Religion Again

I am sorry. I promised no more on religion. But it won't stop coming.

Just the other day the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland described same sex marriage as 'grotesque.'

This is clearly homophobic yet there is a point to be made. If same sex marriage is against the Catholic faith then you can hardly expect gay people to get married in church. It seems best to leave the church to do its' own backwards thing and get married elsewhere.

Despite this I had a thought that hasn't quite been nailed yet. As I have said earlier if you are debating the existence of god, atheists will win. They win most philosophical debates around religion. Yet there is still that niggle. What is that about?

A question I struggled with was about extremism. How can you be a 'slight' believer? You either believe something or you don't. Here Dawkins et al always triumph. If you are going to paradise when you die the response to a Christian who tells you he is fatally ill should be, 'brilliant! I am so glad for you. How long before you get to paradise'.

This would be daft. Here Dawkins would say that this is because the religious do not really believe. All but those who do. Those who become suicide bombers, safe in the knowledge they are going to heaven.

Try this, you religious folk. There are two kinds of knowing. Knowing how and knowing that. We know Leeds is in Yorkshire. There is no degree of knowing this. It is a yes or no.

Then there is knowing how. For example knowing how to play the violin. This sort of knowing is incremental and never ending.

Perhaps this is where the error lies. If the religious are learning a practice, and most religions involve ritual, you can get better at it. You could be more or less devout.

Religion is something people practice. It is something you do, not something you are.

And this is where most of the problems begin. Once you start saying 'I am a muslim' or 'I am a jew' but not practicing any ritual you are declaring yourself part of an exclusive tribe.

An exclusive tribe that believes they are the only ones party to a greater truth. It can be very dangerous and the first step in dehumanising those from another tribe. How does one respect someone walking around oblivious to the greater meanings of life? This must make them akin to animals.

So if you see religion through this lens. More like someone learning or not learning ballet for example. Perhaps this is a better argument for religious debaters to develop

I shouldn't have to think up the other sides arguments too! .