[ExI] Fundamentalism and a Scientific Outlook (was Changing other poster's minds)

[Lee Corbin]

Spike's great comments cannot pass without remark!

>> My hypothesis is that fundamentalist religious movements often have a
>> strong emphasis on be doctrinally correct and thus place a high value on
>> study of the text of that religion... Fred
> 
> 
> ...I witness so much meaningless debate because there is disagreement
> on a most basic question.  This question is not whether or not the belief is
> true, but rather what is the nature of the belief.  The basic question upon
> which the participants must agree is this: does it matter whether or not a
> belief is true?
> 
> Most of us here have a fundamentalist's outlook: of course it matters.

That is *so* right.  I have felt exactly the same thing for decades. The
fundamentalists and I are basically on the same side because we believe
that there *is* a truth to the matter.  But I can't quite say it as well as
you do:

> But to many non-fundamentalist believers, it really does not matter whether
> or not a belief is true.  The terms true and false do not really apply to their
> religion.  For most, religion is a philosophy.  It would be like asking is
> democrat or republican true?  Those terms do not apply, these are
> philosophies.  They hold some true and some false notions, with much gray
> area.  A philosophy would not be like a science, in which true or false are
> applicable and it matters.  Fundamentalists treat religion the same as a
> science.

Yes, and, as I say, most well spoken.  One good sign, however, is that the
post-modern crap is fading from view.  And even by 1980 I noticed that
the "truth is relative" crowd had seemed to retreat a little.

> After thinking about this for years, long after realizing that the religion
> I knew was not true, I finally realized that it matters to me if my religion
> is true.  I love true things.  Religion should be treated as any scientific
> theory.  In that sense, altho I am now an atheist, I still have the
> fundamentalist's outlook, ja?

That's the way it seems to me!

Lee