[QUOTE=severus]
So therefore, when you come here, you feel the need to arrogantly preach to Polycarp, Siege, tomndebb and our other liberal or moderate Christians.
[/QUOTE]
Pretty good “poisoning the well” fallacy. No, I don’t need to “arrogantly preach” to anyone, but thanks for giving me the opportunity to defend arrogance. Or preaching. :rolleyes:
What I am doing, as if you care, is asking a simple (and impossible) question of the SD itself on its basic mission: Why is religion, specifically western religion, and more specifically Xianity, given a free pass on this website? By “free pass,” I’m just trying to point out the obvious: that other sects, systems of belief, etc. are held to a fairly high standard of proof, and Xianity is not.
I’m an admirer of that standard of proof, and I love the idea of a website that asks people for evidence for claims, and busts their chops (in a pleasant but persistent manner, which is what I’m shooting for here–not always succeeding, but I am a flawed vessal) about assuming the burden of proof, extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, etc. My question is: Why does Xianity get held to a less rigorous standard here?
I don’t think that’s an arrogant question at all, but YMMV. I think it’s a fairly reasonable question, as these things go, although the answer that suggests itself to me may not be acceptable to you, and you might therefore feel the urge to invent some personal attacks, send me some vicious e-mail, express disappointment in my character or integrity, etc. I wish you wouldn’t, but you are also flawed vessals.
I think this exemption exists because this website, for reasons of its own, has decided unofficially but clearly to allow Xianity to remain exempt. Now, why is this? That, I cannot say, but it certainly is off-putting to make most of your subscription base feel the need to defend its core values, or the core values of those they are personally fond of.
We can hold Scientolgists’ feet in the fire as long as we like around here, call them batshit insane, and get a good chuckle out of their loopy and contradictory, illogical, anti-scientific beliefs, not so much because they’re totally full of shit (which they are) or evil (which they are) but because mocking them carries no association with most of our own personal beliefs. Scientologists and Baal -worshippers get poked with all sorts of sticks, sometimes quite cruelly and rudely, and their intellectual capacities get called into question with nary an eyebrow being raised.
If someone started an “Ask the Baal Worshipper” thread (I’m surprised someone hasn’t), I somehow doubt that Tom would declare that poor deluded slob to be exempt from actually, you know, answering any questions about Baal-worship, as he’s done with the OP in the “Ask the Mormon” thread. Why? Again, I can’t say definitively, but there’s got to be a threatening parallel between LDS and mainstream Xianity, some overlapping set of beliefs, some debased standard of evidence in both sets of holy books’s authenticity, etc., that make Tom think “Uh, uh, too scary to go there, must not allow.”
So I can understand, sort of, in a practical sense why the SDMB is not going to priortize any time soon authorizing a policy that many of its members would read (wrongly, in my book) as an attack on their core beliefs. But in theory, I just don’t see what’s so threatening about holding one’s core beliefs up to the light for close examination.
I’m not seeking to convert Xians to atheism here. That’s your lookout. But I think the more questions we ask about core beliefs, yours and mine, the more answers we’ll get and I’m in favor of answers. Bottom line, is that I think (and some Xians agree) that finally the answer comes down to “I like holding these beliefs, they please me, they soothe me, they give my life meaning, but there is not any objective evidence that what I believe in is true, and that certain other belief systems like Baal-worship may well be as valid and as pleasing to their adherents as mine is. Call me primitive, call me superstitious, even call me simple-minded, if you like, I can’t really deny much of your descriptions, because even if I am being primitive, superstitous, simple-minded and all the rest here on Gilligan’s Isle, it’s still pleasing to me to be that way. Peace be with you, my troubled and needlessly thought-provoking friend.”
Instead, I get hate mail. Speaking of which, is there some kind of rule around here that Dopers are prohibited from sending each other anonymous hate mail via the e-mail account listed in the profile? If not there really ought to be. Hate mail sucks. And if there is such a rule, are atheists eligible to file a complaint?
)