The Dawkins Delusion

by brotherdan 181 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • brotherdan
    brotherdan

    Damocles, you are a refreshing voice on this board! Thank you! I have enjoyed every one of your posts.

  • brotherdan
    brotherdan

    Yeah, heaven. I'm open to anything right now. That's one reason why I read "The God Delusion". I want all sides (at least that I can understand and read about). I'm not afraid, like I was as a JW, of reading ANYTHING. Knowledge is power.

  • Heaven
    Heaven

    I'm not afraid, like I was as a JW, of reading ANYTHING. Knowledge is power.

    This is excellent and I couldn't agree with you more.

    "Fear is the mind killer" ('Dune' (1984)) and keeps us ignorant. I have been having fun reading up on faiths/beliefs I would never have even thought of investigating when I was younger. I have some insights into the Muslim and Jewish faiths since I work with people who have these beliefs.

  • glenster
    glenster
  • xchange
    xchange

    The way I read Dawkin's book was keeping in mind that he was attacking the privileged state that god(s) and religion/sects/cults have in society today. He was over the top, true. He comes across as arrogant, bullish and elitist, so what. What religion hasn't done that? The book reflected a growing number of peoples backlash towards religion because of the way religion (and for centuries) has maintained a dishonest stranglehold over people - IMHO. Dawkin's approach is really no different than that of any ex-JW's trying to convince JW's that their belief in the WT organization is baseless - he tells it like it is.

  • glenster
    glenster
  • ziddina
    ziddina
    "When Dawkins begins his examination of faith he ... states that "religious faith does not depend on rational justification" and that all religions "demand unquestioned faith". ..."
    "When you say that the DEFINITION OF FAITH IS THIS, that is not the statement of opinion. He does not give any source for that definition. ..."

    It's been a while since I read that book, but when he stated that definition, I totally agreed with it BECAUSE I've read quite a few historical sources describing the general state of Christianity during the last 2,000 years... And many books/archaeological articles covering the subject of the behavior of religions in general over the last 4,000 to 6,000 years - and even before that period, to an extent.

    Brother Dan, may I recommend, "The Jesus Mysteries"? And "Jesus and the Lost Goddess"? Also, as many books on the 'heretical' burnings, as you can lay your hands on - or stomach? Several books on the 'witch' burnings - sometimes called the "Burning Times"??? How about the "Spanish Inquisition"???

    Books on the Incan, Mayan and Aztec belief systems?? The religions of ancient Egypt, of the Minoans of Crete, of ancient proto-Greece?? The religions of India??

    How about the "I Ching"?? And the "Tao Te Ching"?? The "Code of Hammurabi"??

    Read about twenty of those, and then come back and dispute Richard Dawkins' definition of "faith" - which tends to take a comprehensive, long-range historical view of faith as practiced by a wide variety of religions over a span of time that includes most of the recent period of Homo Sapien's existence - let's say the Holocene epoch; the last 10,000 years or so...

    Zid

  • ziddina
    ziddina
    "I don't argue for the existance of MY God. I argue for the existance of THE God. There are no other Gods besides God. ..."

    Ahem...

    BrotherDan, you DO realize that the bible is only around 3,500 years old?? Don't you????

    You DO realize that some of the pyramids of Egypt are OLDER than the bible??? Don't you????

    You DO realize that Stonehenge is at least 1,500 years OLDER than the bible??? Don't you???

    You DO realize that many religions PRE-date the bible - some by several thousands of years???

    You DO realize that - going far back into antiquity - the 'gods' of the Aborigines of Australia range from an age of around 20,000 years to quite possibly 80,000 years old - possibly quite a bit older????

    DO you realize these things???

    Zid

  • AGuest
    AGuest

    Pardon me... "wrong" thread. Peace to you all!

    A slave of Christ,

    SA

  • darth frosty
    darth frosty

    Bumping to show BD pattern

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