Re: Going back...

Russell Stewart (diamond@rt66.com)
Mon, 30 Jun 1997 08:02:04 -0600

At 02:43 PM 6/26/97 EDT, you wrote:
>Russell writes:
>
><<Nor did I intend to. Perhaps you misunderstood what I was saying; I admit
>that it may not have been entirely clear. I was not implying that Christianity
>can't help *anyone*. I was just talking about human nature *in general*.>>
>
>I'm not sure I understand the distinction. The millions of changed lives I've
>been talking about are changes in human nature. How can we tell? Because they
>result in changes in behavior--from immoral to moral, from bad to good.

Yes, but when I've looked at human behavior as a whole throughout history,
I haven't seen an appreciable improvement since the coming of Christianity.
We still just have as many religious wars, just as much genocide, murder,
rape, and whatever other sorts of attrocities you can name. I'm not saying
that Christianity is responsible for this, but it clearly has not fulfilled
its promise of bringing peace to mankind.

><<Nor have I tried to. I am not talking about individual cases, I am talking
>about the overall behavior of humanity as a whole.>>
>
>But when you multiply individual cases by millions, you begin to affect the
>behavior of "humanity as a whole," don't you?

Then why haven't we seen an overall improvement in human behavior? Clearly
something must be wrong with your assumptions.

><<Atheism is about more than just "turning away from God". By describing it
>in this negative light, you automatically bias your argument in favor of
>your desired conclusion. And there are certainly plenty of books about the
>beauty of understanding the universe from a naturalistic perspective. One
>I can think of off the top of my head is "At Home in the Universe", by
>Stuart Kauffman.>>
>
>I'll check it out. But I remember reading another ode to the natural--Cosmos,
>by the late Carl Sagan--and I found it, unfortunately, a paean of
>self-deception.

Well, I disagree.

>I think it is impossible to be "at home" in a godless
>universe,

And that is where you fail. You just are not capable of understanding my
point of view.

>if one really thinks it through.

I have thought it through; thoroughly. That is what has led me to my current
beliefs.

_____________________________________________________________
| Russell Stewart |
| http://www.rt66.com/diamond/ |
|_____________________________________________________________|
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | diamond@rt66.com |
|_____________________________|_______________________________|

Tautology
(n) See truism.

Truism
(n) See tautology.