Friday, February 7, 2014

Two kinds of religious people

The way I see it, there are two kinds of religious people (and I am referring to actual religious people, not merely cultural or nominal members of religions). The first kind will gladly explain to you in detail not only what they believe, but also why they believe it. Their understanding of evidence and logic may make your head spin, but at least you'll know where they're coming from.

The second kind, the fluffy bunnies, simply assert that something is the case. They almost never go beyond that, but if they do, it will be only to something like "I feel it in my heart," as though their emotions were a special red telephone to God. If you've ever tried to have a discussion with such a person, you know that it does no good to point out that lots of people "feel in their hearts" lots of mutually exclusive positions, that they cannot all be right, and that that person has provided no test for determining who is hearing from God and who is simply engaged in wishful thinking. If you ask them how they know what they claim to know, and in the off chance that they acknowledge the question at all, they will say things like "Shut the fuck up" (and I quote that mature and Christlike language verbatim from one such person).

See also I just know and Queer religion.

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