The magazine, Foreign Policy, regularly has a feature that seems designed to have its readers re-think an issue. Hence the name of the piece, Think Again. This piece posits a "conventional wisdom" position related to the issue and then gives reasons why the conventional wisdom may be wrong.
This month's Think Again is penned by Karen Armstrong. It can be found at: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/19/god_0. I thought it would be nice to feature the questions and counter-points in this forum.
The first piece of conventional wisdom to be debunked is "GOD IS DEAD." This idea goes back to Nietzsche in the 19th century and was the watchword of sociologists of religion in the 20th century. Many assumed that human beings would move beyond traditional beliefs about God and religion and become fully secularized.
This did not happen. In fact, at the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, the power of religion seems as strong as ever. This is true, despite the rise of the neo-atheists (Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, et al) and the rising number of people who claim no religious affiliation.
Armstrong concludes this section of her essay with these words:
These writers are wrong -- not only about religion, but also about politics -- because they are wrong about human nature. Homo sapiens is also Homo religiosus. As soon as we became recognizably human, men and women started to create religions. We are meaning-seeking creatures. While dogs, as far as we know, do not worry about the canine condition or agonize about their mortality, humans fall very easily into despair if we don’t find some significance in our lives. Theological ideas come and go, but the quest for meaning continues. So God isn’t going anywhere. And when we treat religion as something to be derided, dismissed, or destroyed, we risk amplifying its worst faults. Whether we like it or not, God is here to stay, and it’s time we found a way to live with him in a balanced, compassionate manner.
Do you agree more with the neo-atheists or with Armstrong? Do you think the human search for meaning means that religion and God will always be part of the human endeavor?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thinking Again - About God
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1 comment:
I think that the understanding of God (or some being beyond human conceptions ) has evolved in ways over human history. There has always been an interest to look at explanations beyond direct experience - from a caveman drawing to beliefs about a consciousness throughout the universe. The form will change but the search for connection will continue.
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