As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles. Whose authority? The Old Testament? The New Testament? The Koran?
In practice, people choose the book considered sacred by the community in which they are born, and out of that book they choose the parts they like, ignoring the others. At one time, the most influential text in the Bible was: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Now-a-days, people pass over this text, in silence if possible; if not, with an apology.
And so, even when we have a sacred book, we still choose as truth whatever suits our own prejudices. No Catholic, for instance, takes seriously the text which says that a bishop should be the husband of one wife.
(Bertrand Russell, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1943) in The Portable Atheist, p. 188)
Debbie: This world is too full of hate and that saddens me. Live and let live. Abortion is nobody’s... 
John C: Anti-no, “I” dont have any credibility either but the difference is that “I”m not... 
Custador: “Matt and Mark record “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken me?”; John, “It is finished”; and Luke,... 
Daniel Florien: When you have indigestion when you’re reading it, you know it’s true! 
Mary Lynne: Hmm – I wonder what a “true fairy tale” would be. Is that like jumbo... 
Antiutopia: John C — Christ himself doesn’t have any credibility with these ignorant morons — do you... 
Uzza: Cool story. It reminds me of Confucius, meeting the mad hermit of Chu, who told him it was... 
3 Comments
“And so, even when we have a sacred book, we still choose as truth whatever suits our own prejudices.”
There’s a really good example of this over at Slacktivist.
http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2005/05/private_propert.html
Fred contrasts the comments of Ted Haggard (made before the big gay prostitute flap) with sections from the bible and the comments of the church fathers. He points out that the early Christians belief that “superfluity is theft” does not square with the modern assumption that Christianity is pro-capitalism. Over the past 1,500 years, the potions of the bible that emphasize poverty and communal living have fallen into disuse.
I grew up in a house that would have been called social-justice Catholic. My parents raised me to believe that charity and working for the good of others were among the highest callings to which one could aspire. I still believe that, but I don’t see where god is necessary to assert so.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I asked Dad why he was, particularly a Catholic rather than, say, C of E. After some consideration he said “Well, I suppose it’s largely because that’s the tradition I grew up in.”
My parents are damn good Catholics, including being honest even to the detriment of Catholicism. If there were more like them out there the faith wouldn’t be foundering. But if the church were run by people like them then priests could probably marry and birth control wouldn’t be a sin.
You are probably right – that if more people like your parents controlled the catholic church, it would be more attractive to rational people who can see that birth control is necessary, if only to prevent more over-population. However, what’s the point of having a church at all? Why can’t good people just meet for reasons other than an imaginary sky-god? As an atheist, I have found myself in many supportive communities, but the church was never one of them (even when I was a christian – the bad old days). For one thing, I do a lot of volunteering, and seeing a huge group of people who are there to help others, for no gain themselves, is exciting and inspiring.