What Good Is God?

I think the bickering between atheists and religious people about the amount of good/bad done by religions is rather pointless. Most atheists admit that religion does some good and no rational person can deny that evil has certainly been done in the name of religion.



The real question that matters, and I would think this should be rather obvious but apparently it isn't, is what is the truth? If there IS a God as described by Christianity and if there are such places as heaven and hell then by all means it makes sense to worship that God.



But if there isn't (and I think Dawkins makes the case amazingly well that there isn't in the God Delusion) then even if we might get some short term comfort from believing in myths it seems to me the history of human progress has been to search for the truth. If we care so much about the truth when it comes to the natural world, why would we suddenly resort to myths about the nature of Good and Evil and the Afterlife? Its just intellectual laziness, believing things because we were brought up that way and because we feel that the alternative may be uncomfortable to confront.



That is my faith that ultimately searching for the truth is the right thing to do even if it may be uncomfortable.
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Let's Stop Being PC and Call the Tea Party What It Is: The <em>Stupid</em> Party

I loved the article but I think you have a really good point. Its easy and fun to laugh at how unintelligent they are but the fact is the vast majority of them are voting against their interests. If they really understood just what they were supporting they would realize it IS big intrusive government, corporate bailouts, corporate welfare, etc. Its a lot harder to do but what the left should really be trying for is to reach out to the Tea Party. Listen to their fears and explain why their interests are mostly the same as ours.
About Christine O'Donnell
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Hillary Clinton is Right to Warn the UK Over Defense Cuts

Nowhere in this article did I see any mention of an actual threat to the UK that they would be ill equipped to defend against as a result of these cuts. And I'm not surprised, the cold war is over and -- as much as military lovers such as this author hate to admit it -- the world is for the most part moving to settling conflicts via diplomacy rather than force. The threats that do exist are mostly from terrorism and they do not require the massive military expenditures of the past. In fact bloated armies are actually ill equipped to dealing with such threats as demonstrated by the 9/11 attacks against the US, the only remaining military super power.



The real threats to the UK and the world come from issues such as global climate change and the resulting upheaval that will be caused as well as proliferation of nuclear weapons. Those threats also can best be dealt with via diplomacy and negotiation not through force.
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Celebration of the Birth of the Bab: Dawn of the Age of the Maturity of Humanity

Science is a method for finding the truth. In the past there has been agreement between most scientists and most religious people that things such as ethics were out of bounds for science and most people still think that.



But there are people who are starting to question that division such as Sam Harris. I don't agree with everything he says but I agree with his basic premise that questions of ethics and value should no longer be considered out of bounds for science.



So I'm actually agreeing with you. The problem with chemical warfare and other terrible crimes of science was that scientists thought moral questions were out of bounds. They left that to politicians and religious leaders and when those leaders said "we need better weapons" they didn't question it. Science needs to provide the same tools for objectivity, peer review, reliance on facts not emotions (or holy books) to questions of value and ethics. Of course that won't be easy. There will be more pressure to bias findings based on prejudice and preconceived ideas because questions of value hit people much more emotionally than questions about the natural world. But science is the only technique we have to get beyond those emotions and biases. Religion just gives us various sacred books and people's interpretations of those books. That is why it really has made no significant progress answering anything in the past millenia but science has made so much progress in the last few hundred years.
About Spirituality
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Juan Williams FIRED: NPR Sacks Analyst Over Fox News Muslim Comments

That's a good question. During the cold war there was actually a real chance that we could jointly blow up most of the world in a fight with Russia and yet people didn't seem as afraid as they do now.



I don't think its an accident. Eisenhower was right about the military/industrial complex. We have that now more powerful then he could have imagined and it needs never ending fear to justify the insane amount we spend on "security" and "defense".
About Bill O'Reilly
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Celebration of the Birth of the Bab: Dawn of the Age of the Maturity of Humanity

This is a reply to your comments below. First I admit I don't know much about Bahai but what little I know is positive. It seems to be more open minded then most religions.



But ultimately my faith is in the truth. And my analysis of history says that Truth doesn't come from holy books or designating some individual as the Mesiah or the Bab. Its cool you work for peace and justice and encourage science and art and in all those things I would gladly work with you.



But ultimately I still think you are wrong. Truth isn't in holy books its in reason. And reason isn't easy. It doesn't come from just wishing it so. The only reliable technique we humans have found to get beyond all our prejudice and bias and preconceived ideas so far is science not religion, even a benign religion such as Bahai.
About Spirituality
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Ahmadinejad Offers Salvation for Lebanon's Downtrodden

Even if that were true is that really the standard you want for Israel? "We aren't as bad as Syria!" When Israel was formed it was to provide a home for an oppressed people not to become an oppressor itself, even if a minor one.
About Lebanon
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