7 - People do make inferences, and that in...Re: Re #7 - People do make inferences, and that includes atheists. Like all humans we try to find cause in things.<BR/><BR/>That carries through to atheists who are also trying tp make sense of the seemingly senseless - in this case, belief in god itself.<BR/><BR/>We can go on all day about all the various potential reasons used to explain religion (and, from the atheist standpoint, <B>all</B> of those reasons are, by definition, <I>sans diety</I>) but I think they all fall somewhere on one side or the other of a line.<BR/><BR/>That line represents, for want of a better word, "credibility". That line in a debate, particularly a debate based on factual data rather than opinion (that is, a debate such as "is the Earth flat?" vs "Is nuclear power a good thing?"), tends to move with time and with data collection.<BR/><BR/>At some point, that line moves so far to one side, it becomes difficult to take the other side seriously, and when you can't take someone's position seriously, the tendency is to attribute their argument to something <I>other</I> than reason.<BR/><BR/>I can't take flat-earthers seriously. I'd like to think they exist just to get together at the pub and have some beers, but... I can't imagine that being the real reason, either. So, other ideas start creeping into my head: They're delusion, they're somehow pushing an agenda for their own benefit, they're nuts, they're stupid, etc.<BR/><BR/>And I stand by that assessment because those are all more likely than that they've considered the evidence and made a reasoned decision.<BR/><BR/>I don't consider myself to be "arrogant" in my belief that the Earth is round(ish), yet I'll defend that position tenaciously until (and if) something more compelling comes along to explain the shape of the Earth.<BR/><BR/>I can, however, see how someone on the flat side of that argument (assuming they really believe their argument) could see that position as arrogant.<BR/><BR/>This is not far removed from the standpoint that many atheists hold about religion, and for the same reasons - it is difficult to credit that someone espousing religion came to that position through rational thought.Gridmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00098830852211613522noreply@blogger.com