[MD] Demanding Evidence From Theists

[david buchanan]

Steve said to dmb:
...I guess it is you who is soft on religious extremism then. I see no more significant threat to civilization itself. If someone blows up the world in the next hundred years, it will be because that person thinks it is God's will.

dmb says:

Yep. You've got me there. That's probably true. Nukes and fanaticism are a very lethal combo.


Steve said:
If you are willing to allow that all theism may not be bad, then we have no disagreement. I just wonder then what all the ranting was about.


dmb says: 

The difference between "not necessarily evil" and "not bad", is vast. "Not bad" is a weak version of "good" and that's a bit too generous. There is at least one bad aspect about theism no matter what kind of theism it is. You know what it is? It's the theism part of theism that's bad. Why, you ask?...

Steve said:
Campbell's assertion that the issue that unites and divides the two is reading myths as history rather than as metaphor. But can't an atheist read myth as metaphor and still be an atheist? In fact, isn't that exactly what Campbell was like? And can't a theist read the scripture of his own tradition as metaphor and deny all attempts by others to turn his religious symbols into bad science and bad history? I agree with Campbell that this is frequently the case, but must it always be the case?

dmb says:

No, by definition, a theist cannot read myth as metaphor. Theism is the belief in God as God, not as metaphor. I think it was Campbell who said "religion is a misunderstanding of mythology". 

 		 	   		  
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