An interesting article in the NY Times on the roles of reason and belief in the human existence. The pursuit of understanding the relationship between faith and reason has always been fascinating to me.
Some highlights:
*"Lo and behold, over the past decade, a new group of assertive atheists has done battle with defenders of faith. The two sides have argued about whether it is reasonable to conceive of a soul that survives the death of the body and about whether understanding the brain explains away or merely adds to our appreciation of the entity that created it."
*"Researchers now spend a lot of time trying to understand universal moral intuitions. Genes are not merely selfish, it appears. Instead, people seem to have deep instincts for fairness, empathy and attachment. "
*"First, the self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships. Second, underneath the patina of different religions, people around the world have common moral intuitions. Third, people are equipped to experience the sacred, to have moments of elevated experience when they transcend boundaries and overflow with love. Fourth, God can best be conceived as the nature one experiences at those moments, the unknowable total of all there is."
Let me know what you think. As always, your comments are appreciated.
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3 comments:
that was an op-ed article by david brooks. i try to read his column. he's smart and knows what he's talking about.
interesting read. i think he's right in that it is much harder to defend the authenticity of the bible than the existence of a god.
You know how I know there is a God?
Puppies.
There is a specific aspect of Theology which covers this called General Revelation. One of the tenants is that everyone is endowed with knowing the difference between right and wrong (basically our conscience). Check it out on Wikipedia for more info...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_revelation
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