[MD] New Model Army, Mystic(DQ) Experience, and Religion (SQ) as Power

[david buchanan]

David M said to Marsha:
Given what these ideas have meant to others I would not say 'silly', and you 
remain in a minority I suspect for a very long time. In principle, yes, 
these words can dis-emerge like any other pattern.

dmb butts in:
DM, I want to look at your assertion that theism is not silly, "given what 
these ideas have meant to others". As I see it, "silly" is a casual and 
fuzzy way to say "implausible" or "unbelievable". And let's de-escalate the 
debate by taking God out of it. To demonstrate the flaw in your logic here, 
we'll use a hypothetical instead. Let's say that the truth at issue is your 
father's fidelity in his marriage to your mother. Basically, he walked the 
line and remained true or he cheated on her. He did or he didn't. Now, it 
would probably mean a great deal to you, your hypothetical siblings and 
mother to believe that he has remained faithful. And it would be very 
painful to learn that he had a fling with that hot waitress down at the 
Waffle House. And those emotions are real and powerful and among the most 
meaningful elements of our lives - and they are completely irrelevant in 
deciding whether or not his fidelity is actually true. And in fact those 
powerful feeling can stand in the way of one's willingness to examine the 
situation honestly and can interfere with a philosophers ability to accept 
the harsh reality that dad was getting a little on the side. And, as 
difficult as it may be to face the fact, there was probably some amount of 
butter and syrup involved in it too.

Long story short, comfortable beliefs and accurate beliefs are the same 
beliefs only if you're very, very  lucky.

dmb

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