Stranger in a Strange Land is fiction. Obviously it’s possible to write about the idea of a religious cult that is a great vehicle for rationality, but it’s equally possible to write about faster-than-light travel. Do you know of any real-life examples?
My experience suggests that even religious organizations that purport to venerate rationality (Objectivists, the Roman Catholic Church, possibly the Pythagoreans) are less effective at promoting rationality than other kinds of groups. Objectivists ended up being downright insane.
I said what I did mostly for the entertainment value, so essentially I am not going to defend it. I will say that some religions are more rational than others, open to science and “believe” that their faith is logical. Rational (Maimonidean) Judaism has a lot of these ideas, as did Islam as some points. Christianity had their share of rational people, but if you start with nonsense like trinity you cannot get too far IMO.
ETA: I have tried and failed to find, through Google, any mention of a special connection between RC belief and rationality. Possibly they accept rationality, but that they venerate it is a much stronger claim. Could someone please give a ref and not just downvote?
Since St. Augustine. One of the core tenets of their faith is that the existence of God can be proven through the use of reason alone, and throughout the centuries they have spent almost as much time as the rabbis arguing about dogma, although with a distinctly different attitude about the need to come to a conclusion.
Indeed. Were it not for the Catholic Church’s assertion that the existence of God can be known through reason, I might have stopped short of pursuing my doubts all the way to atheism...
As far as I could make out from just that chapter, that story is about a time traveler observing a robber masquerading as priest and giving an ironic quotation. I’d like some more solid and official evidence tying Catholic dogma to rationality.
Hey, a religious cult can be a great vehicle for rationality! (Stranger in Strange Land)
Stranger in a Strange Land is fiction. Obviously it’s possible to write about the idea of a religious cult that is a great vehicle for rationality, but it’s equally possible to write about faster-than-light travel. Do you know of any real-life examples?
My experience suggests that even religious organizations that purport to venerate rationality (Objectivists, the Roman Catholic Church, possibly the Pythagoreans) are less effective at promoting rationality than other kinds of groups. Objectivists ended up being downright insane.
I said what I did mostly for the entertainment value, so essentially I am not going to defend it. I will say that some religions are more rational than others, open to science and “believe” that their faith is logical. Rational (Maimonidean) Judaism has a lot of these ideas, as did Islam as some points. Christianity had their share of rational people, but if you start with nonsense like trinity you cannot get too far IMO.
Since when do RC Catholics venerate rationality?
ETA: I have tried and failed to find, through Google, any mention of a special connection between RC belief and rationality. Possibly they accept rationality, but that they venerate it is a much stronger claim. Could someone please give a ref and not just downvote?
Since St. Augustine. One of the core tenets of their faith is that the existence of God can be proven through the use of reason alone, and throughout the centuries they have spent almost as much time as the rabbis arguing about dogma, although with a distinctly different attitude about the need to come to a conclusion.
Indeed. Were it not for the Catholic Church’s assertion that the existence of God can be known through reason, I might have stopped short of pursuing my doubts all the way to atheism...
You might read G.K. Chesterton’s story, “The Blue Cross.” (http://www.literaturepage.com/read/chesterton-innocence-of-father-brown-1.html)
Or for just one relevant passage from the story, see http://www.literaturepage.com/read/chesterton-innocence-of-father-brown-17.html.
This sort of attitude is fairly common in the Catholic Church and seems a lot like veneration, although that could depend on your definition.
As far as I could make out from just that chapter, that story is about a time traveler observing a robber masquerading as priest and giving an ironic quotation. I’d like some more solid and official evidence tying Catholic dogma to rationality.
As far as I can make out, you didn’t understand the story.
Anyway this would be more official: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_15101998_fides-et-ratio_en.html
Of course it’s too long to read, and anyway as I said it’s a question of interpretation.
At Pantheacon, I encountered a fellow who had started a church modeled after those in SiSL