hinduwoman

The reason why even otherwise intelligent people stubbornly believe in God, particularly in a benevolent Christian God is because they are unwilling to surrender the illusion of pattern, of the reassurance in a moral universe

One Bengali writer wrote a book critical of Mother Teresa. He sent sample chapters to St. Martin's Press, New York. The literary editor turned the book down saying, "In the end I feel that certain things are better left unsaid; while Mother Teresa's accomplishments may indeed be illusory, I still applaud the ideals that she, perhaps not unhypocritically represented, and millions in the west , a society ravaged by excess materialism, were still able to connect with the philosophy she preached. Alas, she and her order were not able to live upto the standard that she preached, but she remains a hero, albeit tainted, to millions of America alone … so much so that I do not feel I would be the best editor to launch this book".

So this supposedly intellectual editor is arguing that
1. Accomplishments don't matter as long as nice things are said.
2. People need some kind of faith in Goodness to live by.
3. We must not hurt the feelings of people who regard someone as a hero by speaking the truth.

I feel the first two reasons are why Christians refuse to give up their belief in God, while the third is why many people are unwilling to openly criticize religion.


Truth/facts does not matter

Albert Cipriani

Hi Hinduwoman,
Long time no argue.

So the editor was a jerk. Even tho I am a Catholic, I view Mother Theresa rather circumspectly, as I do our pope. I am for the truth as it alone can set us free. As our Lord said, you are either for it or against it. That editor, by his benign neglect of it, proved himself to be against it. He will have to answer to God for having denied God in the manner you described.

Enough agreeing. I suspect I disagree with your disagreement of this: That’s very poorly stated, quite vague. But if you mean by it that people can live by bread alone, you are wrong. We need meaning as much as we need meat. Do you deny this? – Sincerely, Albert the Traditional Catholic

Godot

I think there are a few people over in S&S right now that would disagree with this one. :banghead:
Life without substance would make for a very dull existence. "Meaning" is a bit of a loaded word, isn't it?

Demigawd

I agree with you here. As brother Dave Gardner observed, "man cannot live upon bread alone. He must have peanut butter."

Albert Cipriani

Dear Godot,
You say: Yes it is. By meaning I mean what other people mean when they say God or spirituality.

Touch is to our physicality what meaning is to our soul. Every time you perceive a relationship between two abstractions, you have fed your soul meaning. It is as necessary for your keeping your body and soul hybird together as bread. – Sincerely, Albert the Traditional Catholic

Jobar

I think this would be better in GRD.

Theli

I think people need Hitler just as much as they need Mother Theresa. The devil in the flesh so to speak.

hinduwoman

albert, people need meaning in their lives. But believers insist that this meaning has to come from outside; they desperately want to believe that they are important in this infinite universe. This illusion is the source of all religious related problems.