God is good

Prologue: This post does not apply to Christians who conclude that "God" was evil to the extent that "He" killed babies. Nor does it apply to Christians who don't believe that the Old Testament is literally true, and further conclude that "God" never actually killed babies as described in the Old Testament. In short, this post applies only to those who believe that A) God really killed numerous little babies, and B) that God is nonetheless "good." Whenever I hear believers proclaim that “God” is “good” I am puzzled. How could it possibly be that an all-knowing and omnipotent being could engage in the many atrocities attributed to “God” in the bible? For example, how can killing little babies ever be considered to be good? Here are 1,199 more examples of cruelty from the Bible. Anyone but “God” who engaged in such behavior would be universally proclaimed to be evil, not good. There’s no way to avoid this conundrum for believers, especially for Bible literalists. The God they repeatedly praise purportedly killed many thousands of innocent people, including countless numbers of babies. Consider also, that other Bible passages show little regard for the lives of infants and fetuses. The above passages cause me to consider this question: Do believers sincerely believe their claims that “God” is “good,” or are they merely being practical in the face of the threat of hell? To what extent is it that it is the perceived threat of hell causes it to seem “true” that a baby-killing God is “good”? Sam Harris raises a similar issue at page 33 of his new book, The Moral Landscape (2010):

What if a more powerful God would punish us for eternity for following Yahweh’s law? Would it then make sense to follow Yahweh’s law “for its own sake”? The inescapable fact is that religious people are as eager to find happiness and to avoid misery as anyone else: many of them just happen to believe that the most important changes in conscious experience occur after death (i.e., in heaven or in hell).

Indeed, what if a bigger stronger god named Kyle came along and smote Yahweh, showing all the world Yahweh’s lifeless supernatural “corpse” while declaring “God is Dead!” (Were this ever to happen, it would likely make atheist Friederick Nietzsche jostle in his grave). Wouldn’t believers quickly modify their existing hymnals, scratching out “God” and inserting “Kyle”? What might they do to the traditional hymn, “God is so Good”? Something like this? [More . . . ]

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The rapid rise of churchless believers

Large numbers of people now leaving churches nonetheless continue to believe in a god. This article in the L.A. Times indicates that the marriage of conservative politics and religion is driving them away from church:

The most rapidly growing religious category today is composed of those Americans who say they have no religious affiliation. While middle-aged and older Americans continue to embrace organized religion, rapidly increasing numbers of young people are rejecting it. As recently as 1990, all but 7% of Americans claimed a religious affiliation, a figure that had held constant for decades. Today, 17% of Americans say they have no religion, and these new "nones" are very heavily concentrated among Americans who have come of age since 1990. Between 25% and 30% of twentysomethings today say they have no religious affiliation — roughly four times higher than in any previous generation.

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Yes . . . Yes.

Back in the 1970's I was quite impressed with the musical innovation of the group Yes. I haven't followed them for decades. Tonight, to my surprise, I see that they were still performing as recently as 2003 (and the band is still performing 40 years after its start, though with some line-up changes). The following video contains a tune called "And You and I," just a tad laid back from the original version. The musicians include Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White. If you'd like to follow the lyrics in writing, click through to Youtube and listen.

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More on the accomodation debate

The NYT reports on the recent Los Angeles conference sponsored by the Council for Secular Humanism:

The conference came on the heels of a change in leadership at the council and a rumored rift there, which some described as a standoff between atheists, who focus on God’s nonexistence, and humanists, who are also nonbelievers but seek an alternative ethical system, one that does not depend on any deity. Some of the weekend’s speakers alluded to the turmoil at the council, where several longtime employees have resigned or been laid off. But in general they emphasized unity: They shared common enemies, like religious fundamentalism and “Intelligent Design.” And they believed morality was possible without God.

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Quotes for a Friday Night

Why do I love quotes? I'll tell you why:

To me, novels are just quotations with a bunch of filler. Terri Guillemets
If you liked that one, here are 15 more thought provoking quotes: Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. anon I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education. Wilson Mizner The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge. Daniel J. Boorstin Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. Thomas Jefferson The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money. David Richerby It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. Harry Truman A conclusion is the place where you got tired thinking. Martin H. Fischer [More . . . ]

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