Re: Paradoxy
posted by EDDIE SLUSSER (you)
- S
Hi Millee,
My Comments were indirectly addressing the overall thesis of the course. I have personally struggled with this course because of its point of view. I understand that everyone is free to decide for themselves what they believe, but it has been difficult, yet not impossible, to appreciate the philosophical perspective of the course because of its overbearing assertion that the biblical perspective, to which I strongly hold, is myth. There is altogether no consideration for the possibility of a reality other than the secular humanism perspective. In my humble opinion, this is a self defeating truth claim. I probably do not make sense, and while I have enjoyed a great deal of what the course offers and how it approaches the impact and benefit to society of myths, I believe it is greatly lacking in not addressing the possibility of the other perspective. Finally, the video itself has great input, but it also reflects the overall shortcoming I mentioned.
Comment on Aug 30, 2014, 1:35 PM
Re: Paradoxyposted by JUSTIN xxxxxxxKI can see how this course can be very challenging to those with strongly held religious beliefs, because you are exposed to so many similar stories from different cultures. Maybe you were told that these cultures did not contain the truth, and that your religion alone contains the truth. But I think people might be missing the point of this class when the study material lumps the stories of the Christian religion (which appears to be a very common and touchy subject in this class) as part of myth. I do not believe the material writes off ANY religion as "false" whatsoever. They may be call it "myth", but that does not mean they are false. The way you resist calling the "biblical perspective" myth is exactly the same, I would imagine, as any other believer of a different religion would be. All myth contains truth no matter what culture, and like you said, people are free to decide what to believe.Comment on Aug 30, 2014, 8:25 PM
Justin, Eddie, and Millee: your discussion has brought many thoughtful responses. I have a hard time viewing the stories of my religion as myth because I believe they are history. I would never claim a religion nor follow the god of a religion that is based on false narratives; to do so is an exercise in futility. A religion based on false narratives is not a religion but a philosophy. To believe all religions as equally true is to deem that all stories in each religion are mostly allegorical and were only penned to teach us humans moral lessons; this renders all religions as an organized philosophy.If humans did not believe myth stories were true, would we have religion (why)?Comment on Aug 30, 2014, 10:46 PM
Hi Harold,Your response is much better than mine. I have a slightly more specific response, but I am not so certain I will post one. I am not certain that it will serve its purpose as well as yours has. I am thinking through your question, but I am not sure how to approach it. If you will humor me, I will let my typing help me through the process of answering. I have read testimonials from former Muslims who said they felt as if their religion was hollow with nothing to offer that was true. In that regard, I would have to say that under coercion or other social pressures, one could participate in a religion which he or she did not believe. For those who were involuntary human sacrifices, I would assume they did not want to participate, but did not really have a choice. In these cases, there are some who do not believe in their own religion, but others would have to believe in order for the religion to exist.
Comment on Aug 30, 2014, 11:37 PM
Re: Paradoxyposted by EDDIE SLUSSER (you)Hi Justin,Thanks for your kind consideration in response to my post. While I can appreciate your observations, they do not accurately reflect my perspective. With your kind permission, I would like to clarify myself, if not for your sake, certainly for mine. I will not include the portion of my response which Harold has already discussed in his response, so please consider his post as well. While there are certain truths upon which most religions would agree, for example, the night sky is full of stars which we can not accurately count, many religions, if not religious sects, hold to certain truth claims that are not shared by any other. This is not all inclusive, but many fall into this category. This does not bother me whatsoever. I am fine with comparing different beliefs or explaining how they are similar. In fact, I like to use the myriad of flood and origin myths as evidence to validate the facts of my faith to humanists. I believe your primary argument regarding my complaint of the course is the matter with which I take exception. While I do not condemn you for not sharing my beliefs, and I am not foolhardy enough to consider you to be open minded to examining the evidence, I do feel vindicated in at least clarifying my original statement. According to Merriam-Webster Online (2014), "Myth is an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true." So, yes, the assertion presented by this course is that my beliefs are not true. More importantly, the assertion of this course is to claim the belief that God can not exist to be true exclusively. This may not make much sense, but to say God does not exist is just as much a religious belief as to claim that God does exist. I like to call this religion humanism. I do not want to take your time to present my case of this particular question.However, even on this point I am not disappointed the most. My key complaint is my concern, founded or unfounded, that I am being asked to accept and agree with the religious claims, myth if you will, of this course and its materials. For me this is tantamount to recanting my faith. You may or may not be aware that millions of Christians have lost their lives simply because they were Christians. Many of them because they would not recant their beliefs, and many of the executions were carried out by the Roman Catholic Church.Please understand that I am working through this course and am very thankful to have the latitude to assert my perspective in the discussions. I simply commented that under the said conditions, this course has been very difficult for me. I took so many words because my fewer words did not seem to clarify. If you have gotten this far in my post, I thank you for hanging in there, and I hope that I have better explained what I said earlier.
Myth. (2014). In Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth
- I am so glad this course is done...
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