Philosopher's Haze

Anyone who has spent some time on this site will know that when it comes to religion, I have some major objections. And while this remains the case, reflection upon recent events in my personal life has led me to really think about this issue. Out of this reflection one thing has become clearer: the ultimate problem, the real problem goes much further than religion – religion and religious beliefs are only a consequence or by-product of the real problem. Contrary to Stephen Weinberg, who said “But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion,” I believe the real problem is that people are ignorant to the point of being arrogant. It is only out of this arrogant ignorance that people seem to be able to believe certain things, such as: a man from Nazareth was murdered and resurrected; that an illiterate man wrote the qur’an; or that a god is not hypocritical who prohibits murder but endorses genocide. It is also only out of this arrogant ignorance that people seem to be able to act in certain ways, such as mistreating other people. Read the rest of this entry →