I refer to Bob Murphy`s blog post, "Do Non-Believers Burn in Hell?", which is still active, but with little further contribution from Bob (who`s been busy doing God`s work on other matters). In the post Bob asserts that "the doctrines of Christianity make sense and are logical" and attempts to explain what he means by his belief that atheists are "going to hell."
Below are my two posts on the thread. The first asks Bob to clarify his logic; the second steps back to meta-issues that are too often unexplored in arguments over religion.
A. June 14, 2009 5:23 AM
Bob, if you`re in favor of using your reason when contemplating God, can you tell me:
1. is there a hell? what evidence is there for hell?
2.
Who goes to hell? You suggest "person
who actively rejected the
Creator's offer of friendship", but by this (a) do you imply that
everyone got a "personal" offer? how so?
(b) if not, what
happens to those throughout human history who never got a personal
offer, or who thought their offer was to follow Judaism, Islam, the
Budddha, etc?
(c) what about those with limited capacity -
children (including those stillborn, or naturally or artificially
aborted), the mentally handicapped? do they burn in hell for eternity,
or are they united in communion with the Creator?
I`m not sure
where reason leads us in matters of faith, other than we have a
capacity to believe all manner of what seems obvious nonsense now.
B. June 22, 2009 4:42 AM
James, I think you are being far too judgmental.
And I think this discussion generally is too shallow.
Can
I suggest that you - and others - step back to consider the role of
"Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity," as explored in a book
of that title by Roy Rappaport (former head of the American
Anthropology Assn. and published postumously)?
Rappaport
recognized the role that ritual and "sacred postulates" (later,
religions) have played in the evolution of man as a social animal, by
providing a fundamental way of ordering the world, the group`s role in
it, and the individual`s role in the group - thereby abating commons
problems both within and created by the group.
The religious
lies at the root of our human nature, even as its inviolable, sacred
truths continue to fall by the wayside during the long march of
culture and science out of the Garden of Eden.
Amazon
Google Books
review by Mary Catherine Bateson
Interview
Especially as we live in an increasingly global world, it behooves us all to know ourselves better - even us hermits in Tokyo.
Can we sheath our vorpal swords?