It's obvious that our personal comfort in believing something has no bearing on the truth of it. To the extent one can choose to believe or not when there's a lack of evidence of something, that would be a nod towards pragmatism. That is, if I choose to believe in a fantastical claim that in no way interferes with my daily existence, but it does offer me comfort, then that would be a basis to believe in it, while admittedly not making the belief true. I choose to believe for the positive effects, not because of a delusion that I have arrived at empirical evidence or that my position is logically entailed. — Hanover
This began as a comparison of alcohol to faith as in either could offer meaning.
— Hanover
I can’t tell if you’re kidding.
— praxis
Does "religion" make the believer's life "meaningful"? No more, it seems to me, than alcohol makes the alcoholic's life "meaningful".
— 180 Proof — Hanover
Subjectivity is truth." Discuss. — Hanover
Is that your view or just a random sentence? — I like sushi
Religion can make good people believe bad things, like that God can order slayings of any person at anytime. — Gregory
It's always people who do the slayings, whether in the name of God or, more topically, Putin. At least we can define God as the good and deny unholy acts are decreed by him, but only falsely in his name. The same cannot be said of Putin. He is not an ideal or representation of the good. — Hanover
The Bible lied? — Jackson
So your Bible / Qur'an is a "work of fiction"? Thus, it's protagonist "YHWH" / "Allah" is also fictional? — 180 Proof
The Bible lied? — Jackson
At least we can define God as the good ... — Hanover
By the same token, that it is fiction doesn’t mean it can't contain truths. — Hanover
So what is the truth about God as depicted in the stories of wrath and destruction? Do you think the depictions are false because they do not conform to God as you define him? One might just as well say that God as you define him is a fiction. It seems far more simplistic and lacking in sophistication. — Fooloso4
No one does that. If they did, adherents would be stoning little girls. That they don't should give you pause as to what they must be looking at to decide how to act. — Hanover
Indeed. Do you know have a view why it is that Jewish fundamentalism hasn't gone down this path, given that Islamic fundamentalism (by contrast) seems quite ready to kill women, children and apostates in the name of Koranic fidelity? — Tom Storm
So what scriptures say about "God" is fictional but "God" itself is not a fictional character (like "Abe Lincoln" in that old Star Trek episode "The Savage Curtain" or "Jesus" in Monty Python's Life of Brian)? — 180 Proof
Nah, you're trying to make the fact that it's fictional mean that every fact contained in it is false. To be fictional simply means the factual claims in the book need not be true for the relevance of the story, but it doesn't require they be false. — Hanover
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