[I personally prefer to avoid overly hostile attitudes to the ill-educated, irrational or stupid because I don't think it's remotely helpful, ...
I don't think it's helpful either. But I'm not targeting the ill-educated or stupid here, just the selectively irrational. Just people who use statements like "the Bible says (blah)" as evidence for how humans are intended by god to behave. And I know Bill Maher is quite happy to lump these groups together, and call all Christians "morons" - or worse - from time to time, and I'm certainly not endorsing that.
But any time anyone comes at him with "the Bible says...", and he responds with some other example of what "the Bible says", I'm glad for it.
... but if you want to 'sucker punch' someone over such things then you can do so without conflating your criticisms with moral judgement]
To reference the handgun analogy again: My next-door-neighbor owns a handgun. I don't need to wait for him to shoot somebody, to question his desire to bring a handgun into the area, do I? Bill Maher feels the same about people who construct and justify their morality by selective interpretation of a religious text: It is questionable in itself, not just because of how it may compel them to act, but because of the methodology it endorses.
I share some of his sentiment, even though I've managed to avoid most situations where I would be compelled to argue the way he does. Most of my arguments happened either in high school, or college, or at Christmas parties with my extended family. When meeting strangers, if the conversation veers off into god territory, I usually just recuse myself. Better to connect in some other way. The most recent problem I had was a few years ago, when attending an unfamiliar church in Maryland with my sister and her husband and kids. I kept my mouth shut, out of a desire to avoid embarrassing them.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2015-05-20 08:40 pm (UTC)I don't think it's helpful either. But I'm not targeting the ill-educated or stupid here, just the selectively irrational. Just people who use statements like "the Bible says (blah)" as evidence for how humans are intended by god to behave. And I know Bill Maher is quite happy to lump these groups together, and call all Christians "morons" - or worse - from time to time, and I'm certainly not endorsing that.
But any time anyone comes at him with "the Bible says...", and he responds with some other example of what "the Bible says", I'm glad for it.
... but if you want to 'sucker punch' someone over such things then you can do so without conflating your criticisms with moral judgement]
To reference the handgun analogy again: My next-door-neighbor owns a handgun. I don't need to wait for him to shoot somebody, to question his desire to bring a handgun into the area, do I? Bill Maher feels the same about people who construct and justify their morality by selective interpretation of a religious text: It is questionable in itself, not just because of how it may compel them to act, but because of the methodology it endorses.
I share some of his sentiment, even though I've managed to avoid most situations where I would be compelled to argue the way he does. Most of my arguments happened either in high school, or college, or at Christmas parties with my extended family. When meeting strangers, if the conversation veers off into god territory, I usually just recuse myself. Better to connect in some other way. The most recent problem I had was a few years ago, when attending an unfamiliar church in Maryland with my sister and her husband and kids. I kept my mouth shut, out of a desire to avoid embarrassing them.