Posted by Mike B on March 02, 1999 at 13:35:11:
In Reply to: What is intellectual about faith? posted by rpcman on March 02, 1999 at 12:38:04:
: : Looking for one of your honest, intellectual posters to explain to
: : me why your "honest intellectual inquiry" seems to me (a poor, ignorant
: : thiest) to have to start with the uncritical acceptance of the doctrine of
: : athiesm. Why must we close our minds first, in the avowed desire to open
: : them?
: Your last question is your best one.
: Atheism is the default position. No 'uncritical acceptance' is required to be an atheist.
: Perhaps if you'd care to show us using something other than faith why belief in god(s) is a more intellectually honest position, you will obtain some converts.
Your subject line presupposes that faith and
intelligence are mutally exclusive. All
faith is not blind faith.
Both belief and an unbelief require faith as neither
position can be
be proven true in the scientific sense.
Have you considered that it may require more faith
to believe Darwin than the author of Genesis?
My personal faith in the Living God has been
validated in my life in many ways.
I suppose that I object to the idea that the
belief in God is intellectual suicide.
I will agree that some forms of reputed religious life do
involve shutting off the intellect, but it must
not necessarily allways be the case.
Most athiestic literature I have seen on the
web consists of strawman attacks for the
'faithfull' (i.e., believing athiests, for it still
takes faith to believe in nothing). I recommend the
the web site www.firstthings.com to you as an example of
the convergence of piety and scholarship.