I don't doubt that people believe in things that aren't there -- just go into any unknown place like a cellar or attic in the dark, and try to explain exactly the creepy feeling you get, or why you feel like someone should be watching your back. So yes, even the most impartial scientist or committed atheist may sometimes behave in an irrational manner.
However, quite how this translates into a very particular belief in something so specific that you feel able to argue with other people who believe in something quite similar but not identical, and further that it enables you to judge people because they don't share your belief, or behave in a manner contrary to what you think your belief should imply... well that I don't get.
For this reason, I feel much more able to accept anyone who tries to find their own path in life, and explain the odd thoughts they get in a totally original way, than someone who believes verbatim the words that someone else tells them.
Yup. I am perfectly respectful towards my friends who have had 'odd' experiences and have beliefs based on them, because they're going on the information they have. People who are basing their beliefs on passed-down knowledge, and extrapolation from pretty much nothing, on the other hand...
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andrewducker) wrote2010-09-16 10:46 am
Re: Mixed
Re: Mixed
However, quite how this translates into a very particular belief in something so specific that you feel able to argue with other people who believe in something quite similar but not identical, and further that it enables you to judge people because they don't share your belief, or behave in a manner contrary to what you think your belief should imply... well that I don't get.
For this reason, I feel much more able to accept anyone who tries to find their own path in life, and explain the odd thoughts they get in a totally original way, than someone who believes verbatim the words that someone else tells them.
Re: Mixed