defaithed's blog

I'm happy whenever I can add a juicy news headline to Signs of the End, an uplifting list heralding the waning of religion's power.

Sadly, the major religion most successfully bucking this trend is the one that also strives to best its fellow faiths in sheer obnoxiousness: Islam.

How and why Islam would spread among Europeans, who in recent years have made such outstanding advances in kicking Christianity to the curb, is a true mystery to me. What possible attraction does this woman-hating, obedience-demanding, free speech-suppressing, science-killing "faith" hold for the people of modern, affluent societies? Well, here's the word from one European celebrity, actor Liam Neeson, casting a favorable eye upon the teachings of The Prophet:

The [Islamic] call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing. There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim.

There you have it: Islam is attractive because mosques and prayer are beautiful. The latter part of which, I agree, is true. Mosques (and churches and temples) can be gorgeous. And while prayer rituals don't hold an equal appeal for me, I don't deny that they tap into powerful human emotions.

I certainly won't assume that a publication's short quote represents Neeson's full reasons for hankering after Islam. He may have deeper reasons, and that's his own business. (The same goes for hundreds of thousands of other Europeans convering to Islam; see the linked article for some sobering numbers.) I only wonder, though, whether Neeson's and many converts' considerations include the following: Is Islam true?

Yes, mosques and the prayer ritual have beauty. Yes, some aspects of the Muslim faith may be commendable, such as alms for the poor and other aspects of community (and here I'll bite my tongue over other, decidedly deplorable aspects). But does that make Islam's claims about a supernatural God, and that God's chosen Prophet, factually correct?

I wonder how many of the converts, understandably impressed by the artistry of mosques, really deep-down care whether the claims of their new faith are true. The same goes for other religions too, of course, and for lifelong adherents as well as new converts. While few of the religious will outright admit it, many people choose their beliefs for reasons such as comfort or community alone, and genuinely don't care whether the beliefs are true. 

As a rationalist and atheist, that perspective has become so alien to me I sometimes lose sight of it. The words of converts and potential converts, like Neeson's quote above, provide a reminder that truth isn't necessarily the primary consideration of believers – or even one at all.

As an atheist with antennae tuned to unfounded claims about religion, and as a resident of "the East" sensitive to silly claims about "Western thought" and "Eastern thought", I had to reply to the following email letter received by The Atheist Experience from a visitor to their Facebook page. I'm humbly taking the liberty of reposting the letter here:

Don’t know if you guys know much about Eastern thought. Here is what I posted about your show on Facebook:

An interesting discussion. The two hosts are quite reasonable and logical. However, they assume Western ways of looking at religion and epistemology. For instance, the lady basically says, “Well, if there is a God, what sort of thing is this God, what category does it belong to?” But in the Orient, God is not seen as a thing belonging in a category, but universal awareness, underlying your and my awareness, and prior to all categories. Awareness can not see itself and put itself in an observed category and analyze itself.

The fellow on the other hand says “What evidence do you have for the existence of God?” But he sees this evidence as consisting of abstract facts. An enlightened oriental would say “Your question of how I know I am enlightened is like asking me to doubt that my hand I hold in front of me is mine.My knowledge is direct, not abstract or logical.” He has directly and experientially transcended the idea that awareness is limited to a supposed separate self.

Thanks for your consideration.

The Atheist Experience posted a short and nicely to-the-point reply; please give it a read (and if you're not regularly watching or listening to their show, start doing so immediately!). For the record, here's the reply I left on the comments, addressed to the good folks at The Atheist Experience:

Atheist Experience,

What a clueless letter you received. Its author is simply playing the “deepities” card: “Oh, you’re just not grasping the profoundness of my pet beliefs.”

More concretely, the doofus is engaging in the old “but that’s not my concept of God” sleight-of-tongue. It’s a demand that the skeptic somehow address every conceivable concept of God-blather in any response; otherwise, the believer will just skip to some other concept and shout “This is my God over here; you’re attacking a straw man over there.” However, I’ve been listening to The Atheist Experience for years, and am confident that if you good folks “assume Western ways of looking at religion and epistemology” in some discussion, it’s because you’re responding to specific claims that fall under that heading. The writer should not expect you to do otherwise.

More humorous is the sheer cheesiness of the letter. The writer comes across as having picked up his knowledge of “Eastern thought” from comic books or Hollywood. I’ve lived the majority of my life in “the Orient”, and can assure you that there is no blanket “Eastern thought” or universal “Eastern ways of looking at religion and epistemology” or singular “Oriental” view of God(s). Each of these comes in the vast multiplicity of forms that you would expect from literally billions of individuals. (I love the scripted response that the writer hands to “an enlightened Oriental”. That label is just precious!)

But while I would have rambled on about the above points in a response, you nail the most important point. The God concept that the writer presents may have been tangential to whatever claims you folks were addressing, but now that s/he’s brought up that concept, which I’m sure does exist in some form among many people, it can be addressed. Whether those people are many or few, and whether the concept is “Eastern” or “Western”, is irrelevant. What matters is precisely what you replied: Why would anyone believe this God concept?

“God is not a thing belonging in a category, but universal awareness, underlying your and my awareness, and prior to all categories.” All right. It sure has that “enlightened” deepity ring to it, but is it true? Alas, the writer is silent on that. Perhaps s/he’s out requesting clarification from “an enlightened Oriental”.

And that's that. Believers, saying "it's Eastern, so it's all on a deeper plane and you just don't get it" is no better than the common "um, quantum physics, and therefore magic healing crystals". True, one unfamiliar with some particular school of philosophy needs to tread carefully (and probably needs to learn much) before meaningfully critiqueing it – but nothing gets to escape the simple, universal criticism of "so where's the evidence for that?".

Seriously, that one trumps everything.

Have you heard the scary tale of the Jewish carpenter zombie?

Probably so; restating the supernatural bits of religion, even the "glorious" bits, in terms of crude pulp fiction is a common way to have fun when mocking belief.

I saw one such rewording today, when following some non-memorable chain of links brought me to The 7 Most Ridiculous Ghost Stories from Around the World on Cracked.com (a site I normally avoid due to its magical powers to destroy productive time...). I liked one comment by reader CraigFinlay:

I heard a ghost story once about a carpenter who was executed and rose from the dead 3 days later and if you don't telepathically accept him as your master he'll send you to burn in the underworld for all eternity because a rib woman was tricked by a talking snake into eating magic fruit a very long time ago. Why isn't that on this list?

Heh. Worth committing to memory.

(For a few more scary stories from Christianity, try these posts:)

The Vatican's Express Exorcist

Exorcism is a crime

Christ the King (of monsters)

"Arguing on the Internet is..."

Fill in the blank yourself with the punchline from any number of witticisms. They all equate to the same thing: "Arguing on the Internet is dumb." It's a waste of time, I know, especially responding to anonymous commenters... but once in a while, you just can't help but let fly.

Somehow I came across a story about a 12-year-old girl in Ethiopia beaten by men trying to abduct her for a forced "marriage". It seems that just as things looked the worst, three lions came along, scared off the men, and left the girl with no further harm. Wow!

An amazing tale? You bet! An open invitation to religious puffery by believers? Er, what else would you expect from people who see miracles imprinted on toast? It's no surprise that some goober commented thusly:

I am a Christian and I understand (and am OVERWHELMED at) this GIFT that GOD sent when HE had these lions come to protect this child. Angels can take any form...and then they just "disappeared into the wild"? THREE lions (as in The FATHER, The SON and The HOLY GHOST)!!?? Be THANKFUL that we have such a FATHER and GOD looking out for us!!

Well. Apparently bored and irritable, I responded: 

I am a Reasonable Human and I understand (and am OVERWHELMED at) this UNUSUAL EVENT in which NO GOD displayed evidence of intervention when HE OR SHE OR THEY failed to keep the girl out of this danger in the first place, and failed to punish the perpetrators of the hideous custom of bride kidnapping, and failed to perform any miraculous action on behalf of any children anywhere in the world, such as by clearing even one pediatric cancer ward of its patients (well, other than by letting them all die in agony, per the apparent default divine plan). Leprechauns can take any form… and then they just "disappeared into the wild"? THREE lions (as in CURLY, LARRY, and MOE)!!?? Be THANKFUL that sometimes creatures will act unpredictably, rather than outright killing children as lions and cobras and dogs and tuberculosis bacteria do too often in the utter absence of a FATHER and GOD looking out for us!

There! That'll raise hackles once it appears... which it hasn't yet, because... oops, the story is from 2005. Did not see that.

Chagrined, allow me to revisit my opener:

"Arguing on the Internet and doing so several years too late is really..."

Hot on the heels of yesterday's look at supporters of secular public education (and just as Richard Dawkins makes another trenchant plea to end special government support for "faith schools"), here's a roster of vocal notables who oppose a separation of religious indoctrination and public schools.

Surely this half-dozen would have no problem agreeing on whose religion to teach, what prayers to lead the class in, and which beliefs to instill. Why, I can't foresee disputes over such little details among the God-fearing proponents of public prayer, can you?

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Know anyone confused about who's for and who's against secular public education? Send 'em an image!

Here's a twist on the images I've been posting comparing the proponents and opponents of separation of church and state. A related – and equally crucial – topic is whether public schooling should stay secular, with religious education a matter of personal freedom in the home, the church, the mosque, and so on. Or should government, through the public school system, dip its hands into the matter of religion?

A lot of voices would disagree with that latter proposition – even voices as notably connected to religious belief as John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and George W Bush. (If Bush's clear-as-day support for secular public schools gives American "conservative Christians" pause, great!)

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Next up: The team opposed to secular public education. It's quite a collection of characters...

A slight twist from the previous installments: quotes not from individuals, but from national Constitutions. Click to enlarge

(So, Iraq. How's the theocracy thing working out for you?)

Next time: Something even more different.

You know religion is in trouble when even its leaders suggest we take a step back from it.

Tibetan Buddhism is no major faith worldwide, but its 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso is a globally known and influential religious figure. Said to be the reincarnation of his predecessors, the Dalai Lama was discovered through mystical omens and visions, was confirmed through "proofs" of his reincarnation, and was raised in a monastery. He conducts Buddhist rites, partakes in esoteric meditation practices, and hobnobs with popes, bishops, preachers, and gurus of all sorts. You can't get much more "religious figure" than that.

The Dalai Lama is also an author, and is working on a new book: Beyond Religion (out on Dec 6, 2011). Huh? Is this a warning of the dark immoral abyss awaiting those who venture beyond faith and dogma? No; according to the Dalai Lama, what lies beyond religion is secular morality – and the ethics we humans need to pursue.

The Huffington Post prints an excerpt from Beyond Religion. Huffpo may be a name you don't associate with reliable reporting, but unless there's been some big screw-up, the text comes from "His Holiness" himself. There's no religious bashing within (unless you're one of the hyper-coddled believers who label any lack of fawning Jesus-praise as bashing), yet the text suggests that religion is just another human system that can work for good or for bad, that the fact of multiple conflicting religions makes belief unfit as a universal basis for ethics, and that the creation of universal ethics need not depend on religion. Or as the Dalai Lama says:

What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics.

Wow. Now let's see if we can get some popes, imams, evangelists, and the like to board that train, and some real progress may lie ahead for humanity.

At the risk of bringing down the wrath of Godwin, here's another Separation of Church and State "poster" with a quote from Hitler.

The next installment will be different!

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Here's another homemade effort at illuminating the debate over spearation of church and state. "Teach the controversy", right?

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There's more to come –