Are All Believers Insane?

[goldent]

Hi, my name is Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. I am the person your professor warned you about.

Why? Because I am a true believer. I believe first and prove afterwards.

More than that, I am a dogmatist. Even when the reality before my eyes flies in the face of all I believe, I continue as doggedly as before. Until I get the facts to conform to what I believe.

Much more at link

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2539704/jewish/Are-All-Believers-Insane.htm

I was originally going to post this in Religion as I think the article is very interesting, but the author is not kind to atheism, and it would probably cause many hurt feelings.

[hrmjustin]

2. He was curious what believers thought about it.

[goldent]

3. I find his discussion of belief interesting

and how pervasive it is in our society. And how dreary our world would be without unfounded belief.

I think he is unfair to atheists, but I do think atheism is a belief system (I think about belief systems in the mathematical sense). This is why I didn't post it in Religion, as that forum has a significant percentage of Atheist posters. I can personally attest to the fact that people's feelings can be badly hurt by inanities - I'd say it is extremely common.

To understand what he is saying, I think you have to appreciate the spirit in which it was written - which is with a fair amount of humor/irony/tongue-in-check in it. I would have loved to have heard it live.

[hrmjustin]

5. Please don't mention Dawkins in this room.

This is the interfaith room.

[hrmjustin]

8. No I am sorry I got pilly.

I just detest Dawkins.

Not your fault at all that this was in the front page.

[goldent]

6. I think you are in the wrong room for this discussion.

[okasha]

10. Not true.

NT

[TreasonousBastard]

9. I, too, think you are in the wrong room....

We are here to foster good will and find points of agreement among all the faiths and lack of faith.

I'm sure most of us disagree with this rabbi, but the point here is not to point out those we disagree with.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. I'm unlocking this thread because I will admit that only half...

or so of the linked article by the rabbi loaded into my computer and it looked like a fundamentalist rant better suited to groups that like to fight.

The full article is no such thing. The rabbi ends up talking about the necessity of variety in belief, and the even greater necessity of talking to each other about our beliefs-- which is what we hope to do here.

[goldent]

12. Thanks TreasonousBastard

I posted this article thinking it would be good for discussion. The author used a provocative title which can be dangerous because unless you read the article it gives a misleading impression.

To summarize, the author says that everyone has unfounded beliefs, and these beliefs can be dangerous, or can be greatly beneficial.

But the article leads to this conclusion...

If someone tells me they believe something is true but cannot prove it, I can speak with that person. I can say, “You have beliefs, and I have beliefs. I can’t prove mine, you can’t prove yours.” I can ask that person, “Just what sort of a world do you think these beliefs will take us to?” That’s a great measuring stick. Because if both of us agree on the same goal, we can work together.

But if that person tells me that if I don’t believe what they believe it’s because I’m ignorant, stupid and insane…well, you get the idea. I can’t see that as a route to a happy world.

All this means that no one has to give up their beliefs in order to live peacefully with everyone else. No one has to even compromise in the slightest. That would be nothing less than a death knell to the magnificent patchwork of wisdoms and cultures that multiculturalism purports to preserve.

This is the except I should have used in the OP, as it is the essence of the Interfaith group.

The article is very well thought out, and encourage people to read it. My only complaint is he should have left atheism out of it - I think it is a little mean spirited and doesn't add anything.