*nods* Most people really aren't familiar with other religions, and therefore end up basically exclusively harping on Christianity while pretending they're attacking all "religion". Which is quite annoying, especially since I do have at least passing familiarity with the fundamentals of most major religions.
Many people don't know that, and that is a major problem, really. And all it takes to understand is to actually read the words of the constitution and apply some sense thinking about it, rather than just accepting whatever you're told. And peoples' beliefs and morals will always factor into their judgement, even if they're atheist. Beliefs and thus "religion" is inherently a part of human reasoning, regardless of which religion it is.
People tend to assume that being "merciful" and/or "good" is inherently exlcusive of allowing bad things to happen. Hence the question "how can a good God let bad things happen?" which is a lot of the idea you were hitting upon. In any case, if you want to use that analogy, go ahead, though I'd recommend taking more time to analyze and think it over first to make sure you understand the concepts, since arguing without understanding first tends not to work well. And that is exactly the explanation/argument I use for the whole "why did God let this happen?" thing, though of course the exact wording and approach would be altered to be more appropriate to the situation. A bit of tact and all. But it *is* the concept, really. And it's one of the hardest concepts for most people to grasp without a long explanation/analogy, most people have far less difficulty with the concepts behind other religious systems. (for example, being required to pray five times a day, or being able to get into heaven by doing enough good deeds... that all makes sense right away, this whole good and merciful God concept? that's the one that confuses people.)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-12-02 09:50 pm (UTC)Many people don't know that, and that is a major problem, really. And all it takes to understand is to actually read the words of the constitution and apply some sense thinking about it, rather than just accepting whatever you're told. And peoples' beliefs and morals will always factor into their judgement, even if they're atheist. Beliefs and thus "religion" is inherently a part of human reasoning, regardless of which religion it is.
People tend to assume that being "merciful" and/or "good" is inherently exlcusive of allowing bad things to happen. Hence the question "how can a good God let bad things happen?" which is a lot of the idea you were hitting upon. In any case, if you want to use that analogy, go ahead, though I'd recommend taking more time to analyze and think it over first to make sure you understand the concepts, since arguing without understanding first tends not to work well. And that is exactly the explanation/argument I use for the whole "why did God let this happen?" thing, though of course the exact wording and approach would be altered to be more appropriate to the situation. A bit of tact and all. But it *is* the concept, really. And it's one of the hardest concepts for most people to grasp without a long explanation/analogy, most people have far less difficulty with the concepts behind other religious systems. (for example, being required to pray five times a day, or being able to get into heaven by doing enough good deeds... that all makes sense right away, this whole good and merciful God concept? that's the one that confuses people.)