23 JAN 2012 by ideonexus

 Religion is Hubris

The fact that stares one in the face is that people of the greatest sincerity and of all levels of intelligence differ and have always differed in their religious beliefs. Since at most one faith can be true, it follows that human beings are extremely liable to believe firmly and honestly in something untrue in the field of revealed religion. One would have expected this obvious fact to lead to some humility, to some thought that however deep one's faith, one may conceivably be mistaken. Noth...
Folksonomies: science religion atheism
Folksonomies: science religion atheism
  1  notes

Quoting Sir Hermann Bondi. To claim that you know the mind of god with great certainty is incredibly egotistical when you consider all the other divergent religious opinions making the same claim.

10 AUG 2011 by ideonexus

 A Deceptive God

Balthamos said quietly, “The Authority, God, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, the Father, the Almighty, those were all names he gave himself. He was never the creator. He was an angel like ourselves, the first angel, true, the most powerful, but he was formed of Dust as we are, and Dust is only a name for what happens when matter begins to understand itself. Matter loves matter. It seeks to know more about itself, and Dust is formed. The first angels condensed out of Dus...
Folksonomies: atheism god deities deception
Folksonomies: atheism god deities deception
  1  notes

Usually a fake god is described as someone with special powers, but Pullman's god is merely an angel that preceded other angels into existence and lied to them about their origins, when, in fact, we are all products of the natural world.

23 JUL 2011 by ideonexus

 The Principle of Religious Diversity

As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of all government, to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which government hath to do therewith, Let a man throw aside that narrowness of soul, that selfishness of principle, which the niggards of all professions are so unwilling to part with, and he will be at delivered of his fears on that head. Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society. For myself, I fully and c...
  1  notes

Paine argues that a plurality of religious beliefs with strengthen the country.